Woman world over has a love quotient for Gold Jewellery, this has been an eternal truth. Woman and gold are two inseparable. For long this bond has been strong, woman nurtures their gold Jewellery with great care and protection. We often ignore the cleaning aspect in our daily chores of life, however, it is not only good to clean but recommended not to wear dusty Jewellery.
A little dullness in the sheen would worry us and we all dread losing the Jewellery luster. Most of the times age-old titbits are shunned, we end up using new age cleaning liquids and other Jewellery cleaning agents that are harsh and tend to be acidic in nature. Typical grandma cleaning techniques may sometimes help us regain the lost glitter.
Today we explore how you can clean Jewellery that is in different usages, ages and patterns:
For daily use items:
Gold bangles are the most commonly found Jewellery item in every Indian household and they are the one category that aptly fit the tag “daily use”. Even items like rings, earrings qualify the “daily use” tag, so for items like these, a typical home tip is soaking all these items in lukewarm water for 20-30 minutes; this allows all the accumulated dust to loosen up from the item, allowing us to clean them easily. Then take a discarded toothbrush to clean off the rest of the dust, soak it again in tamarind paste for another 20-30 minutes and brush again to get the glitter of the gold back.
For design populated items:
Some gold bangle designs are heavily populated with intricate designs making it tough to clean them, not only gold bangles but Necklaces, Chokers and various other Antique Jewellery are usually populated with designs. The intricate designs make them unfriendly for cleaning; hence care should be taken while cleaning. Jewelry items such as these should be soaked in lukewarm water with mild cleaning agent or ammonia solution (one part of ammonia to six parts of fresh water). Keeping in mind the fragility of design, use a soft baby brush to clean them to restore the beautiful shine.
For Diamond Jewellery:
Diamond Jewellery as we think do not lose the sparkle or shine but get dirty with time because of skin oils, moisturizing lotions and daily dirty. They usually discharge the shine and create dullness on the surface and get greasy. Clean your diamond Jewellery in the white vinegar solution, soak them for 10-15minutes, remove and scrub them with a soft toothbrush gently. Make sure the bristles are not hard and the brush is not loosening the bristles as they might get stuck at times in the diamond prong setting leaving you with the inconvenience.
For beaded Jewellery:
We are all very fond of beaded Jewellery as they offer naturality to our style, one can dress them up on both western and contemporary attires. Beaded Jewellery such as black beads gold mangalsutra designs consist of gold and black beads, they are very fragile and delicate to handle. Since they are used both as daily wear and occasional wear, it is advised to first soak in lukewarm water with a very mild detergent to get rid of body oils, lotions and grease. Later they can be dipped in dry baking soda and with the help of a soft brush, can be cleaned gently.
Note that natural pearls, emerald beads, other naturally available gemstones are bound to lose their lustre over a period of time. Trying to regain it would only deteriorate it further. Instead they should be cared from the initial purchase time by safely storing them in a silk cloth, protecting them from dust, sun rays, body oils, moisturizing lotions etc and ensuring to clean them before and after every use. The beads can be cleaned by softly wiping them with a damp cloth or with soaked cotton or tissue. Ensure that pearls are not dipped in boiling hot water or cold water. They cannot take extreme temperature variations.
For old Jewellery:
One great and natural way to remove the tarnish of old Jewellery is by dipping them in diluted raw lemon juice. Since lemon is acidic in nature, we dilute it with water before using. If the dirt and grime doesn’t dissolve, keep the wedding Jewellery for a little longer. The acidic nature of lemon works on the Jewellery to retain back the shine. Another great chemical free way to bring the glitter back in your old Jewellery is by soaking them in tamarind water and brushing them gently. Since the Jewellery is old, it is good to give a gentle rub with a soft brush. If there are any studded gemstones, we should ensure they aren’t any lose settings, if so it is advised to immediately fix it by taking it to a goldsmith before cleaning them up.
If the tarnish doesn’t wear off, professional cleaning is recommended.
Hope you got insights on how to clean your Jewellery depending on the type.