Deciding which pieces of jewelry to purchase for yourself or as a gift can be a daunting task. If the former question isn’t true, then are you wanting to purchase a gift for someone special in your life? If any of these questions apply to you, you’re certain to discover useful tips in the below article.
Use a polishing cloth for all of your jewelry pieces. In this way, you will not have to deal with chemicals or solvents while you achieve the shine you love. Use the dual-sided cloth to gently buff your jewelry as you would a delicate glass. Use a two-sided cleaning cloth, one for polishing and one for shining.
Watch how you store your jewelry when it isn’t being worn. You can protect your jeweled investments with hooks, boxes and holders that keep each piece intact and prevent tangles. Don’t just box all the pieces together in a pile. This can harm fragile and fine pieces, along with severely tangling necklaces with other pieces.
Precious Metals
The metals in jewelry can tarnish if exposed to humid air, so you will want to store them in a way that protects them. To keep your jewelry properly protected, store it in a drawstring bag or jewelry box. Humidity quickly tarnishes both precious and non-precious metal. You can restore the precious metals back to their former glory, but plated jewelry is different. Trying to polish those pieces can reveal the non-precious metals underneath, such as copper.
When you are shopping for jewelry in sterling silver, be sure to examine the piece closely, and take along a magnet for metal testing. If an item of jewelry is attracted by a magnet, it is not sterling silver! Only non-precious metals can be drawn to a magnet. You can recognize sterling silver by stamps that say ‘.925’ or ‘ster’. If the piece of presumed silver is not marked, be skeptical that is real silver. It could very well be a fake.
Your diamond shopping experience is missing something important if you are not comparison shopping. Look at what you like close up, and compare them to other pieces you have seen. With diamonds, you need to have a keen eye because of the many tricks people will use to enhance it.
Now that you know more about jewelry, you may confidently select fine pieces of various metals, gemstones, beads and precious metals. Whether you buy it, give it, receive it or inherit it, a fine piece of well-cared-for jewelry is something you can enjoy for many years to come.