14 Unknown Facts About Jewelry

Wearing Your Jewelry

Long drop earrings give the illusion of length to your face.  So they're a great thing for those who have chubby cheeks or maybe a double chin.

Perfume oils will discolor gold, pearls and other gems.  Don't spray perfume over your jewelry.  This goes for hair spray too.  This can easily be avoided by putting your jewelry on after you are completely dressed with hair and makeup in place.

Cleaning Your Costume Jewelry

Jewelry made with some stones and with imitation gold & silver can be washed in mild dish washing liquid and warm water.  Wash in bowl not sink ( you don't want to take the risk of losing something down the drain).  Individual pieces of jewelry should not touch each other in solution so as not to scratch.  After soaking for a minute, brush individual piece with soft toothbrush and dry with chamois cloth or facial tissue.  Before you dump left over solution make sure to check the bowl for lost pieces.  DO NOT use bleach because it will damage metal mounts beyond repair.

Absolute Clean Online

Special Treatment Required

     Ivory - Dust ivory pieces regularly with soft cloth; using a clean, soft toothbrush to reach into carved areas.  Sunshine keeps ivory from yellowing but too much sun can cause ivory to crack.  Perfume and hair spray can cause discoloring.
     Jade - Combine 1 tablespoon ammonia and 1 cup hot water.  Swish jewelry briefly and dry immediately with soft cloth.  Jade scratches easily.
     Jet - Never soak in water or any type of chemical solution.  Just wipe with damp soft cloth.
     Diamonds - Swish these stones briefly in 1 tablespoon ammonia and 1 cup hot water.  Then dip in rubbing alcohol and pat dry with tissue paper.

Interesting Jewelry Facts Not Well Known

• Only one natural pearl will form out of every 10,000 oysters. That's it. 
• 100,000 year old beads made from Nassarius shells is officially known as the oldest ever found
• Americans spell it jewelry, everyone else spells it jewellery.
• "Jewel", from the old French jouel, which comes from the latin jocale, translation - plaything.
• For the past 100 years Africa has been the top producer of gold.
• The #1 producer of silver is Mexico. A close second is Peru.
• Real Amber, fossilized tree resin at least a million years old, will float in water.
• In Asia, the Middle East and Africa, 24K gold is used in the making of jewelry.
• In the USA and across Europe, most jewelers believe 24K is too soft for jewelry making.
• A large, perfect, gem quality ruby is worth more than a diamond the same size and quality.
• Peridot, Lapis Lazuli and Pearls were ground up and used as eye shadow in ancient times.
• Naturally colored diamonds are extremely rare. The most expensive and rarest are red, purple and then pink. Their white cousins are abundant and cost considerably less.
• Burma Rubies are not allowed out of Burma. These rubies are quite valuable and can only be purchased on the secondary market.
• Live insect jewelry was popular at certain times in history. You heard me right. Egyptians wore scarab beetles into battle. A Mexican Maquech Beetle and the Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach  were also used in jewelry. Victorians in Britain could often be seen sporting live beetles attached to their clothing by tiny, fine gold chains.

    Lots of jewelry history to be found at this link by by clicking here.

   Instructions for jewelry you can make. I especially like the dainty knot ring. #13

A Lot To Know When Cleaning Jewelry

 

You won't believe all the different ways people have come up with to clean their jewelry.  Some of these I knew about.  But some of these ideas are new to me.

•  paste of baking soda and water
• Colgate toothpaste
• Dow bathroom cleaner
• denture cleansing tablets
• whitening formula Mentadent toothpaste
• Parsons' ammonia
• hand sanitize  (don't use on pearls)
• Simple Green
• Smirnoff vodka
  

If it's a paste, just rub on rub off then polish.  If it's a liquid, mix with water, let item(s) soak, rinse and polish dry.

Obviously I did not think up this stuff on my own.  It came from a new book of mine, Clean It Fix It Eat It by Joey Green.  People wrote in giving up their ways of doing just about anything using name brand products.  Name brand products not used for their intended use that is.  Sometimes discovered by accident.  And, I bet sometimes the listed ingredients gave them a hint it might work.  And that's okay.

I would love to hear about any other ways someone might clean their own jewelry that has not been listed above. Leave in a comment before you go.

Resource 

I stumbled upon this informative guide by Olive Yew.

Comprehensive Jewelry Cleaning Guide 

Bonus Tip 

Remove a ring stuck on your finger...

•           Johnson's baby oil
•           Miracle Whip
•           Preparation H
•           Windex 

DIY Cleaners For Any Type Metal Jewelry

Air and water oxidize metals and can make them dull.  Keep them looking new with periodic cleaning.  Save money and the environment by making your own inexpensive jewelry cleaner.


Basic recipe for cleaning jewelry
* 1 tbsp dish washing detergent
* 1 tbsp baking soda
* 1 tbsp household ammonia
* 3 cups warm water

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour into a glass jar and cover tightly. Label jar for future use and keep out of reach of children. To use, soak jewelry in the solution for 1-10 minutes (depending on how tarnished it is). Swish intricate pieces in the solution to get into the cracks and crevices. Use a toothbrush or a well-washed mascara brush for hard to reach places. Rinse and dry with a soft clean cloth.

Don’t soak pearls in this solution.
Instead, rub them gently with a soft chamois cloth dampened in the solution.
Pearls will dissolve  in vinegar.
Do not combine this solution with chlorine bleach – hazardous fumes will result!

CLEANING GOLD JEWELRY
Pour cider vinegar in a shallow glass container. Place gold jewelry in the vinegar so that it is covered completely.  Keep all pieces separated.  Nothing should be touching.  Let the jewellery sit in the vinegar for 15 minutes. Remove the jewelry and wipe clean with a soft, clean cloth. The gold should be completely clean.

CLEANING SILVER JEWELRY
1. Line a glass bowl with aluminum foil, shiny side facing outward.
2. Place the jewelry you want to clean in the bowl making sure it’s touching the foil
3. Cover the jewelry with baking soda – just enough so that you can’t see it.
4. Add boiling water – enough to immerse the jewelry.
5. Let soak for 3 to 5 minutes ( or less if it’s not really dirty).
6. Use tongs or a fork to lift out the jewelry ( you don’t want to get burned) and rise under cold water. And voila ………. you have sparkling jewelry.
If the jewelry is very dirty or very tarnished, then you may need to repeat the process.  Just add a little more baking soda and more boiling water.  Making sure the water is boiling is the secret, if there is one. This method works great on sterling, silver, gold and costume jewelry metals.  But do be careful if there are crystals glued into a setting and limit soaking.  No more than 90 seconds or you might melt the glue. Also, don’t immerse natural pearls in this solution - it’s too caustic. It is however, fine for most gemstones and works wonders on cubic zirconia And in case you’re wondering ….it also works fab for cleaning silverware, silver frames or any silver home decor.

If you don’t have aluminum on hand, you can use white distilled vinegar. Mix 2 tbsp. baking soda in 3.4 fluid oz. or almost 1/2 cup (100 ml) of vinegar. Soak silver items in the mixture for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with water and dry the items with a soft, clean cloth. Repeat if necessary

CLEANING COPPER, PEWTER & OTHER METALS
Dissolve 2 tsp. of salt in a cup of white distilled vinegar. Place a few tablespoons of flour (any kind) into a shallow container. Add some of the vinegar mixture to the flour until it forms a paste. Spread a thick layer of the paste on the metal that needs to be cleaned. Let stand for 15 minutes. Scrub clean with a soft, clean cloth.

CLEANING PLATINUM JEWELRY
The way to clean platinum is to make a mixture of half ammonia and half water. Let the platinum soak in the mixture and then polish with a soft cloth. Be careful if the jewelry contains gemstones. The mixture may discolor or harm gemstones except diamonds.  This mixture is not harmful to diamonds.  

Old-Fashioned Diamond Jewelry Cleaner

Ingredients

1 oz. dry borax

1/2 oz. washing soda

1/2 oz.  mild soap shavings

2-1/2 oz. liquid ammonia

1 pint water

Mix first three ingredients in the water and boil until dissolved.  Partly cool, and stir in liquid ammonia.  Add enough water to make 2 quarts.  When ready, place jewelry in an enamel pan, cover with the solution and bring to a boil.  Using a soft toothbrush or mascara brush, rub jewelry gently and rinse in hot water.  Pat dry. 

Here's another way to clean your diamonds:

     Place your diamonds in a tea strainer and dip them into a pot of boiling water containing several drops of ammonia and a spoonful of soapflakes.  Hold for a few seconds, then remove and rinse in cold ater.  Soak for 5 minutes in alcohol, and finally rinse and pat dry.

Cleaning pearls: 

     Dampen a soft cloth with olive oil, then rub each pearl with the oiled cloth. 

Cleaning silver jewelry:

     Make a paste of lemon juice and baking soda.  Brush it onto your jewelry with a toothbrush and allow to dry.  Finally, brush it off and then polish it gently with a soft cloth.

Cleaning costume jewelry:

     Put your costume jewelry into a small container.  Pour a little rubbing alcohol over the item and allow it to soak for three or four minutes.  Remove it and wipe dry with a soft cloth.

                                          or

     Fill your bathroom sink with hot water and drop in a couple of denture tablets.  Place your costume jewelry in and leave for a while.

     Note:  I wouldn't recommend using toothpaste because they sometimes contain abrasives that will scratch your jewelry. 

   

Coating your costume jewelry with clear nail polish can be a good idea to protect the jewelry from exterior elements like soap, water, hairspray, cologne and your own body oils This will also protect your skin in case of a bad reaction to the metal.



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