Whether your purchase jewelry for friends, inherit valuable pieces or receive jewelry as a gift, it is important that you are aware of the best buying, selling and cleaning jewelry practices. This article has most of the tips you need to learn how to keep your jewelry looking brand new.
Be careful when storing all your jewelry together. For best results, separate different pieces into different boxes, compartments or hooks. Don’t throw piles into a box. This does damage to jewelry pieces, which are often fragile. Necklaces lumped together can get tangled up into a knotted ball.
If you are shopping for sterling silver jewelry, you’ll need a magnet and an eye for the real thing. As a precious metal, silver should never be attracted to a magnet. You will always find a hallmark stamp such as “.925” or “STER.” on genuine sterling, or alternately, it might simply say, “STERLING”. Be wary of jewelery without any kind of hallmark, as often it is fake.
You need to know the type of gem that you are purchasing. Three different kinds of gems are available for purchase: imitation, synthetic and natural. While both natural and synthetic stones are still real, imitation is just glass or plastic made to look like the natural stone. They make synthetic stones in a lab, whereas natural stones come from the ground.
Take note of whether they wear hoop earrings or studs, yellow gold or white gold, an ankle bracelet, etc. Paying attention to these aspects of their current wardrobe will help you make a purchase they are more likely to enjoy.
Going through a day wearing the jewelry will let you get familiar with how it hangs and whether or not it will be comfortable. In this way, you will be able to tell if the item will withstand normal wear.
When you are buying new jewelery, think about the stones you want to get. Purchase stones that are a reflection of you who are, and match your skin tone as well. If you choose a neutral color it will match anything you wear. Do not buy something if it does not work for you.
Costume jewelry needs special care. A fair amount of costume pieces are set with glue. You will need to avoid immersing your jewelry and make sure to stay away from the use of harsh chemicals. To clean your jewelry, dampen a cloth with warm water and gently wipe the item. Then use a clean, dry cloth to dry the jewelry. This helps keep costume jewelry looking sparkling clean and new.
Before you buy, ask the jeweler if and how the gemstone was treated. The way to care for a stone differs greatly depending on how it was treated. You can easily damage your gem, stripping the former treatment off, by cleaning it with the wrong solution.
Well-cared-for jewelry is immensely valuable, both in terms of memorable sentiment and real economic worth. If you take care of your jewelry, you can have it last longer. With the vast amount of information available on jewelry, you may never stop learning how to get the most out of the jewelry you own. By continuing to absorb this information, you can care for your jewelry this way.
