14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier
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14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier

As every electroforming artist should know, creating jewelry is a great passion and electroforming is the perfect technique to use, but how do we take care of our jewelry after we create it?

Taking proper care is absolutely essential, therefore we’ll explain everything you need to know, and more, in this article!

I want to answer this important question 14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier at the beginning.

How do we take proper care of jewelry?

This of course depends on the material that we’re working with but taking necessary precautions such as storing jewelry in a dry and sealed place, and cleaning it every once in a while are great places to start!

In this article 14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier we’ll cover everything you need to know on taking proper care of your jewelry, we’ll look at what cleaning solutions to use, we’ll troubleshoot common jewelry troubles and we’ll go through everything you need to know to become a jewelry professional as well as a better electroforming artist!

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the action!

How Can You Tell If A Gold Chain Is Real?

Due to gold’s incredible value, and the high demand for authentic jewelry, it’s not unheard of to see fake pieces of gold jewelry on the market, but how can we detect the fakes and make sure that we stay well away from them?

Let’s have a look!

The first thing to do in this case is examine the piece to discover an official marking that indicates the purity and quantity of gold in the piece.

This is usually found in a hidden place, such as the inside of a ring, and the meanings of these marks can be found all over the internet!

Secondly, you should check places where the gold has worn away to discover any discoloration under the gold, this could indicate that the piece is a different metal plated with gold, and therefore is not genuine!

Dropping it in water to see if any oxidation occurs is also a good way to discover real gold, as solid gold doesn’t oxidize!

There are many different methods, but these are just some of the easier ones for you to do at home!

How Long Will Gold Plating Last?

Many pieces of gold jewelry are not solid, they’re gold plated with a thin layer of precious metal!

This is of course done to save money and it doesn’t take away from the look of the piece, but this thin gold layer will wear eventually, the question is, how long does this take?

This obviously depends on how well the piece is taken care of, but generally, with decent care, gold plating lasts up to two years of use before the base metal underneath starts showing!

Replating is easy, and inexpensive however so a gold-plated piece can, in theory, last however long you want it to!

14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier
14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier

How Long Will 14k Gold Last?

Even solid gold items are prone to wearing though, exposure to harmful chemicals or extensive use can cause the gold to wear off and lose its shine, but how long does this take, and can it be restored?

A piece of 14k solid gold should theoretically last you multiple lifetimes, and wear will be very slow and unnoticeable for years!

Eventually, even if the jewelry is treated well, wear will start to show, but luckily this can be restored by a jeweler and regular cleaning sessions can bring back the shine to a piece in no time!

So, if you own a piece of solid gold jewelry, there’s no reason to worry, as it can be in the family for many years to come!

How Do You Take Care Of Jewelry?

In previous paragraphs, we’ve constantly been referencing how important it is to take proper care of your pieces of jewelry to ensure a long, and pleasant, lifetime, but how do we this?

What precautions should we take to ensure long-lasting jewelry?

Let’s find out!

As briefly mentioned in the introduction, the most essential part of keeping jewelry safe is storing it in a dry environment, preferably sealed in something like a zip lock bag.

Secondly, it’s tremendously important to separate different materials and make sure that your pieces don’t contact one another in storage, as this can quickly lead to unwanted tarnish!

Even when taking these precautions, it’s still important to regularly clean your jewelry, it’s recommended to clean your pieces once every two weeks for yourself, and have them professionally cleaned once, or twice, a year by your local jeweler!

If you take these steps, you should be able to enjoy your precious jewelry for years to come!

One of the best ways to take care of all your jewelry is to have a jewelry box to keep all your valuable jewelry in.

Is It Bad To Sleep With Jewelry On?

Sleeping with jewelry on is an ongoing debate, is it bad for your jewelry, or perhaps for your body?

In this paragraph we’ll have a look at sleeping with your precious pieces on, should you, or should you stay well away from jewelry in your sleep?

In theory, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping with jewelry on, it won’t damage your skin and you won’t wake up with worn-out jewelry!

However, the oils on your skin can increase the wear on your jewelry, and skin allergies can occur, leading to unwanted surprises when you wake up!

Unwanted bending can also occur, permanently deforming your jewelry! Do as you wish, but think to yourself, is it necessary to wear your jewelry when you’re sleeping?

Is Hand Sanitizer Bad For Rings?

An often-asked question, especially in the current pandemic that we’re going through, is, how do hygiene products, such as hand sanitizer, affect my jewelry?

Does it damage them, or can we use as much hand sanitizer as we want? Let’s take a closer look!

In the short term, using hand sanitizer doesn’t have a significant impact on your jewelry, but in the long term using a lot of hand sanitizer for long periods of time can corrode your rings, and leave unwanted residue, therefore dulling the sparkle of your rings!

However, this can all be resolved by properly cleaning your rings every once in a while!

Does Gold Over Sterling Silver Fade?

When working with gold plated jewelry, any combination of metals is possible, but is it?

While most metals will work just fine together, others might not be made for each other! In what category does sterling silver plated with gold fall?

Will it work, or will the gold fade in no time?

Once again, in the short term, this combination would work perfectly fine, and with proper care, this could even last for many years before needing replating.

This however is a lot less than some other combinations, as the sterling silver molecules have the tendency to move up to the top layer, therefore fading the jewelry piece much faster than usual, this combination also has a higher tendency to tarnish!

Does Vinegar Hurt Gold?

Vinegar is of course an often-used household cleaning agent, and its abrasive nature is perfect for cleaning all sorts of things, but does it work on gold?

Is vinegar the magic potion to clean our gold jewelry, or should we stay clear of it?

When you’re working with real gold, vinegar is the perfect household cleaning solution, it will get rid of the dirt and oil build-up, but it won’t damage the gold!

However, when you’re working with fake, or plated, gold using vinegar might not work as well, as it makes the underlying metals oxidize rather quickly, creating a bigger mess than it cleans!

Vinegar can therefore also be one of the many tests used to confirm the purity of gold.

Why Does My Diamond Look Cloudy?

Let’s move from gold to another precious material, diamonds!

Taking care of diamonds is just as important as it is with gold, as wrong care can lead to many unwanted results.

One of which being a cloudy look, but why is this?

Cloudy diamonds can be caused by a lot of different things. Among which, low clarity diamonds, and the fluorescence of a diamond.

The hazy look is caused by unwanted inclusions in the crystal structure and doesn’t always have to be a bad thing! Luckily, it can be cleaned off by a professional, or with a decent cleaning solution!

What Can Damage A Diamond?

Just like other precious materials, diamonds are delicate and can be damaged, despite being the strongest material in the world!

Let’s have a look at the different things that might cause damage to nature’s strongest object!

While diamonds are in fact hard to damage, it can definitely be done!

Extreme temperature changes can ruin a diamond, but this is incredibly unlikely to happen during regular daily use.

The most common damage done to diamonds is chipping after a hard impact. So be careful when transporting, or wearing your diamond, keep it away from possible impacts to prevent chips!

Why Should You Never Take Off Your Wedding Ring?

Wedding rings are of course the ultimate symbol of love and engagement, and often people are hesitant to take it off, but is this justified?

And does it have any other reason other than wanting to show your unconditional love? Let’s find out!

Of course, leaving your wedding ring on forever is entirely possible, but it’s recommended to take proper cleaning care of your ring if you choose to wear it that often!

Body oils and other signs of use can increase wear on your ring, but that might all be worth it to show your love! If you value the ring more than love, however, it’s recommended to store it as mentioned in previous paragraphs.

Do Diamonds Lose Their Sparkle?

A large part of the value, and popular attraction, of diamonds, of course, lies in their incredible shiny sparkle.

This sparkle signifies diamonds and is therefore a significant aspect of the material’s value, but does this sparkle ever fade over time?

While diamonds technically never lose their sparkle, they do get dirty like any other material, which creates the impression of a lost sparkle!

Luckily for us, this dirt can be cleaned right off with the right cleaning solution, and when you take proper care of your diamonds, they’ll never lose their precious sparkle!

Why Some Diamonds Sparkle and Others Don’t

Should You Wear Your Wedding Ring In The Shower?

Continuing the topic of keeping your wedding ring on at all times, we will look at the shower!

Should you take your ring off when you go for a shower, or can you safely keep it on? Let’s take a closer look, shall we!

Once again, for short-term use showering with your wedding ring is completely fine. In the long term, however, soaps and scrubs can scratch and harm your wedding ring, and the risk of your ring slipping off in the shower is also significant! If your ring is solid gold, you should be fine!

What Jewelry Can I Wear In The Shower?

If I can’t wear wedding rings in the shower, then what jewelry can I wear whilst taking a shower?

Should I even wear jewelry at all when in the shower? Let’s get to answering these questions!

In general, you can shower with solid gold, such as 14k gold jewelry, platinum, and stainless steel pieces of jewelry.

These metals won’t oxidize, and therefore will not be affected by the shower as other metals would, they will, however, lose some of their shine over time!

14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier
14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier

Final Thoughts For 14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier

All in all, taking proper care of your jewelry is very important if you want long-lasting fun!

After reading this article you should now be able to take proper care of your jewelry, which is a vital skill for any electroforming artist!

14 Jewelry Care Tips Make Your Life Easier

Thank you for reading and good luck on your electroforming journey!

Electroforming: The Ultimate Guide Check It Out!

If you want more information about 16 Jewelry Cleaning Care Tips You Must Know 2021 Click here.

Sources In MLA Format:

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“Cloudy Diamonds: What to Watch For.” The Diamond Pro, www.diamonds.pro/education/cloudy-diamonds/#:~:text=A%20cloudy%20diamond%20has%20inclusions,to%20look%20foggy%20or%20dull.&text=It’s%20not%20solely%20cloud%20inclusions,make%20a%20diamond%20appear%20hazy.

Ehrenwald, Jerry. “How to Tell If Gold Is Real.” WikiHow, WikiHow, 13 Apr. 2020, www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-Gold-Is-Real.

Elaine. “What Jewelry Can You Wear in the Shower: A Complete Guide.” Loo Academy, 8 Apr. 2021, looacademy.com/what-jewelry-can-you-wear-in-the-shower/.

Ferrentino, Brenna. “Do You Sleep with Your Engagement Ring On? You May Want to Reconsider.” Ritani, Ritani, 11 Nov. 2020, www.ritani.com/blogs/news/do-you-sleep-with-your-engagement-ring-on-you-may-want-to-reconsider#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20that%20it’s,ring%20not%2Dso%2Dcircular.

Gilbertson, Al. “How to Protect Your Diamond from Chipping.” Gemological Institute Of America, 5 May 2016, www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/how-protect-diamond-chipping#:~:text=Sudden%20extreme%20temperature%20changes%20can%20cause%20damage%2C%20however.&text=Diamonds%20can%20chip%20or%20fracture,to%20diamonds%20(figure%202).

Kellner, Shawn. “When Should You Remove Your Engagement Ring?: Engagement Blog: Valina Engagement Rings.” Valina Fine Jewelry, Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands, Valina, 30 July 2020, www.valina.com/blog/post/when-should-you-remove-your-engagement-ring.

Kellogg, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Kristi. “When to Take Off Your Engagement Ring.” Brides, www.brides.com/story/when-to-take-off-engagement-ring#:~:text=The%20shower%20can%20be%20a,drain%20and%20get%20lost%20forever.

megha90mehta. “Can You Sleep With Jewelry On?: ABSOLUTE MUST -KNOWS:” HOME -, 18 Dec. 2020, jewellerynerds.com/can-you-sleep-with-jewelry-on/#:~:text=Typically%2C%20there%20is%20nothing%20wrong,they%20cause%20you%20any%20hazards.

Miner, Karen. “This Just in: You Can Clean Your Jewelry at Home Your Own Darn Self.” SheKnows, 10 July 2018, www.sheknows.com/living/articles/966949/how-to-clean-jewelry-at-home/.

TigerTiger is a fashion&jewelry lover. He is also a fashion jewelry manufacturer that help thousands of small business to grow and also do business with some big fashion jewelry brands. He is a truly metal expert and he will share some information you are. “Does Gold Plated Sterling Silver Tarnish?(Detailed Answer).” A Fashion Blog, 30 July 2020, www.afashionblog.com/does-gold-plated-sterling-silver-tarnish/#:~:text=Unfortunately%2C%20even%20with%20the%20use,tarnish%20and%20fade%20with%20time.&text=Your%20sterling%20silver%20jewelry%20could,gold%20vermeil%2C%20or%20gold%20plated.

“Tips for Maintaining the Sparkle of Your Diamond Ring.” Leo Hamel Fine Jewelers Blog, www.leohamel.com/blog/index.php/2019/11/diamonds-lose-sparkle-engagement-ring-cloudy/#:~:text=While%20diamonds%20don’t%20lose,water%20and%20mild%20dish%20soap.

“Will Hand Sanitizer Ruin My Enagement Ring?” J.H. Young & Sons Ltd, 15 Jan. 2021, jhyoung.com/will-hand-sanitizer-damage-rings/#:~:text=Using%20hand%20sanitizer%20while%20wearing,over%20time%2C%20dulling%20the%20sparkle.

Michael

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