Telephone
707-751-1665
FAX
707-751-1665
Postal address
P.O. Box 446 Benicia, California 94510
Cleaning Your Jewels
There is great discussion regarding the proper care of rhinestone
and costume jewelry. However, experience has demonstrated that the
most damaging elements to costume jewelry and rhinestone pieces in
particular are moisture, food, or hairspray.
Rhinestone jewelry should never be immersed in water or cleaning fluids.
The moisture gets trapped behind the stone and gradually degrades
the foil, causing the stone to "turn" or discolor. The foil backing
is what gives the stones their brilliance. Replacing stones can often
be difficult if an exact match isn’t available.
In order to properly clean your jewelry there are some necessary tools
one needs to have handy:
1. Tweezers
2. Q-tips
3. Baby toothbrush
4. Soft cloth (i.e. old tee-shirt)
5. Drying towel
6. Pliers
7. Jewelers loop
8. Alcohol or soap solution of 5mls to 240mls.
With the loop carefully examine the piece prior to cleaning. Take
note of any loose stones or prongs and fasten them securely before
commencing. With the piece upside-down (stones facing down) gently
begin the cleaning process with a Q-tip or toothbrush dipped sparingly
into either solution. Do not over saturate either implement. As you
begin to clean the piece, any loose debris can be gently dabbed away
with another cleaning cloth or another Q-tip. Blot dry and place on
drying towel upside-down to allow to thoroughly dry.
Note it may take several times of repeating this method to fully remove
all of the dirt. Alcohol will dry faster, but will not cut the debris
to the same degree as the soap solution. I prefer to initially to
use the alcohol method and finish with one round of soap-solution.
Some collectors will also gently use a blow-dryer on the cool setting
to remove any residual moisture.
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