Welcome to Gem Stone Tips

You bought a Gem Stone for mounting or have a nice new piece of jewelry. 

                        Congratulations!!  Now What??

This information is to give you the basics of  storage and cleaning of your jewelry.

 No, I am not a gemologist, just a guy who has a terrific wife, who loves jewelry,

 and raised three daughters with the same tastes in jewelry.

                                Let's get this myth out of the way first!!

             Toothpaste is good for your teeth but terrible for cleaning jewelry.

 Toothpaste is an abrasive to remove the plaque from your teeth and will also remove protective coverings on some gemstones and the surface of Gold, Silver and Platinum while leaving micro scratches on these precious metals increasing oxidation.

Storing your Jewelry.

This has nothing to do with cleaning but everything to do with keeping your jewelry as it was the day you first tried it on.
Store your jewelry in a clean, fabric lined dry place. A jewelry box is fine, but as you acquire, it starts to pile up and the "old" becomes the OLD from scratches from the other pieces you drop in there. A jewelry case with multiple padded compartments, earring trees and necklace hangers keeps your jewelry organized and safe. The "hard" gem stones like diamond, ruby and sapphire can scratch the face of your other stones and scratch the bands as you look for that favorite set of earrings.
Final note before we talk of cleaning.Take your jewelry to your jeweler for his exam once a year. Loose prongs or mountings need to be repaired before you lose your grandmother's heirloom, 3rd generation, diamond from your ring.

Why clean jewelry?

Your diamond engagement ring and wedding band are a good example."Til death do us part" also means your diamonds. You wear them 24/7. Make up, hair spray, perfume, lotions and potions to make you beautiful are slowly killing your jewelry.How about the grease on your chicken, oil on your fries, chlorine from your pool, hot tub or laundry? No these things will not harm the diamond, only leave residue, dirt, chemicals on the prongs, mounting and ring itself, leeching the precious metals till they become dull or discolored from oxidation.

Colored Gem Stones Presents Multiple Problems.

The different types of stones require specific care and cleaning procedures. As a general rule,after wearing,wipe the jewelry with a moist soft cloth, pat dry, before storing in your jewelry case. Soft jewelry pouches are available from this web site. Your colored stones are as vulnerable as diamonds to salt water, chlorine and cleaning chemicals you use every day. Here are a few examples.

Emerald:

Emerald is one of the most valuable gems available to you. Most are found with occlusions within the stone, brittle and prone to breaking with hard contact. Thin micro scratches, seen by microscope only, are smoothed by applying oil or special wax, when being cut and polished. The stone should be examined by your jeweler for replacement wax or jeweler's oil every few years. Ultrasonic cleaning should never be used on emeralds. The oils are removed and the occlusions are susceptible to the vibrations. As with the diamond, emeralds should be wiped after wearing, properly stored, with cleaning by your jeweler.

Ruby:

Ruby is a highly prized gem stone (family corundum), and the second hardest to diamonds. Also in this family is Sapphires.

A ruby is "pure red" from Burma, red to purple otherwise. Some of these red rubies have had some help by chemical or heating to produce the red we all expect. As with the emerald, occlusions are generally found within rubies and sapphires, both susceptible to damage from heat and ultrasonic waves.

Opals:

Opals have numerous varieties, from White base, Jelly to Black and Crystal Black and all are difficult to care for correctly.

Opal is chemically similar to quartz (not compressed) but has hydrated silica suspended in the stone creating the colorful crystals we see. Being softer, opals are cut as a cabochon to improve tolerance. Opals tend to dry and can crack. Periodically rubbing with an oil moistened cloth (olive oil) will help prevent the drying. Do not soak--an Opal will absorb and then distort or dull the colors. Again if in doubt, consult a jeweler. A one carat crystal black opal {smaller then your little fingernail} can be worth up to $25,000.

THE BOTTOM LINE:Your best course is to have your jeweler clean your jewelry. If not, wiping with a soft moist cloth after each use, and cleaning with a minimal amount of soap in a luke warm bowl, not soaking, and patting dry is the safest cleaning procedure for at home.

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