Jewelry is complicated no matter how you come into a piece. You might have inherited it or bought it on an impulse, but either way you probably need to look up some information on jewelry. Where can you find information on this ancient human tradition? This article is going to outline a few useful tidbits about jewelry to help you on your quest to be a more educated consumer.
Keep your whole jewelry collection sparkling with a polishing cloth. This is a chemical-free method to maintain the appearance of your fine jewelry. Polish your jewelry with a two-sided polishing cloth as you might buff a lovely glass. First you should use the polish side, then use the shining side to really make your jewelry look stunning!
Don’t use things that contain harsh chemicals like bleach, ammonia, acetone or turpentine, to clean your jewelry. This can dull your stones and eat away their enamel.
Be cautious of storing all of your pieces of jewelry together. Jewelry should be stored in an organized way in a box, a jewelry holder or hung on hooks. Throwing the jewelry together into the jewelry box is a no-no. Not only will your necklaces get all tangled up, you risk damaging all your fragile and fine jewelry pieces.
Make sure to store your jewelry away from humidity and air. It’s best to store it in a closed box, like a jewelry box, or a drawstring bag. Humidity quickly tarnishes both precious and non-precious metal. It’s possible to restore precious metals through polishing, but lesser-quality metals may suffer permanent damage.
Sterling Silver
When shopping for sterling silver jewelry, it is a good idea to bring a small magnet along with you. When you do this, you become able to find fake pieces of any type of sterling jewelry. You can use the magnet because non-precious metals actually are attracted by magnets. Look for the hallmark stamped on the piece of jewelry to determine what percentage sterling silver it is. If there is no hallmark, the piece is probably not authentic and may, indeed, be counterfeit.
Knowing what type of jewel you are buying when you purchase jewelry is very important. 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.
Always look at a number of different places when you are shopping for diamonds. Look at what you like close up, and compare them to other pieces you have seen. Less-scrupulous jewelry sellers have many ways to enhance the appearance of a sub-par diamond, so you have to stay alert.
Costume Jewelry
If you want to collect costume jewelry, concentrate on getting quality peices. Costume jewelry can prove to be a good investment, but also a costly one; keep in mind the pieces you wish to add to your collection don’t show too much wear. A piece that is free of any defects or wear not only looks better, but is also a better investment.
It is a good idea to determine the best approaches for jewelry care. Take into account that different types of material takes different types of care, like stones and metals. What is beneficial to one stone or setting may hurt another. Talk with a professional if you aren’t sure what sort of care each jewel requires.
As you now know, jewelry has a variety of components to it. The guided research and help from this article can help you take better care of your jewelry and help you acquire quality pieces. Jewelry is a fun and exciting world of its own. When you apply the above advice, you are on the right path to a successful journey.