Stainless steel is a steel alloy containing a minimum of 10 percent chromium metal. According to the St. Patrick's Guild website, "the chromium properties make the alloy resistant to corrosion or rusting." Stainless steel jewelry is stronger than platinum or silver, but needs proper care to maintain its metal properties. To keep your stainless wedding rings, pendants and necklaces pristine,clean with inexpensive and common household products.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Clean surface dirt. Mix 1 tsp. of mild liquid detergent and 1 cup of lukewarm water in a small bowl. Dip the edge of an old T-shirt or lint-free cloth in the soapy mixture. To avoid scratches, rub the cloth gently over the stainless steel jewelry.
2. Dip the dry edge of the cloth in warm water. Wipe the jewelry clean to remove any soap residue. Air-dry the jewelry on a clean cloth overnight, in a well-ventilated area.
3. Remove dirt trapped in the crevices of your stainless steel jewelry. Squirt a small dollop of non-whitening toothpaste on the edge of an old toothbrush. Scrub the toothpaste gently into the etched or grooved areas.
4. Rinse the toothbrush with warm water. Reapply the toothbrush to the dirty jewelry to lift ground-in dirt and remove any toothpaste residue.
Although they are not real diamonds, cubic zirconia stones possess many of the same traits of more valuable gems. While diamonds are usually harder, cubic zirconia stones rate nearly as high on the hardness scale and sparkle almost as much. There are many ways to keep your cubic zirconia jewelry clean.
Here are some tips for how to clean your cubic zirconia.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Check your jewelry for loose cubic zirconia stones, damaged prongs or other imperfections. The cleaning process can cause loose stones to fall out or damaged prongs to break. If you notice anything wrong with your jewelry, skip the cleaning process and take the cubic zirconia pieces to your local jeweler.
2. Make a cleaning solution from 1 qt. (950 mL) warm water and 1 tsp. (5 mL) mild dish detergent. Mix them together in a clean bowl so they form small bubbles. Place your jewelry into the solution andallow it to soak for 10 to 20 minutes. Set a timer to help you remember to take your jewelry out after it has soaked for awhile.
3. Remove the jewelry from the cleaning solution. Check the jewelry again for any imperfections, loose stones or stretched prongs. Do not continue cleaning your jewelry if there is something wrong with it.
4. Brush your jewelry with an old soft-bristled toothbrush or...
Gold-plated jewelry is made by covering a base metal, usually silver, with a very thin layer of gold. Since the gold layer is so thin and reactive with silver, it will eventually wear away despite your best attempts to preserve it. This wearing away process can take as little as a year depending on whether a barrier was created to separate the silver and gold layers.
Usually, a copper barrier will be used to slow down the reactive process. With the copper barrier, the gold-plating will still wear away, but it will take much longer than a year for it to do so.
Gold-plating is usually used as party or costume jewelry. However, if you are unable to afford gold or gold-filled jewelry, there are several steps you can take to preserve your gold-plated jewelry.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Keep gold-plated jewelry away from hard surfaces. Bumps and scratches will cause the gold layer to wear away faster.
2. Store your gold-plated jewelry in a velvet lined jewelry box, or wrap it in a soft material that will prevent scratches.
3. Lightly wipe your gold-plated jewelry with a damp cotton cloth. This will help to eliminate any dirt or dust from accumulating on the surface and wearing away the gold layer.
