Caring For Gold-Filled Jewelry
Caring for gold-filled jewelry is relatively simple. Like all jewelry, it’s important to never overexpose the piece to harsh chemicals such as chlorine, perfumes and lotions, this is more so to preserve its shine rather to prevent tarnishing; though as mentioned, repetitive exposure can lead to such.
As written in our previous blog, gold-filled is extremely durable so you can get away with occasionally jumping in the pool with your pieces or even wearing them during your workouts but it all comes down to how care for your piece after your daily activities.
Cleaning Your Gold-Filled Jewelry
So, you went to the beach, soaked up the sun while applying sun tan oil every couple hours and now your home wondering if your piece is going to tarnish…the answer is NO! The truth is wearing your gold-filled jewelry to the beach or pool here and there is not going to cause immediate tarnishing. Before the piece even gets to tarnishing it will lose its shine and become a dull-like gold color.
So how can I prevent your favorite jewels from dulling out, you may be wondering? It all comes down to cleaning and storing.
Back to our scenario where you're back home from the beach. Now, the important thing is to keep it simple. Grab your pieces and run them under lukewarm water…JUST WATER. After rinsing your piece and making sure water has run through it you can take a small amount of CLEAR dish soap and lather it on the piece for about a minute, rinse thoroughly and you're done!
Keep in mind some may suggest to use a super soft brush, maybe even a toothbrush to help polish the piece, I personally stay away from this method to ensure I don't accidentally scratch the surface of the jewelry. A hand towel has proven to work just fine.
Storing Your Gold-Filled Jewelry
After making sure all the residue has been rinsed off the piece, dry your piece thoroughly! This is crucial! Failing to completely dry before storing it is almost as if it hadn't been rinsed out in the first place.
Now your piece is dry… So now what? Where do I put it?
Keeping your pieces somewhere dry away from humidity is important. Some will suggest keeping them somewhere airtight but I am sure most of us aren’t going to use a bunch ziplock bags to store our pieces individually.
My honest suggestion is to after you’ve rinsed and dried your piece place them in your jewelry organizer. I prefer jewelry boxes with a soft base. I do recommend keeping all your pieces organized and away from rubbing against one another just to prevent surface scratches and tangling.
I know this may seem like a lot of work but I promise you it’s not. To summarize this article into a 1-2-3-4 step method I will leave you with the key points below:
- Rinse pieces under lukewarm water
- Add a small amount (one pump or around half the size of a dime) of CLEAR dish soap and lather for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Rinse your jewelry thoroughly
- Store your jewelry in a dry organizer or jewelry stand. Remember to keep them neat to avoid scratches or tangles chains (those are the worst!)