Notes from Martha Stewart Radio’s Morning Living: Jewel Care 101
May 13th, 2010For those of you who could not tune in yesterday, here are a few notes from my segment on jewelry care for Martha Stewart Radio’s Morning Living:
Diamonds and Colored Gemstone Jewelry:
On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, diamonds receive the highest score — a 10 — making them them the toughest gemstone on the earth. That being said, a diamond can be chipped and/or scratched, if it is hit hard enough, or at an angle that compromises something in the diamond’s structure. After all, a diamond has to be cleaved in order for the cutter to achieve its final shape, right? In 1908, when Joseph Asscher first smacked the famous Cullinan diamond, after studying its structure for an entire year, the blade broke. The diamond remained completely intact. One week later, when he hit it a second time with new, stronger tools, it separated just as planned. Mr. Asscher fell into a dead faint.
Every other gemstone falls beneath this rating and while most gemstones, including diamonds, may be gently washed with a very mild detergent and water mixture, some are too soft or brittle, and need a little extra care by a trusted professional. Emeralds are a soft stone and oil-treated, this has been a common practice for centuries. Washing emeralds will remove this oil. Generally speaking, I don’t recommend using ultrasonic cleaners, hot water, or steam to clean gemstones yourself. Take your jewelry to a trusted professional to have them cleaned. Keep colored gemstone jewelry away from chemicals, and hair products as these can ruin their polish. Sudden temperature fluctuations are taxing on gemstones. Ttry to store your gem-intense pieces in a place with an even climate.
–Diamonds may be cleaned by hand using an old toothbrush and a mild mixture of detergent (non-detergent soap is even better) and water. Never scrub or use force when cleaning a diamond in its setting — this may loosen the gemstone. In general I do not recommend an ultrasonic cleaner for gemstone-set jewelry because if any of the stones are loose, they could be shaken from their mountings.
–Diamonds will scratch other diamonds as well as colored gemstones. Remember: condition, condition, condition!! Keeping your jewelry in separate bags and boxes is the easiest and most assured way of maintaining your pieces. Always store your jewelry in it original box or cloth bag, if you have it. If you don’t, a plastic snack bag, which you can buy at the supermarket, or 2×3 or 3×5 polyethylene bags from an office supply store are nearly perfect. Earrings should always be stored this way: a separate bag for one which you will then slip into another bag together with its matching earring. Make sure the first bag is zipped so that the earring doesn’t fall out and scratch the other one. And another thing — please don’t wear your gemstone jewelry to the gym, or gardening, or anywhere where your hands are being used in way that requires getting very dirty or using heavy equipment.
Gold Jewelry:
Gold-intense jewelry, pieces that are not set with gemstones, may be cleaned in an ultrasonic machine — just put one or two pieces in the machine at a time and not on top of one another. Gold jewelry may also be cleaned by hand with a soft cloth, and a mild-detergent and water mix. I don’t like to use toothbrushes on highly polished gold jewelry because it may be scratched, depending on the karatage. 14K is pretty sturdy, but 18K and 22K are softer and may be abraded more easily. Keep gold jewelry away from chemicals like chlorine, cleaning fluids, and hair products as these substances can mar the luster of the metal.
Platinum and Palladium:
Platinum is scratched easily so use a soft cloth or sponge and mild detergent and water mix to clean it. When you ding platinum, you don’t lose metal, it gets displaced so that scratches and dings may sometimes be buffed out by a professional. Store your platinum/palladium (part of the platinum group together with osmium, rhodium, iridium) separately.
Sterling Silver (solid silver) and Vermeil (silver with a gold wash or plate):
Sterling is 92.5 percent pure silver and 7.5 percent alloy. Vermeil is sterling with a gold wash which can be 14K or 18K. Silver is tough and has been used for jewelry for centuries, long before platinum. Commonly, antique jewelry is made using silver as the mounting for diamonds with gold employed for the balance or back of the jewel to avoid tarnish coming off on the wearer’s skin. Never clean antique jewelry yourself, always have this done by a professional. Most antique jewelry should not be cleaned to resemble new jewelry, it should look worn and old. This is the quintessential charm and privilege of wearing something that has age.
Contemporary silver pieces may be cleaned with a mild detergent and water mix and a sponge. Use silver polish sparingly as it does remove a layer of silver every time you polish your silver jewelry. Only use a soft cloth to polish silver, tissue and paper towel may be too abrasive. Store silver jewelry in a tarnish-resistant bag or wrapped in a soft, clean cloth. Always keep your jewelry separated as silver does scratch. As with all precious metals, avoid coming into contact with chlorine and household cleaners.
Vermeil should not be polished with silver polish as this can remove or wear down the gold wash/plate, instead, use a mild detergent and water mix. Treat vermeil as you would your gold jewelry, keep it in a separate bag, away from other jewelry as scratching it can damage the gold wash/plate.
Pearls:
Pearls may be washed in a very mild detergent and water mix. Be sure to let them dry flat, not hanging, as that will stretch the knotting. Have your pearls re-strung every one to three years, depending on how much you wear them. Never use an ultrasonic machine, hot water, or steam to clean pearls, they are too soft and vulnerable.
Pearls should be the last thing you put on when dressing, and the first thing you take off in the evening. Be sure to wipe them off with a soft, clean, damp cloth after wearing them to remove skin oil, make up, or hair product residue. Perfume and chemicals are damaging to pearls, so please take extra precautions to not let your pearls come into contact with them. Always store pearls by themselves as they scratch very, very easily. It’s also best if you can store them flat rather than coiled, as there is less strain on the knotting.
Watches:
Watches should ALWAYS be cleaned by a trusted professional. Top jewelry professionals know all the good watch repairers and use them, as this is a dying art, so rely on only the absolute best referrals. You may wipe a watch down after wearing it using a soft, clean cloth. Service (clean) your watch every five years if only lightly used, say once a month. If you wear a watch every day, then it should be serviced every one or two years.
Manual watches (not battery operated) need to be wound once a day, preferably at the same time every day. When winding a watch, do this relatively slowly and steadily. Do not wind beyond the resistance you feel when the mainspring tightens. Always take a watch off to wind it, you can put uneven pressure on the winding stem if you turn it while it is on your wrist.
Automatic watches sometimes stop. Simply put it back on your wrist and move your wrist back and forth slowly to get it going again. Then take it off and set the time.
Water resistance for watches varies. If it is resistant to 100 meters or less, the watch should only get splashed, never immersed in water. Hot water is a watch no-no as heat can distort the seals in the watch and soap/detergent can damage the mechanisms. Diver’s watches may be immersed in water but you should always rise it after being in the pool or ocean. Don’t leave your watch in direct sunlight, this can damage the dial. Also avoid magnets, stereo speakers or computer monitors as this can affect the mechanism adversely.
Costume Jewelry:
Costume jewelry must be treated carefully as over-cleaning can absolutely ruin it. Never immerse costume pieces in water, especially if the crystal stones have a metallic backing or foiling. The moisture can get underneath this backing and dull the stone permanently. If the stones are not foiled, they can be gently washed with a Q-tip but first bring the piece to a professional to determine exactly the kind of cleaning you may do yourself. Never rub the finish of piece of costume jewelry as you can remove any gilding or gold/silver plate. A soft, clean, DRY, dust-free cloth is always safe to wipe down your costume jewelry but please do this gently! Repairs must be done by a professional and one that specializes in costume jewelry. Never use an ultrasonic machine, hot water or steam to clean vintage costume jewelry. Storing costume jewelry in the plastic bags I mentioned earlier is fine, just keep each piece separated as the materials used to make costume jewelry are less expensive and more vulnerable to rubbing or abrasion.
