Cleaning Vintage Jewelry

Today I will discuss cleaning vintage jewelry. We all have or have had a piece of vintage jewelry that we've bought second hand or accidently spilled our coffee or ice cream on. Oops! What now? Well, a lot depends on the type of jewelry you have. If your stones or cabochon are prong set, then you have a little more leeway in the cleaning process. If your stones (or cabochon) are not prong set and glued in, then a little more care needs to be taken. First I suggest a quick in-out dip in luke-warm water whether or not the stones are prong set. Hot water will disintegrate glue or, turn the glue a milky white color if left on too long, possibly causing the stones to fall out. Dip your jewelry in and out once. Clean top of stones lightly with a soft piece of tissue or paper towel rubbing lightly over stones. Try to avoid cloth as it can, and will, catch on jewelry parts. Continue until you are happy with your cleaning result. Now dry stones by pressing a fresh piece of tissue or paper towel on the stones. The tissue/paper towel will naturally absorb any moisture, so you don't have to rub, just press. Continue process until tissue or paper towel remains dry when pressed on the piece. If you have a gunky mess on your piece, wet a cotton tipped swab (again with luke-warm water) and rub back and forth until the heavier stuff is off. Another great trick is to quickly wet the piece and use the pointy end of a toothpick. Works great for those hard to get at areas and gives your cleaning a bit of "safe muscle". I know, why bother with that when I can pick up cleaners in a jar. Well, those cleaners in a jar are very harsh, even the gentle ones are harsher than you think. Like water, they will disintegrate glued on parts, so be careful. I've run a few tests myself and found that if you do decide to clean with these products, then leave your jewelry in for half the recommended time. I've done it, I've tried it, and it doesn't come cleaner by leaving it in the full recommended time. Sterling silver jewelry cleaner is the same. Just leave it in for half the recommended time. You can always re-dip the silver after it has been dried. Whenever using these commercial jewelry cleaners, remember that your jewelry has to be rinsed off in water so the piece doesn't corrode from the harsh chemicals in the cleaners. So remember what you will need is shown below.  Gloves, tissue or paper towel for stones. Cotton swabs for heavier soiled areas. Toothpics for hard to reach stubborn areas. As a footnote, I do not recommend toothpaste as it is abrasive. It does clean quickly but it can also leave scratches and can be hard to remove from stone settings and other tight areas. If you feel you need soap, a wet paper towel or tissue dabbed on a bar of hand soap is acceptable. Lastly, that annoying green stuff that sometimes accompanies an old piece. You've seen it, the annoying crusty green hopelessly hanging on to the metal. Seen it, have had lots of questions as how to get rid of it. It looks like the stuff on a battery after it's been left in a toy too long. Simple answer, and the most effective, is to get (better off to borrow as you don't need much) some calcium/lime/rust cleaner available just about everywhere. Dip a cotton swab in it and lightly rub on some of the juice. Count to 30 and gently rub at the green with the same cotton swab. Use the very bottom cotton part on the stick to get into corners. You can also gently use a tooth pick.  I've personally tried this as a last hope on a 1940's piece, and it works! Finish off by wetting a paper towel or tissue and wiping off the chemicals. Use another to lightly dry it off and,  ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION WHEN WORKING WITH CLEANERS. I am not an expert, but these methods have been used by myself. As with any repair, things can go wrong, so use these suggestions at your own risk. I hope this has been helpful to you and if you have any cleaning tips you would like to add, just post it to our blog. Have a great day!                Rob Marshall at http://