Spring Cleaning… Ring Cleaning!

It has been a very strange winter here in Utah. We’ve had minimal snow with record warm temperatures and a lot of sunshine. This has prompted green grass, early flower buds and the feeling that Spring is right around the corner!

Since it was so nice outside I decided I would begin some of my Spring cleaning. At my house this consists of opening all the windows, getting out the mops, scrubbing gloves, rags and the cleaner.. It includes windows, walls, doors, dressers and blinds – all the places that the winter dust congregates!

As I was dusting my dresser I thought, why not pull out my rings and necklaces and give them a good cleaning as well as the rest of my house. So, today I thought I’d share a few ideas about keeping your jewelry clean and healthy!

How to keep your rings looking beautiful:

Why take your rings to a professional jeweler? During a professional ring cleaning, the jeweler helps keep rings in ideal condition and protects your investment by inspecting the ring for signs of any damage, loose stones, and checking prongs and mountings to ensure diamonds are secure.

• Rings should be professionally cleaned every six months.
• Cleaned at home monthly to help remove built up body oil, perspiration, household products, etc.

Cleaning rings also offers health benefits. Most people know that hand washing helps prevent the spread of germs, but have never considered that rings can harbor germs.

• A study* of ICU nurses revealed that even after hand washing, nurses who wore rings had a higher amount of bacteria on their hands than those who did not.
• A second study** revealed that after a thorough hand washing, there was a higher number of germs present on ring fingers than on fingers where no ring was worn. The best way to guard against illness is by removing rings before washing both hands and rings separately.

Doing it yourself – Cleaning your jewelry at home:

We have several great articles on our blog, but take a look at this one one on How to Clean Copper and Brass Jewelry; CLICK HERE for the article. You can also read more about Helping your Silver Jewerly Survive the Summer. This is a great article as we being prepping for the summer months!

Cleaning and Polishing Supplies for all jewelry:

ShineBrite Silver Dip – 8 Ounces In less than two minutes you can easily remove tarnish and oxidation to restore the shine and brilliance to all silver jewelry. ShineBrite will even remove Liver of Sulphur! Instantly bring out lost shine to sterling silver, fine silver, and silver plating. Simply place silver pieces into the included basket, let it soak for up to two minutes and then rinse with warm water. Dry and polish with a soft cloth. ShineBrite is made in the USA and is biodegradable. Does not have a bad smell or odor and comes in an 8 ounce container. Not recommended for use on soft stones (pearls, opals, etc.). Polishing Cloths – Pack of 4 These cloths can be used to polish wire and sheet metal but you must put some red rouge on them. They do not come pre impregnated with polish. Just lay them down and scratch your red rouge bar against them about 10 times and their ready to polish. —Four piece colored terry wiping cloth set Jewlery Polishing Kit For the beginner or the professional, this tumbler is the ideal tumbler for the home jeweler or lapidary. It has a 3lb capacity with one rubber barrel. Does a quality job of hardening wire and brings a professional finish to gold and silver wire jewelry. Can also be used to tumble polish rough gem material. Perfect size for the home jeweler short on space.

Quick Brite Cleaning Solution Spray This cleaning solution is biodegradable, safe, fast and easy to use. Simply spray a mist of QuikBrite onto the object to be cleaned. Allow it to set one to two minutes and wipe off with a clean cotton cloth. This cleaner contains enzymes to remove all body oils, general debris and grime accumulated on all jewelry and stones. QuikBrite is organic in nature and is non-toxic. It contains no phenols, ammonia, sulphur compounds, nitrates or harmful components. Red Rouge Polishing Paste – 4 Ounce Used for polishing and buffing gold filled wire, 14 karat gold wire, silver, brass, and copper. 1/4 pound bar. Does not contain any coarse material. Great for creating a mirror finish on all metals. Benchtop Polisher This great new polisher from EURO TOOL is smaller than a mouse pad. It has pre-lubricated ball bearings and a dust-proof motor housing that makes it almost maintenance free. This precision polisher is well balanced so you don’t have to sacrifice quality or speed. It works with standard wheels and buffs up to 4″. This polisher includes 2 tapered spindles, 2 medium abrasive wheels and 2 replacement motor brushes. It is 110 volts with 1/6 HP motor. It is UL listed and has a variable speed from 1,800 to 7,500 RPM. 1-year warranty.

If your looking to just do a little personal “spring cleaning” or if you need cleaning and polishing supplies for the jewelry that you create and sell, we carry everything you need to keep your jewelry in tip-top-shape! Take a look at our CLEANING AND POLISHING supplies today!