The necklace you have been wearing for years symbolizes your success and achievement. It has given you power, influence, and prestige over the years. Nothing is more important than your jewelry except how it looks and feels. Unfortunately, your necklace's luster may have faded or tarnished over time due to all the sweat and wear it has seen. The problem is not just how it looks, but how badly it has worn away with use. Your necklace is no longer as shining and polished as it once was. The good news is that all you need to do is follow a few easy steps and make your necklace look new again.
All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
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Remove Your Hooks
Using a cloth or a jewelry cleaning pad, carefully remove any dirt or debris that may be stuck inside the clasp of your necklace. You can use water if you want to clean inside your clasp. Make sure to place the necklace inside a bowl of clean water. The bowl should be deep enough so that your necklace is fully covered. Allow it to soak for about five minutes. Afterward, remove your necklace from the water and allow it to dry completely before proceeding.
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Buff It Down
Once your necklace is dry, buff it down with a polishing cloth or a jewelry polishing pad. You can also use an old toothbrush to get into those hard places, such as around the pendants and on the clasp. As you work, move slowly, so you do not scratch or damage your jewelry.
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Add a Protective Layer of Sealant
After buffing your necklace for about two minutes, you can add a layer of sealant to it. Generally, jewelry sealants are available through stores like Wal-Mart and other reputable stores. You can also create your own by mixing a few drops of lemon juice with plain water in a bowl or cup. Another option is to use clear nail polish, which works just as well as commercial sealants. Pour the mixture into a tiny container like an eye dropper bottle, dip the tip of your jewelry into it and allow it to dry for about 5 minutes before wearing it again.
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Repeat the Polishing Process
Over the next few weeks, you can repeat the polishing process to keep your jewelry looking fresh. The polish will protect your jewelry from everyday wear and tear and will make it last longer. It is safe for metals such as gold, silver, copper and brass.
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Clean Your Pendants and Clasp
As you go through the polishing process, watch out for the glue or the item inside your clasp that is used to hold things together. If it is loose, place a bit of glue on it before you push it back in place. Use a toothpick to push it back through your clasp after you have buffed down all of your necklace.
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Restring Your Necklace
Do not tie your necklace as you normally would. Instead, tie your necklace to the clasp using a wire or a thin strip of leather. Tie it tightly and then attach your pendants and hooks back to their respective areas.
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Give It a Good Shine
With a polishing cloth or pad, buff your necklace for another two minutes. In this case, you are not just buffing it down to remove stains or discoloration, but you want to make sure there is a good shine as well. Apply a few drops of polish to the cloth or pad, with your item on it, and buff it again.
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Wipe It Down Again
After the second polishing process in steps 5 through 7, you will want to give your necklace a final wipe down with a clean cloth or towel. This will remove any excess polish or residue left over from the polishing process that may have gotten into cracks and crevices of your piece. Then use another layer of sealant if you so desire, as long as you do so by following all of the steps above. Adding sealant after you let your item dry out between polishing sessions is important to keep tarnish away from gold jewelry.
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Repeat the Polishing Process Every Two to Three Months
You can repeat the same polishing process once or twice a month so that your necklace will last longer and last better. You will see, however, as your necklaces shine no matter how many times you do this process, so it is up to you whether or not you want to keep doing it or not.
FAQ
What is the difference between polishing and cleaning?
Polishing removes dirt, debris, and grime from your necklace.
Cleaning removes stains from your necklace.
What is sealant?
Sealants are like thin layers of glue that coat jewelry or other porous materials so that they do not become separated or lose their color when exposed to water. Cleaning materials such as toothbrushes are used to apply sealants to a piece of jewelry so that it does not get worn away over time. Sealant can be made by following the same process used to create polish by mixing lemon juice with water.
What is buffing?
It's a process used to remove tarnish and age from a piece of jewelry. It creates a buffer zone between the item and oxygen so that it doesn't corrode.
What is the best water to use for cleaning?
Water with some acidity or alkalinity such as distilled water or rainwater will do the job. You can also use soft or hard soap to cleanse your piece. To make it easier, add some drop of dish soap on your cloth before you polish. However, avoid using harsh chemicals such as ammonia or bleach when cleaning your jewelry because they may damage it over time and make your piece discolor.
What can I use to wipe my jewelry?
You can use a clean, soft cloth or towel. The towel should be soft and absorbent so that you can remove excess moisture from your piece.
How do I know when to clean or polish my jewelry?
Chances are, if you have silver or gold jewelry, you will be able to tell if it needs cleaning or polishing. The easiest way to tell when your piece needs cleaning is by looking at it in natural light (such as sunlight) and watching how the light reflects off of it. If the surface on one side appears duller than the other, then it is time for you to clean your necklace. You can also check to see if the surface is discolored or stained by using a piece of cloth or towel. Dampen it with distilled water and then rub the piece to see if it comes out; if it does not come out, then your necklace needs polishing.
When should I restring my necklace?
When you have had your necklace for a while, and you notice that the string holding all of your pendants on it is torn or becoming loose, you will need to restring your piece. Do this in about 1 inch increments so that you do not get too confused when trying to finish it at the end. You can use a piece of leather or wire to hold the pendant to your necklace when it is time to restring it.
Cautions
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Never Use Chemicals to Clean Your Jewelry
The two end results of chemicals used for cleaning are discoloration and damage. When you use a chemical, it will change the metal of your jewelry. If it is silver or gold jewelry, you may leave behind a tinted surface and this can be seen on the metal as brownish-gray spots.The metals will corrode as well as oxidize over time as it does not repel any water or liquids from being absorbed into the metal.
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Avoid Rubber Bands
Rubber bands are not only a bad idea because they break and lose their elasticity over time, but rubber is also one of the worst things that you can put on your jewelry. Not only will it leave behind stains on your piece, but it will also cause discoloration and damage to your piece if not removed in time.
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Don’t Use Water to Clean Your Jewelry
The two main reasons why water cleaning should be avoided at all costs include the fact that water contains oxygen and ozone; both of which can corrode metals over time. Another reason to avoid water is that it can cause rust or discoloration on the metal.
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Avoid Using Sugary Foods on Your Jewelry
Foods such as candy, especially chocolate and hard candy contain sugar as well as waxes, oils, and fats that are hard to remove from your jewelry without causing damage to your piece.
Conclusion
Cleaning and polishing your piece of jewelry should not have to be a daunting task. Follow these guidelines and use them as a guideline to help you clean your jewelry on a regular basis. The more often you clean it, the less likely it will have problems down the road, so do not skip a cleaning session anymore because time is running out on your piece of jewelry. Cleaning can also help you look into investing in new pieces in order to match the style or change things up and make it look very different from what it did before.