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How to clean and store silver jewelry

Published on January 29, 2023

Some helpful advice on silver: what does the number 925, how to clean the jewelry, allergies.

Silver has legions of fans: not only because the jewelry made with this metal cost an average less than gold. Some people love the shine and lightness of this metal. But beware: not all the silver is all silver.

Orecchini in argento della collezione Zephirus — Mikky Eger, orecchini in argento della collezione Zephirus

Sterling Silver. There is silver and silver. Usually jewelry is not a pure metal, because silver is too soft to create jewelry that do not warp. To make it more robust, silver is melted usually together with small copper parts. Sterling Silver is a pure silver mix approximately 92.5% and 7.5% of other alloys. The number that is often imprinted, ie 925, is in fact referring to the percentage of pure metal used, 925 parts in 1000. There are countries where only the 925 silver can be labeled as pure silver, as Usa. But in other Member tolerance it is greater. In Italy, for example, it has also admitted the silver marked 800.

Anello a forma di turbante ottomano. Argento, oro, crisoprasio di Elena Okutova

Features. Silver is used by more into jewelry because is the most white metal when is as pure. Not only: it also has the highest thermal conductivity. It’s metal heated more easily than the other. Careful, however: it is also the metal that has the highest electrical conductivity, more than copper. It is not true that silver in contact with the air becomes dark. Silver is stable in pure air and pure water. Darkens, instead, when it is in contact with ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air containing traces of sulfur compounds.

Bracciale in argento rodiato e cubic zirconia di Pianegonda

Matter of skin. Silver is nice to see, both in the glossy version and in the satin, but some prefer it with the signs of oxyde which lend an air longer lived. The silver or other metals that are added in the alloy, however, can cause allergies for sensitive skin: inflammation, blackening.

Anello della collezione Paillettes di Giovanni Raspini

Plated or solid silver. In case you want to figure out if your jewelry is silver plated or solid, try to examine the joints or the wear areas. If you notice a different color of the metal (but not oxidation), this means that the jewelry is silver plated.

Collane in argento e turchese del marchio Kolié 925, indossate

How to clean silver jewelry. Silver is a soft and delicate metal, so you have to wash it gently. A cleaning can be performed easily with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste very little, provided that it is not of those brighteners or gel. In short, it takes toothpaste less aggressive as possible. Just rub gently and rinse immediately the jewel. An alternative is to use baking soda powder, made like pasta after adding few drops of water. Also in this case the risk is to eliminate too silver, so you have to gently clean and rinse immediately.

Anello Yakasha con zaffiri blu su argento rodiato nero di Flora Bhattacharya

Anello antico del Kazakistan in argento e turchese

How to clean cameos, pearls, emeralds, opals, crystals

Published on February 19, 2022

Campus/perle

How do you clean a fragile piece of jewelry, which can easily be ruined? Here are the rules to follow to clean a jewel without damaging it ♦
Maybe you have fragile, delicate jewels in your drawer. It is very easy: most of the jewels are not made with very hard stones, such as diamonds or rubies, which are more resistant stones (although despite this they can still be damaged). There are also materials that are damaged or scratched very easily, for example cameos, pearls, emeralds, opals, crystals. And the materials that are glued are also fragile, such as the stones that make up a pavé.

Attention, therefore: this type of jewelry must be treated very, very carefully. Especially when it is necessary to clean them, an operation that must be repeated regularly. By the way: even better than cleaning jewelry is to prevent it from getting dirty. Don’t wear them if you have to do gardening, wash the dishes, or if you are going to sprinkle yourself with a cream, or any other action that has to do with dirt and chemicals.

Fortunately, it is not difficult to clean a delicate jewel, as long as you follow these tips.

Mossa 1: immergere il gioiello in una tazza d'acqua — Mossa 1: immergere il gioiello in una tazza d’acqua

Mossa 2: aggiungere una goccia di sapone liquido neutro. Eventualmente utilizzare uno spazzolino morbido

Materials to use

Warm water
Liquid neutral soap (to avoid antibacterials and aggressive soaps)
Soft cloth: an old cotton T-shirt or microfibre is fine
A soft toothbrush, preferably with natural bristles

How to do

Mix warm water (neither hot nor cold) with a drop of neutral soap in a glass or on a concave dish. When the mixture boils a little and has diluted well, dip the jewels and let stand for two minutes. If dust has settled in the cracks (for example, between a stone and the metal), use the soft bristle brush very gently. Focus mainly on the underside. Make sure to rinse the solution well, always with lukewarm water: soap residues can damage the stones. When finished, dry gently with a soft cloth.

Cameos or emeralds

We can add a separate tip for cleaning cameos or emeralds. In addition to following the instructions you read earlier, in this case you can use the oil that is used for the body of babies. Emeralds, for example, can get damaged due to micro cracks, almost invisible, but which tend to widen: a drop of oil can prevent them from further ruining.
Caution

Warning: these indications are generic. Obviously, if you have a very old or particularly delicate jewel at home, ask your trusted jeweler for advice before carrying out any operations that could ruin it. Lavinia Andorno

Orecchini con perle South Sea e diamanti

Collana di perle coltivate a quattro fili venduta per 40.0000 euro

Bracciale Tudor Rose, in oro bianco, diamanti e perle

Clean gold with ammonia?

Published on April 17, 2021

Campus/ORO

How to clean gold jewelry with a simple system: a bathroom with water and ammonia. Here’s how.

Your relationship as a couple has tarnished? Or, perhaps, it is only the ring that with time no longer shines? In this case the solution is quite simple and the ring will return sparkling as when it was new. For marriage (or relationship), however, it takes other systems. Anyway, here’s how to get back shining a bridal ring, the engagement ring or other. The solution is called ammonia. Followed, however, these instructions carefully.

First: when NOT to use ammonia

First of all it must be clear that this system threatens to ruin the delicate jewels, particularly those with soft stones or pearls. Even diamonds, if the solution is too strong, they could lose transparency.
If you have jewelry of this type, follow the guides on how to clean your jewelry, you find in the top menu “da sapere.” If, instead, you have to clean gold or platinum jewelry, like the wedding ring or earrings, necklaces or bracelets, you can use this method. Another warning: do not use this method with jewels that are just plated, ie not full gold.

• Pour into a container six parts of warm water and one of ammonia. Someone suggests a more concentrated solution, with only three or four parts of ammonia but, of course, is more risky and may discolor the metal. If the jewelry is also very dirty, add a few drops of liquid detergent and stir.
• Immerse the jewelry in the solution and keep them in water for ten minutes. Who is allergic is better to wear rubber gloves.
• The past ten minutes, remove the jewelry from the container and use a toothbrush with soft bristles to gently clean your jewelry.
• After this first cleaning, it is better to put to soak the jewelry for another ten minutes, to remove the remaining dust.
• Brush gently again the metal.
• If dirt remains, repeat steps.
• Rinse with cold water.
• Dry with a soft lint-free cloth.
• Voila, the jewel is back to shine as when you purchased or when you have received as a gift.

The rings can also hide the coronavirus

Published on March 22, 2020

news/Rings

Do jewels hide the evil coronavirus? Doctors sound the alarm. And, in fact, it would be enough to reflect: of course, they can constitute a danger, in particular the rings. So you don’t have to wear rings until the health emergency is over? The answer is no, but …

The alarm involving jewelry comes from the United States. Rochelle Walensky, head of the infectious diseases division at Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote an email, published by the Usa Today newspaper. “In a situation in which we are, with extraordinary measures to limit the Covid-19 transmission, I think the removal of jewelry rings when washing hands is a wise step forward,” he said. Watches are also part of objects that can come into contact with the virus and become dangerous vehicles of infection.

But there is no need to avoid wearing rings or watches, as long as you often wash your hands scrupulously. And, while we’re at it, you can take the opportunity to also clean the jewels, starting with the rings (on gioiellis.com you will find many tips on how to proceed in the section Da sapere).

perle pulizia2 — Pulizia di una collana di perle

According to Walensky, in fact, studies on coronavirus have shown that germs can live between the skin of the finger and the metal of the rings for some time, even if there is no reliable data on how long the germs can resist in that condition. Another expert questioned by the newspaper, Nikita Desai, a pneumologist at the Cleveland Clinic, reiterates: “When health workers prepare to activate procedures in sterile conditions, such as surgery, the hands must be washed and without rings, watches and jewelry. This significantly reduces the risk of spreading the disease, thanks to the cleanest hands possible.” According to Desai, viable viruses were detected up to four hours after exposure on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 2-3 days days on plastic and stainless steel, in short, clean hands and jewels.