Jewelry is always a great way to express your feelings whether it is love, pride, or to celebrate a great achievement. Even seemingly small gestures will be treasured for years to come. Whether you intend to keep a piece yourself or give it to someone special, the tips presented below might teach you something new about jewelry.

Try using a polishing cloth on all of the jewelry in a collection. You can keep your items shiny without using chemicals. Use a two-sided cloth to simply polish your jewelry as if it were composed of glass. Use a two-sided cleaning cloth, one for polishing and one for shining.

Be cautious about your jewelry storage. It is better to use boxes, compartments, holders, and hooks for keeping pieces separate. Avoiding piling your nice jewelry pieces into one big heap in a box. This haphazard approach can cause damage to the individual components of fine jewelry, and create a tangled mess.

Sterling Silver

If you are in the market to buy some silver jewelry, don’t forget to take a magnet along with you. By using the magnet you can quickly determine if the jewelry item is made of a cheaper metal and not sterling silver. Sterling silver should always bear a stamp that says Sterling, Ster. or .925. If a particular piece is not stamped, you should be cautious of its authenticity.

Knowing what type of jewel you are buying when you purchase jewelry is very important. The three different types of stones are natural, imitation and synthetic. Imitation has little value, as it is generally plastic, while synthetic and natural are considered to be real gems. Natural stones are found in the earth and are mined out, while synthetic ones are grown in laboratories.

Always look at a number of different places when you are shopping for diamonds. View the piece you are currently considering closely and then compare it against some other pieces that are in the running. Don’t fall for any of the tricks used by shady dealers. They employ these tactics to make a diamond look better than it really is.

If you wish to keep a piece of jewelry looking fantastic, preventing it from tarnishing is important. For example, avoid taking your jewelry somewhere it can get wet. Water exposure can cause different metals to become tarnished, dull or rusted. Painting a thin layer of clear-colored nail polish on your metal jewelry can add a protective barrier to it.

Costume Jewelry

You should ensure the quality of the pieces of costume jewelry that you purchase for your collection. Costume jewelry can prove to be a good investment, but also a costly one; keep in mind the pieces you wish to add to your collection don’t show too much wear. An item in good condition holds its value better in the long run.

Costume jewelry requires specific care. Costume jewelry is generally bound by glue rather than settings and is therefore, a lot more fragile. Don’t immerse costume jewelry in water or use chemicals on it. The best care is to wipe with a warm damp cloth and then dry with another cloth. This will keep any costume jewelry that you have looking great.

As was already stated, jewelry makes the ideal gift for many reasons. The piece does not have to be over-the-top and ostentatious either, even a small item is guaranteed to please the receiver. Even the jewelry you buy and own for yourself will benefit when you learn more about selecting and caring for it. No matter what, follow these suggestions to get more joy from jewelry.