Jewelry can be intimidating if you aren’t familiar with it. Perhaps you’ve received a gift or inheritance, or purchased a piece on a whim. The question is: where do you start? This article is the first step to becoming an educated customer.

You can keep the jewelry in your collection sparkling by using a special polishing cloth. This helps keep your jewelry shiny without the need for chemical cleansers, which can damage the pieces. You just have to polish each piece the same as you would polish glass using the two-sided cloth. Use the side that is designated for polish, and the other to make it shine.

Harsh Chemicals

Do not use harsh chemicals such as ammonia, bleach, turpentine or acetone to clean them. Harsh chemicals will dull your stones and dissolve the enamel on your jewelry.

Be cautious of the way all of your personal jewelry gets stored together. Keep pieces separately by using compartments, boxes, hooks and holders. Don’t just put them in one huge, unorganized pile. This can damage the finer and more fragile pieces, and items like necklaces can entangle with each other and other pieces into a big mess.

Precious Metals

When storing your jewelry, be sure that you store it in a place with low humidity and free of open air. Store jewelry in a sealed box or drawstring pouch for the best protection. Air and humidity can tarnish metals of all types. It is possible to polish precious metals, but polishing non-precious metals will damage the coating, which makes the copper that metal was covering show.

When you purchase jewelry, you are investing in an item that will last a lifetime. When purchasing your next jewelry item, focus on buying a quality, well-made piece. High-quality jewelry items will have superior craftsmanship and pleasing, aesthetic designs. A credible jeweler should offer a complete history of the piece, including information about the creator and the source of the gemstones. When you are looking for jewelry of the highest quality, it is important to be careful in your choice, as you want something that will last a lifetime.

Pay attention if they usually wear studs or hoop earrings, white gold or yellow, and any other typical jewelry that they wear. Doing so can help to find the most special piece for the recipient.

Study current jewelry trends prior to shopping for a piece. Getting a nice piece of jewelry is good, but getting it at a discount is even better.

Test it out by wearing it yourself; you don’t want to give a piece that will be uncomfortable or awkward for the recipient. This also helps you to see its durability.

Do some research on the best way to clean your particular piece of jewelry. Metals, gemstones and settings all have different storage and cleaning requirements. Something that may help one piece of jewelry might hurt another one. If you’re not sure of how to properly care for your jewelry, seek advice from a reputable jeweler.

If your gemstone was treated, you should know about it before you purchase it. The type of care required will differ depending on the kind of treatment. You want to avoid unknowingly cleaning the gem with a chemical or solution that could strip off the protective treatment.

Plastic Wrap

If there are knots in your necklaces, you can easily untangle them. If you are about to give up, get some baby oil and plastic wrap. Put the necklace on the plastic wrap and add a little mineral oil or baby oil. Using sewing needles, you should be able to separate the knot. When finished, wash it with a little dishwashing liquid and pat dry.

As you now know, jewelry has a variety of components to it. If you research jewelry items carefully, you can be certain that the pieces you purchase are high-quality. The world of jewelry is filled with many exciting discoveries. These tips can help you start your journey armed with knowledge.