|
|
To
protect your jewelry, always take care to shield pieces from
scratches, sharp blows, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures
and sunlight. Make certain to carefully store any fine jewelry.
Store each piece of jewelry separately, so it doesn't scratch
other pieces.
When doing household tasks such as gardening and cleaning,
remove your rings.
Put your jewelry on after washing and applying any makeup/hair
spray.
Never wear jewelry while swimming in a swimming pool. The
chlorine can cause damage to various gemstones and gold.
Gemstones may become loose in their settings and possibly fall
out.
Avoid keeping your jewelry next to a heating vent, window sill
or on a car dashboard. Store jewelry away from sunlight as the
sun may fade the gemstones.
If you have bead necklaces, such as lapis or pearls, store them
flat because silk stretches over time. Most jewelers will
restring necklaces or reset stones. If you wear your bead/pearl
necklaces regularly, have them restrung by your jeweler once a
year. Do NOT store pearls in plastic bags! Pearls require a
certain level of moisture in storage. Check with your local
jeweler for the best long-term storage options if you know you
won’t be wearing your pearls often.
Hardness is based on a gem-trade standard called the Mohs scale.
The scale goes from 1 to 10 and the higher the Mohs scale
number, the harder the stone is. Diamonds are a 10 on the Mohs
scale. Anything with a Mohs scale rating of less than 7, such as
coral, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, and turquoise, is easily
scratched. Gold, silver, and platinum are only Mohs 2.5 to 4.
Gold jewelry should always be taken off before swimming or
showering, since chlorine can discolor and soaps can build up a
dull film on gold. Sterling silver will polish up by rubbing or
buffing it with a soft cotton cloth or a Sunshine Cloth. Silver
stored in plastic bags with an interlocking seal will be less
prone to tarnish.
Platinum jewelry can be cleaned by using a specifically designed
jewelry cleaner or you can have your jeweler clean and polish
your platinum.
Be certain that stones mounted in rings are not loose or
rattling in their setting. The prongs of a ring can and do wear
down. If the prongs wear down too much or break, you risk losing
your gemstone(s). Prongs can be easily "retipped" by most
jewelers to keep the stone(s) secure.
|
Click on the gem
name for more information about that stone.
Alexandrite
Amber
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Aventurine
Bloodstone
Carnelian
Chrysoprase
Citrine
Coral
Diamond
Emerald
Garnet
Jasper
Kunzite
Lapis Lazuli
Malachite
Moonstone
Obsidian
Onyx
Opal
Pearl
Peridot
Quartz
Rose Quartz
Ruby
Sapphire
Tanzanite
Tiger Eye
Topaz
Tourmaline
Turquoise
Zircon
|
|
|
|
