Have you been thinking about accessorizing your outfits with a burst of color by choosing just the right jewelry pieces? Whether you want to purchase jewelry for yourself or for a friend, the following tips will certainly help you pick something out.
Steer clear of ammonia, bleach or other strong chemical solvents when you need to clean these items. Using them may result in damage to your jewelry, may cause dulling of gemstones, and may erode enamel work.
Take a moment to consider how your valuable jewelry is stored and sorted. It is better to use boxes, compartments, holders, and hooks for keeping pieces separate. Do not just throw them into piles in a box. Not only can it damage finer, fragile pieces, but it can also make a tangled mess out of chains.
When storing your jewelry, be sure that you store it in a place with low humidity and free of open air. A box designed especially for jewelry gives the best protection, but a cloth bag can also work. Air and humidity will make the metals in jewelry tarnish. Polishing will work to restore the color and shine for precious metals, but with non-precious metals, polishing will not help the change in color.
Make sure you know what kind of gem you are getting when you are buying jewelry. Gems can be natural, imitation or synthetic. You have to know that imitation refers to colored plastic. While natural gems come out of mines, synthetic ones come out of laboratories.
Before purchasing a piece of jewelry, be sure to ask the jeweler about insurance policies. This is so that if something happens to your piece, you can return it to have it replaced or repaired. There are even some jewelers that will cover the replacement if the piece has been lost or stolen.
With the advice you’ve learned here, you should be better prepared to select, appraise and care for any kind of jewelry. Whether you buy it, give it, receive it or inherit it, a fine piece of well-cared-for jewelry is something you can enjoy for many years to come.