Cleaning tips for your jewelry

We've listed some great cleaning tips to keep your gold and silver shining as bright as when you bought it. There are many ways to clean your jewelry, but we focus on the best and easiest way, which is cleaning gold and silver with baking soda.

Over time, gold and silver can start to look dull and lose a bit of their luster. This is because jewelry is exposed to many external factors such as dust, perspiration, makeup, perfume and oils.

Of course we want your jewellery to last forever and we also know that sometimes dirt can build up in the deepest crevices and engravings, especially with earrings and cartilage piercings. It is often difficult to clean jewelry properly and to give it back its shine, without scratching .

Baking Soda is a chemical that can be found in almost every household. This cleaning solution is easy, quick, cheap and safe to use and can be used to clean almost anything. Baking Soda is a naturally softer chemical, making it an excellent product for getting your jewelry properly cleaned without scrubbing

Baking soda
You can also add vinegar to the cleaning process, but since some of our jewelry contain gemstones we prefer to avoid this. Vinegar is a less gentle detergent and can affect the natural protective layer of gemstones, making the gemstones loose their shine.

What you need

1. A bowl (which can withstand boiling water)
2. Boiling water
3. Aluminium foil
4. Baking soda
5. Cleaning cloth
6. A bit of patience

Steps you take:

• Place the aluminum foil in the bowl with the shiny surface facing up. The shiny surface is the side where the jewelry and the aluminum meet.
• Place the jewelry in the bowl with aluminum foil.
• Put baking soda in the bowl on top of the jewelry until the jewelry is completely covered.
• Pour one or two cups (250 - 500ml) of boiling water into the bowl.
• Let your jewelry rest for 5 minutes in the mixture of water and baking soda.
• Remove your jewelry from the bowl and rinse off with cold water. Make sure you rinse off all of the baking soda. After this, dry your jewelry thoroughly with a jewelry polishing cloth. If you don't have a polishing cloth, use a soft and lint-free cloth. Be careful not to use a hard cloth as this can scratch your jewelry.
• After cleaning your jewelry, let it air dry for a while to make sure it is completely dry before storing it.

Baking soda and dish soap
The only difference in supplies with this cleaning tip, is that we also add dish soap to the baking soda.

What you will need

1. A bowl (that can handle boiling water)
2. Boiling water
3. Aluminum foil
4. Baking soda
5. Mild detergent
6. Cleaning cloth
7. Little bit of patience

The steps you take:

• Put a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of mild dishwashing liquid and a cup of boiling (250ml) water in the bowl. Mix the ingredients together. The jewelry should be completely submerged. If you think this amount is not enough, you can add an extra teaspoon of both.
• Place the jewelry in the bowl with the mixture of baking soda, dish soap and water. Let the jewelry soak completely submerged for half an hour.
• Check the result after half an hour. When you are satisfied, it is time to rinse off the jewelry separately and thoroughly with warm running water. Make sure the cleaning mixture is completely removed.
• Dry your jewelry thoroughly, preferably with a jewelry cleaning cloth. If you don't have a polishing cloth, use a soft and lint-free cloth. Be careful not to use a hard cloth because it can damage your jewelry.
• After cleaning your jewelry, let it air dry for a while to make sure it is completely dry before storing it.

Remember, never be too rough with your jewelry and especially not with gemstones. All pieces are unique and come from nature and we want to keep them as beautiful as when we bought them.

With love,

Aurelle