How to Care For Your Gold Jewelry
By Alice Stacy
As a precious metal, gold represents less work to maintain its
appearance than other metals, such as silver. Gold does not tarnish,
smudge, or discolor, but it can become dulled by contact with soaps,
perspiration, hand creams and other substances from your daily life.
A good rule of thumb, is to wash your hands before putting on, or taking
off, gold jewelry. This prevents contamination with natural body oils
and other matter that your hands have touched. Also, if you're going to
be wearing perfume, creams, lotions or other chemical substances, put
them on before your jewelry. Gold items will be dulled and dirty from
lying on skin that is still moist with make-up, or if they are in the
line of fire from hairspray.
Always be sure to remove your rings before immersing your hands in the
dishwater or laundry. Repeated exposure to harsh chemicals like
chlorine, can permanently damage the gold's luster. That also means
removing rings when using swimming pools.
Store gold jewelry that you aren't wearing, in their original boxes, or
clean, cloth bags in a drawer away from other jewelry. Never leave
pieces jumbled together in a box, as they can scratch each other,
particularly if they happen to be set with hard gemstones. Even wrapping
each piece in plain tissue paper, will preserve the surface and the
shine.
The gold portions of jewelry can be cleaned with a mild soap solution
and a soft cloth for polishing. A used, soft-bristled toothbrush may be
helpful in reaching small crevices such as the links of a chain, or the
underside of settings in a ring.
If you love jewelry, why not make a career out of it? Visit
http://www.jewelrysalesbusiness.com
for company profiles and connect with representatives.
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