Take care of your jewellery and it will shine for years. While every piece of jewellery looks beautiful, they can end up looking faded and may lose their shine if not cared for well. If you want your jewellery to look as good as new, then you need to take good care of it. Follow these simple steps to take care of your jewellery.
Sort out your jewellery whether it is imitation, pearl, gold, and silver so that you can use different methods for cleaning them. Place them separately - not jumbled together. If possible, separate gold and all other jewels from each other. Keep pearls especially in a different bag or box. Make sure that pearls' container is not too dry or airtight (they can get damaged).
Store your jewellery in zip or drawstring purses. Ensure that they of soft cloth like chintz, velvet or cotton. Avoid linen, net, georgette and jersey.This is the best way to protect your jewellery from external elements. If not, you can also put them in wooden boxes, their walls lined with foam and lay them on soft cotton wool.
Ask your local jewellery maker to inspect your jewellery on a regular basis for any damage. Try yourself not to harm it too much by dropping it or keeping it along with other sharp jewelry.
Use silver ‘dip’ type cleaners for cleaning silver jewellery. It is safer and the most effective way to retain shine in jewellery but don’t leave your jewellery in the dip for more than a few seconds. Make sure you dry them properly post cleaning.
Regularly polish your platinum and silver jewellery to avoid tarnishing. Polish them weekly or at least once a month (necessarily).
Gemstone jewellery needs to be taken extra care of, and you can do this by cleaning it with a soft brush and mild soapy water. You may also clean these items using jewellery cleaning solution as recommended by a professional.
Clean your antique jewellery only with the advice of a specialist or you risk ruining it. Don't take it near things that are high in acidity or chemical.
Try not to expose your jewellery to everyday chemicals such as hair products, cosmetics, perfumes, or direct sunlight, as they are likely to damage them.Keep them away from vinegar, lemon and acidic foods as well.
Avoid getting beaded or threaded pearl jewellery wet, they may lose their sheen. Simply wipe them with a soft damp cloth if they are exposed to cosmetics or perfume. Consult your jeweler whether it is safe to clean them with mild soap or toothpaste.
Avoid using abrasive cleaners on jewellery. The chemicals in these cleaner are extremely harsh; and are likely to strip the metals. Use them only for silver and gold; and only when it is necessary since they aren’t always the best solution.
Don’t use silver ‘dip’ cleaners on gold jewellery. Make use of jewellery cleaners intended solely for the purpose of cleaning gold.
Do not try to clean damaged jewellery, the problem can get worse.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
飾品保養小常識
鍍金飾品
- 平日保養: K金飾品表面會因長期配戴,因為磨擦而佈滿細小傷痕,也會降低飾品亮度,因此平常可以用專用布(非拭銀布)擦拭。
- 一般清潔: 平時清潔時可以使用酒精布擦拭,讓污垢與酒精一同揮發,再用清水及軟式牙刷輕刷,接著用布擦拭並使用吹風機吹乾,就可以維持飾品亮度。
- 若累積較多污垢時,也可以使用專用的K金清潔液搭配中性清潔液。
- 超音波清潔: 如果已經嚴重磨損及變色,可以利用超音波清洗。
- 定期電鍍: 雖然平時可以使用專用布擦拭來達到表面拋整的效果,但建議可以定期將飾品做一之拋磨與電鍍處理,就能隨時保持飾品的光亮。
合金飾品
- 避免接觸濕氣、水氣，或放置在濕度高的環境下。
海水的鹽分和雨水的酸，都會腐蝕金屬並造成氧化，而溫泉裡面含有的硫磺會使飾品變色以及產生硫化作用。潮濕也是加速飾品氧化的兇手之一，所以請盡量避免將飾品帶進浴室或蒸氣房內，如不得已碰到水(例：下雨、洗手…)，應盡速將飾品擦乾，或暫時取下。
- 避免接觸到含有化學添加物的產品。
任何有添加化學物的產品其實都會加快飾品氧化的速度。常見的例如：防曬乳、化妝品、香水、定型噴霧、清潔劑、泳池中的氯…等。建議先噴香水，再配戴飾品，不要讓飾品與香水有直接性的接觸。
- 「汗水」會影響飾品。
人體汗水酸鹼值為偏高的PH4，研究證實，長時間接觸會對金屬造成腐蝕作用及加速合金氧化，然而飾品長期使用下，難免會因為接觸到汗水形成腐蝕作用，因此需盡可能避免在流汗的情況下配戴，如沾到汗水，也建議暫時取下並盡速擦乾，保持乾燥收納。
- 養成良好的使用收納習慣。
台灣的氣候潮濕，空氣中的濕度相對也較高，沒有配戴時，務必用乾布將飾品的汗水、油脂擦拭乾淨，以阻絕空氣保持乾燥收納，並且將飾品個別分開存放，避免相互磨擦，造成鍍膜刮傷受損。
- 千萬不可以用拭銀布擦拭合金商品！
拭銀布是專門用來擦拭純銀飾品，如果拿來擦拭合金飾品，反而會將定色薄膜全部擦光光喔！
貼心小提醒：
合金的款式不同於純K金、純銀，配戴久了會因長時間接觸空氣及各類物質，而出現金屬氧化或是變暗，儘管在不使用狀況下，持續與空氣接觸，都會產生氧化現象，也就是我們常見的褪色以及變黑，這些都是正常的化學現象，而氧化褪色的速度，則會依收納方式及使用環境不同而有所差異。因此建議養成良好的使用收納習慣，以減緩氧化速度，延長飾品的壽命！