If you invest in a beautiful piece of jewelry the last thing you want is for it to not shine like the first day you bought it, who wants dingy diamonds? People ask me all the time how I keep my jewelry sparkling and I put together my top 5 ways to clean my jewelry at home. Some may sound crazy but we promise they all work magic and will get your jewelry back to looking brand new! No need to go pay for professional cleaning when you can do most of them with the items sitting on your bar cart, and under your bathroom sink!
Ingredients for Success
- Toothbrush
- Cleaning cloth (one that will not leave particles)
- Toothpaste
- Windex
- Liquid dish detergent
- Beer
- Vodka
- Seltzer water
Toothpaste for Everything
My go-to method for cleaning my fine jewelry is with whatever toothpaste I have at home and an old toothbrush, you do not want to use one that you still use! I put a little toothpaste on the brush and run some water over my jewelry and start scrubbing. The bristles will get in between the hard to reach areas and get all the dirt and grime away as well as shine up your stones and gold. Once you scrub for a minute or so rinse well under hot water so all the toothpaste is taken off so it does not dry on what you just cleaned. DO NOT use on pearls.
Windex/Dish Detergent for Grime
Spray the windex on your jewelry and let sit for a minute, use an old toothbrush to scrub the stones, this is best for hard gemstones. Rinse away with water to remove the access liquid and dry with a cleaning cloth. Liquid dish detergent works in the same way. Mix a few drops of liquid detergent in a cup with warm water and use a brush to scrub your jewelry. Once finished rinse off with water and wipe down with a damp cloth to get all the soapy residue off. Hang to dry so all the access water runs out. DO NOT use on porous stones because the water will soak into them too much, pearls, coral and ivory for example. Windex is also a very good trick to use when you cannot get a ring off, spray a generous amount of windex on your ring and finger and wiggle it around and it comes right off and does not leave it dirty like lotions can!
Beer for Gold
Gold over time can get matte and loose its shine, who wants that? To get your gold's shine back pour a little light colored beer onto a cleaning cloth and gently scrub your gold with it. This way works great for solid gold jewelry, try to keep away from using it on pieces with gemstones.
Vodka for Diamonds
I hate nothing more than when my sparkling diamonds loose their sparkle! Nobody likes a dirty diamond, I can promise you that! To shine them up pour some vodka onto a cleaning cloth and wipe them down, to really clean the hard to reach areas pour some vodka into a glass, drop your jewels in, and swirl it around. Rinse with warm water and pat to dry, and voila, you have dazzling diamonds again!
Seltzer for Gemstones
When your precious and semi-precious stones start to look dirty, like anything else, it is time to put them in a bath. Fill a cup with seltzer water and drop your pieces in overnight. The bubbles will clean your jewelry and have them looking new by morning, rinse them off in water and hang to dry.
There you have it, our top 5 ways to clean your jewelry at home! We hope these work and get your jewelry looking brand new!
Disclaimer: When cleaning your jewelry over a sink make sure to have some sort of cloth or catch so nothing can go down the drain! Last thing we want is for your jewelry to fall. Before cleaning your stones make sure that they are able to be cleaned, some, like pearls or other porous stone, are very sensitive and have their own methods for cleaning.