If you’d like to make your jewels sparkle like the day you received  them, it’s not that hard to do.

Diamonds and faceted stones sparkle from the light entering through the top, reflecting and bouncing around inside and then reflected back to you.  Skin oils, lotion, soap film, hair products or a combination of all of these behind the gem will absorb that light and prevent it from returning as sparkle and scintillation (the colorful rainbow effect).

“…ammonia is still the best”.

There are many cleaning products out there and several are marketed as ‘formulated for gems and jewelry’ specifically.  In all of the products we’ve seen, we still come to the same conclusion and that is,  good ‘ol ammonia is still the best.  Whether it’s a brand name (Parsons) or a generic sudsy ammonia, it matters little but (non scented) ammonia is hard to beat.  It’s inexpensive and a bottle would last you years.

We recommend a baby’s toothbrush and a half and half mixture (or as strong as you can stand).  If you have diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topaz, and garnets, just about all of the Quartz family of gemstones, and some others also, cleaning is fairly easy and safe.

Soak the stone jewelry to loosen up any foreign material, and using the toothbrush, try to get into the nooks and crannies behind the gems.  Rinse well under warm or hot water (not over an open drain), and pat dry.  If you have access to isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, dipping your jewelry into it will remove water spots.  Again gently pat dry.

“…Another consideration is the metals…”

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Another consideration is the metals the stones are set into.  Gold and platinum jewelry will be unaffected by cleaning.  One exception to this is if the piece of jewelry is antiqued.  The antiquing process, either plated or painted, is a surface treatment and may be modified or even removed by some cleaning processes.  Copper and sterling silver jewelry are affected by ammonia and will change the appearance of the piece.  Enameled jewelry also presents some special problems regarding cleaning.