Whose beautiful treasured jewellery is in much need of some tender loving care and a bit of a spruce up?

The best way to clean your jewellery will always be to bring it to us to have it professionally cleaned and checked for any loose stones or repair work that is needed – but the second best option that is quick, easy and manageable in the comfort of your own home is as follows:

The first step to cleaning your jewellery

The first step in cleaning your jewellery is to get the following items:

Two small bowls of warm water.

A soft bristled toothbrush for brushing over the surface of the jewellery.

Dish detergent (we find Morning Fresh works the best due to its degreasing properties). Just a couple of drops in a bowl of warm water is enough.

A soft cloth or tissue to dry your jewellery after cleaning it

Immerse the items of jewellery you wish to clean in the bowl of warm water and detergent for a couple of minutes. This will soften any dirt, oils and grit that may have built up. Using the toothbrush gently, brush over the surface of the metal and gemstones. Don’t forget to get in behind the gemstones and any hidden areas.
Once you have finished cleaning the jewellery item place it in the second bowl of warm water to remove any soap and detergent residue, then remove and dry with a tissue.
Note: never clean or rinse off your jewellery over a sink. Using a bowl will prevent items falling down the drain or loose gemstones being lost.

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Cleaning your pearl and opal jewellery

The best way to clean your pearl (and/or opal) jewellery is to dampen a soft cloth or tissue with plain water and gently wipe the surface of each pearl.
Never soak or use detergents on pearls as it can break down and damage the surface, refrain from getting a strand of pearls wet as the moisture can weaken the silk they are strung on. If the silk is wet the pearls will need restringing more frequently.

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To help dull metal to shine once again we suggest using a gold and silver polishing cloth. These special cloths are impregnated with polish compound similar to what we use in our workshop. When rubbed over the surface of the metal using a firm pressure your tired jewellery will be brought back to life again.
These Abrecht Bird polishing cloths are available for purchase for $15.

If you don’t wish to go to the effort of the above cleaning options we also offer this jewellery cleaning solution (not to be used on pearls or opals).
The bottle contains a special liquid cleaning formula, a tray for holding your jewellery while it is soaking, and a small brush to get into all those tricky areas.
This is also available for purchase for $20

Jewellery cleaning myths

Using toothpaste will brighten and restore your jewellery to look new.
Unfortunately this is false. Toothpaste contains gritty particles that are great for cleaning your teeth and removing plaque, but when used on jewellery it can do more damage than good. The grit in toothpaste can lead to damaged gemstones and pearls by scratching the surfaces and leaving them dull and lacking lustre. Toothpaste will also scratch the surface of the metal, whether it is gold, platinum, silver or palladium leaving it looking worse than before.

Boiling your jewellery in water on the stovetop.
Some people believe that this technique mimics the ultrasonic cleaner used by jewellers. However, the water in an ultrasonic will be hot but never reach boiling point.
Some gemstones can be affected by extreme heat and cleave or fracture when they experience thermal shock.

Cleaning your jewellery with Coca Cola or bleach.                                                      We are sure many of you have seen people clean rust off metal on the internet and social media using Coke or bleach. We would strongly recommend not using this technique to clean your precious jewellery. The acidic solution can cause a lot of damage in softer more porous gemstones and can oxidise the surface of the metal.

If you would like any more help or guidance with how to clean certain items of jewellery at home or want to have it professionally cleaned by us, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email or give us a call on (03) 9650 3830.