Come Clean Put the sparkle back into your gems

Can you just soak your baubles in gin? Or should you buy an ultrasonic cleaner? Christie’s COME jewellery specialists advise on the best ways to put the sparkle back into your gemsCLEAN!

Diamonds Jewellery is made from a vast range of organic and inorganic gemstones, as well as precious metals of varying degrees of hardness, so it’s important to tailor cleaning to the jewel in hand. Take diamonds. Without assiduous cleaning, their natural beauty is quickly dulled and diminished. Thankfully, another of their innate qualities, their hardness, means they can’t be damaged by detergents such as dishwashing liquid. This, combined with hand-hot water and a soft toothbrush, is the best way to give your diamonds their sparkle back. The same goes for sapphires and rubies.

Emeralds

Emeralds are, of course, softer – as are other gems in the beryl family – including aquamarine, morganite and heliodor (yellow beryl). It’s still possible to clean these gems at home, but only with mild detergent, warm water and a very soft, natural-bristle brush – and only for a very brief period.

Soft and organic precious gems

Organic precious gems such as coral, natural or cultured pearls and soft gems, such as opal, require even greater care, as contact with cleaning products will damage them, spoiling their lustre and dramatically affecting their value. Instead, rub them gently with a soft cleaning cloth. When wearing jewels such as these, keep them free of perfumes and scented creams, which can damage their surfaces.

And precious metals?

When it comes to precious metals, you need to ensure the cleaning product you use is safe, proven, reputable and does the job 100% to give your jewellery that special, magical lustre. And with the potential damage hand-sanitisers can do to rings, making an informed decision about how to care for gold, silver and platinum jewellery is paramount. CPM’s Glow Bright Jewellery Cleaner has been scientifically formulated to give your jewellery a professional sparkle and is one you should consider using.

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