Education

Jewelry Maintenance 101

Keep jewelry away from:

• Scratching
• Banging
• Chemicals of all kinds
• Swimming pools
• Hot tubs
• Extreme temperatures
• Strenuous activity
• Intense sunlight

The chlorine and bromine in pools and hot tubs is particularly damaging to stones and metal, and will even damage solid gold.

To clean your jewelry:

• Wipe your jewelry off with a soft cloth after you wear it.
• Clean it regularly with mildly sudsy water, rinse really well, and pat dry with a soft cloth.
• Polish metals gently with a jewelry polishing cloth.

What Chlorine Does to Gold Jewelry
Chlorine stress cracking is a chemical reaction between gold alloy jewelry and chlorine that causes breakdown of the metal causing broken prongs and ring shanks.

Chlorine is found with increasing use in household 'non-abrasive' cleaners and of course in laundry detergents and bleach. It is also used in pool and hot tub water treatment and in high concentrations in tap water. In some communities the chlorine in tap water is at levels normal for swimming pools. Where new construction is common, local codes require chlorine level boosting each time a new home is connected to the water main.

At maximum concentration such as pure household bleach, chlorine is so reactive that 14k gold jewelry left in pure bleach solution for 24 hours will be destroyed beyond repair; in extreme cases the gold will be dissolved! DON'T EVER SOAK JEWELRY IN BLEACH!

Chlorine reacts specifically with the copper and nickel portions of gold jewelry alloys. Copper and silver are the primary alloys for yellow gold and nickel is the primary alloy for white gold. Chlorine dissolves the copper, or in the case of a white gold mounting for a diamond the nickel, and causes a perfectly good and often new piece of jewelry to break.

What should I do…..

• Take off rings while cleaning with a chlorinated cleaner but don't leave them near the sink where they may get knocked down the drain.
• Read labels - chlorine is in products where you least expect it - watch for the 'Contains Bleach' label.
• Try to avoid wearing jewelry in the pool or hot tub. Rings set with stones, especially with prongs, are most subject to damage, and hot tub water is five times more damaging due to heat and increased chlorine concentrations. Bromine based hot tub treatments are also damaging although not quite as corrosive as chlorine.
• Chlorine, as in bleach, household cleaners, pool, hot tub, and even drinking water will cause premature breakdown of karat gold jewelry. The lower the karat, the worse the effect.
• Platinum family metals are impervious and offer the best solution for long-term durability

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