Caring for Gold Jewellery   (Click here for Caring for Silver Jewellery)

Even though you may find yourself wearing some of your jewellery 24 hours a day, you should still take the time to give it proper care. Fine jewellery is a valuable investment that is designed and crafted to last lifetimes. Proper measures should be taken to ensure the lasting qualities they possess remain true to their original beauty. You can be sure that your earthly treasures will retain their brilliance and shine by following the guidelines below.

• Never wear jewellery when you are doing any kind of rough work. Even though it can be pretty tough and durable, it can still bend and scratch under certain circumstances.
• Your precious pieces should be stored in a fabric-lined jewel case or a box with compartments and dividers.
• If you use ordinary boxes, be sure to wrap each piece individually in tissue paper to avoid scratching and tangling.
• When travelling with precious articles, give care to packing your pieces for optimum preservation. There are many styles of totes that are especially designed for jewellery travel. They come in all sizes, shapes and patterns. Most have velvet pads inside to attach pins and earrings with special compartments for bracelets and necklaces. Packing a small bottle of prepared jewellery cleaner with your cosmetics is a good idea as well. It will give you the opportunity to give your precious pieces a 'quick shine' any time.
• Don't leave any jewellery, particularly rings and earrings, on the edge of a sink. It can very easily slip down the drain.
• There are different agents that will cause jewellery to dull. Examples include hair spray, soap and perfume. Be sure to remove jewellery before showering or cleaning or even when applying makeup or facial powder. Ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly after applying makeup before putting the jewellery back on. When you prevent the formation of film, you'll cut down on the need for cleaning.
• It is advisable to purchase an appropriate cleaning solution to keep your pieces clean and untarnished. There are cleaning products available for all types of precious metals.
• Grease can be successfully removed from gold jewellery by dipping it in plain rubbing alcohol.
• Don't rub precious metal with anything other than a fine piece of felt or polishing cloth. Use of towels or tissue causes scratching because of fibres present in the product.

What is Ionic cleaning?

What is it?
Cleaning and polishing in one easy step. The IONIC system uses polishing agents and gentle soap cleansers to remove tarnish and dirt with a safe bubbling action. These bubbles are formed by the carefully controlled electrical current that passes through metals reducing surface tension of dirt and floating it and tarnish away - instantly. Restores metal lustre and stone brilliance.

Sounds like electro polishing
That's just what it is. Speed Brite ionic units are self-contained electro polishing cleaners. No rectifier needed. Gem Sparkle concentrate solution is formulated for optimal cleaning and degreasing and is supplied with the cleaners.

How does it differ from an ultrasonic?
Ultrasonic cleaners use cavitation to bombard items with sound waves. This can be damaging to some stones. Ultrasonic cleaners have their place in manufacturing shops, and even there, Speed Brite ionic cleaners are used as the final brightening step in the polishing process. Ionic cleaners are used for ultimate safety in gemstone cleaning.

How many pieces can be cleaned at one time?
4-6 in a cycle. The process takes only seconds so many pieces can be cleaned in a short time. Since the current is controlled, you will clean fewer large pieces at one time or more of your smaller pieces. In our shop we pile 30-40 charms on the safety screen, touch the top few with the clip and watch for bubbles to form over the pieces. In less than 30 seconds. All the charms are bright, needing only thorough rinsing and drying with a soft cloth. Tags with permanent marking and laser tags can be left on the piece.

Can metals other than gold be cleaned? What about fragile stones?
With the same solution, you can clean gold, silver, gold-filled and costume jewellery, It is a safe cleaner for emeralds, opals, pearls and is an especially good cleaner for diamonds. Really makes them sparkle. Gem Sparkle contains no acids or ammonia and is odourless.

Any precautions?
Yes, SILVER is cleaned in a very short time. The unit is automatically timed but you will need to watch silver and remove it in only seconds rather than leaving it in for a full cycle. And be sure to rinse thoroughly so the piece will be squeaky clean. It will stay clean longer. Some low karat gold or solder joints may darken. This will need to polished to remove the oxidation. Limiting cleaning time will help here as with the silver.