How do you clean the non-pearl parts of your pearl jewelry?

[BWeaves]

How do you clean the non-pearl parts of your pearl jewelry?

I like my clasps and earrings to show and sparkle. Some have diamonds or CZs. Some have textures (like the laser etched ball clasp) that seem to acquire skin cells and sweat.

I usually wipe my pearls with a soft cloth before I put them away, as I live is humid, sweaty Florida and I feel like I'm griming up my pearls on particularly hot days.

I read through the thread about how to clean your pearls. Most of the information I already knew, like stay away from vinegar and acids. The bit about acetone being OK with pearls surprised me, though. And the bit about the chicken cracked me up.

So my question is, what's the best way to clean the non-pearl parts of pearl jewelry?

 

[JerseyPearl]

I like to use sunshine cloths to polish my gold and silver items. They work very well at removing the grime layer too. I also use, and this is probably a huge no-no...Windex (diluted), a drop of Dawn and warm water to clean my diamonds/clasps. I dip a baby toothbrush in the solution and scrub. I then rinse in water, carefully.

 

[Purranha]

I accidentally came across this brand of jewelry cleaners at InterGem @ Whiteplains: http://www.jewelbrite.com/
They have a jewelry cleaning solution (which is "supposed" to be pearl/opal/turquoise safe), and a silver cleaning paste.
I find polishing cloth to be great for larger smoother surface, but not as easy to maneuver if say if your wire wrap has tarnished.
I'd have to say I have been pleasantly surprised by the results, and yes have dipped my pearls in the solution and the pearls have seem to be doing well.
So, if I have say a multi-material ring/pin etc, I usually drop the whole piece in the solution, brush them out with a soft baby toothbrush, rinse them out well in clean water, and towel dry them.
If I have tarnish that are hard to get to, I use the baby soft toothpaste and the silver cleaning paste to clean it up.

Part of my home visit tradition is to clean all my mom's jewelries. Attached is a pic of some of her pieces after they have been dipped & scrubbed, and are soaking in clean water, waiting for final rinse and towel dry.

 

[aradhnasingh]

Be gentle with removing any dust from your jewelry with a soft cotton rag.

 

[BWeaves]

I'd like to add, that normally, I drop my jewelry into a jewelry cleaner liquid (Connoisseurs brand from Walgreens), and then scrub the stones with the little brush that comes with it. But it says not to put pearls in it.

Also, I have sunshine and moonshine cloths (I'm not sure of the difference except one is yellow and the other blue), and rouge cloths for silver, but I'm concerned that using these next to pearls will rub the nacre off.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I would rub gently...I wonder why someone hasn't invented a little Q-tip type of polishing wand that can get into tight spaces without damage to nearby gemstones and pearls. You could also wrap the pearls in cotton (pull apart a cotton ball and wrap around the pearls) and then try the polishing cloth.

 

[BWeaves]

OK, I guess I'm not really looking for polishing cloth advice, but more of a "what brand of liquid jewelry cleaner do you dunk your clasp in?" sort of answer.

 

[Purranha]

I dunk mine in JewelBrite (along with the pearls sometimes! gasp!)
Happy to report so far no damage and my jewelries are sparkly!

 

[pattye]

Dr. Bronners liquid castille soap works for me; use distilled water if your tap water has lots of minerals in it. A soft toothbrush on the clasp if dirty. If I used a sunshine cloth I'd probably rinse the clasp to be certain any residue was removed. If only the clasp is a bit dirty, a little Dawn on a soft toothbrush with a rinse after would work. I truly don't feel there is just one right way~

 

[BWeaves]

I agree there's no right way, but there are plenty of wrong ways I'd like to avoid.

I once screwed up a piece of amber by using bathroom cleaner on it. I used a sunshine cloth to get the shine back, but it took a lot of elbow grease.

 

[JerseyPearl]

The very diluted Dawn/Windex combo works well on diamonds and really makes them sparkle. I figure that Dawn is safe enough to use on wildlife, it's probably ok to use on some stones...but it is a degreaser (think dispersant, like what they use in oil spills) so any stone like emerald or opal that has been "oiled" or stabilized might not be good to clean this way. I would leave out the spritz of Windex (my favorite scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding involves Windex) for use on pearls, and only use one drop in a quart of water.

 

[Happy Huku]

This has been an interesting thread - I would hesitate to use any of those 'brand name' jewellery cleaners on anything!

I use very hot water and some hand dishwashing (not dishwasher) liquid, (Palmolive is my brand of choice) in a small bowl and soak my non-pearl rings and earings for a few minutes then gently brush into the nooks and crannies with an old toothbrush. Rinse then pat/dry with tea towel. Sparkle sparkle they do!

Haven't done pearl clasps for a while but I when I do, I try and dangle the clasp in the water without getting the pearls wet, hmm, then as above.

Let us know how you go!

 

[pinkjewel]

So, how do you clean a pearl ring that has pave diamonds or other stones on the setting? I've been wanting one for awhile, but have hesitated because of cleaning issues

 

[Purranha]

I think if you use a baby soft toothbrush, dip the toothbrush into any of the solutions mentioned above, scrub out the diamond/setting part, and immediately rinse with lots of water and wipe it down, it should be just fine!