How to restore the shine to your jewelry in a few simple steps

“Accessories are the exclamation point in a woman's outfit”, assured the famous designer Michael Kors at the launch of one of his jewelry collections in 2011. The phrase would remain engraved as a perfect synthesis of what a piece of fine jewelry should achieve: shine and make the rest of our outfit shine. However, like any delicate item, jewelry requires special care in order to fulfill its function.

Creams, perfumes, makeup and the dirt itself conspire to dull it, but there are simple care tasks that can help us restore their shine. Magazine Lifestyle has consulted the experts Rosa Tomàs, director of Circa Barcelona, ​​and Carla Alegría, general manager of Bonhill jewelry, about how we can clean jewelry at home and what precautions we must take to preserve it in the best way.

The experts agree that the frequency with which you should clean your jewelry will depend on the number of uses you give them. “It depends on the frequency of use. If you wear a solitaire every day and never take it off, the chances are that if you are not careful to submerge it in warm water to degrease it, it will fill with impurities and dirt. Diamond repels water and attracts grease, which makes it easily dirty”, explains Rosa Tomàs.

Rosa Tomàs, director of Circa Barcelona, ​​points out that certain activities are incompatible with wearing jewelry, such as swimming in a chlorinated pool. “Turquoise, for example, which is a very summer jewel, is very porous. Submerging it in the pool is a mistake because it loses its color and oxidizes, it remains green."

For the expert, another activity that cannot be done with jewelry is cooking, since "in addition to dirtying the piece and make that jewel stop shining, if acids such as lemon or vinegar are used, depending on the piece, irreparable damage can be done”. In any case, it is important to ask a jeweler to check the jewel and find out what gemstones it has, to know what things they are sensitive to and thus avoid them.

However, he points out that “if it is On the other hand, from a piece that you use sporadically on special occasions and that you keep in a jewelery box without being in contact with other pieces so that it does not get scratched, then it can be kept in perfect condition for a long time”.

Carla Alegría agrees that “the frequency of cleaning will depend on how much we use the jewel”. For her, "If we use them very sporadically, cleaning them once or twice a year is enough", while in jewelry for daily use, such as earrings, pendants or rings, "ideally every 15 days, since which are also especially susceptible to getting dirty when in contact with perfumes and creams”

On this point, Rosa Tomàs adds that another important factor in determining how often a jewel should be cleaned is the material the piece is made of. “If, for example, you have a pearl necklace that you wear very often, apart from cleaning it with a soft cloth without wetting it, it is best to take it to a jeweler once a year or every two years to reinforce cleaning. , because the internal wax threads can be damaged and break”, he explains.

“Diamonds are a girl's best friend,” said the iconic song performed by Marilyn Monroe, but what she didn't realize is that they require a lot of attention. "The diamond is very grateful, if it is clean it will shine and it will shine a lot," says Rosa Tomàs, and explains that to clean her diamond earrings, she uses cotton swabs with alcohol, which allow her to easily remove the grease. However, if it is a larger piece, the recommended technique is another.

Everlasting

A clean toothbrush with soft bristles is ideal for cleaning diamond pieces after a warm bath

In this case, experts recommend immersing the piece in a bowl of warm, soapy water without detergent for between 15 and 30 minutes, whichever is considered necessary to soften the layer of accumulated dirt. Then brush gently with a toothbrush, which will allow you to clean the holes and details that are difficult to access.

It is important that the brush does not have very thick bristles, to avoid scratches -especially on very smooth metal surfaces-, as well as not having traces of toothpaste, since some contain baking sodas or chemicals that can be harmful. Finally, it is important to dry the piece well, so that no moisture remains.