Which of the following items do you think is most fragile for abrasion : glass, shell, solid gold, or silver? The answer is solid gold. Glass is 100 times harder than solid gold. Shell is 3-4 times harder than gold. Pure silver is a little harder than gold. It is recommended to wrap gold jewelry with soft cloth or cotton. Each item should be kept separately. Do not stack them together. The higher number of karat, the easier to scrape the gold will be. When cleaning your gold jewelry, do not brush gold jewelry because brush hair can abrade high-karat gold. Instead, use soft cloth to rub off dust. The best way to clean gold is to let it sunk in lukewarm water mixed light detergent solution. Do not ever boil gold jewelry because any gems attached to it may be broken. In case of colored gems, discolorations is likely. Some people use ammonia, which does not harm gold. However, it is advised against using it if your jewelry has peal on it because ammonia may destroy the pearl surface. Also, do not use toothpaste to clean gold because brushing agent in toothpaste that is rather hard may scrape the gold surface and soft gems. In addition, a number of chemicals may cause jewelry to be worn or discolored.
Following is the list of chemicals we should be aware of :
1. Chlorine is substance that has high corrosion effect. It may dissolve metal surface or loosen the thorn that holds gems or it may break or nick the ring base. Do not wear gold jewelry when swimming or when in Jacuzzi tub. Do not dip jewelry in bleach solution used in washing machine.
2. Lotion and Cosmetics cause fat-like layer covering gold jewelry surface, which, in turn, reduces the glittering of gold. It is advised to finish using hair spray and cosmetics before putting on gold jewelry.
3. Hair Perming Solution can cause 10-karat gold or the part of gold jewelry base that is soldered with low-karat gold to turn dark brown or black.
4. Some medicine that you take may be percolated through perspiration and may leave your skin black where it touches low-karat gold.
Care Instruction for Owner of Gold Jewelry
1. Do not wear gold jewelry when playing sports or when there is a chance to clash with others or during labor-intensive job such as gardening or hardware repair because these activities may harm the jewelry base or gems.
2. Do not take the jewelry off in bathroom or when washing your hands. Make sure drainpipe stopper is secured or your jewelry is in closed container if you need to take it off when in bathroom.
3. Clean jewelry regularly with light jewelry cleaning solution. Avoid using concentrated solution to wash out dirt that has long been piled up on your jewelry.
4. Once in a while, inspect your jewelry to see whether the gemstone is tightly secured on is base. Try shaking it near your ear. If you hear any clucking sound, bring it to goldsmith for repair.
5. Do not take your jewelry into the place where there is a drastic chance in temperature e.g. talking it to a sauna or hot tub followed by cold shower. Doing so may cause the gems or jewelry base to break.
6. Take photograph of your jewelry as well as write down detail of each piece for easy identification in case of loss or theft.
7. Have your jewelry checked by your reliable goldsmith at least once a year for any repair needed.
|
๏ 
๏ 
