Prior to cleaning, you must assess the type of jewelry you want to clean. All jewellery is not created equal when cleaning, for example: some gemstones require a gentler approach (to avoid cracking or chipping) and fragile materials like pearls and cameos require extra care. The frequency of cleaning matters as well. Most fine jewelry should be cleaned every other month. If you find yourself needing or wanting to clean your jewellery more often, be sure to use a very gentle method and avoid ultrasonic cleaners or steamers. Excessive use of an ultrasonic machine can eventually loosen stones, and wear down the metal. If you don’t have a professional checking your stones are tight after ultrasonic cleaning, doing this too often is not recommended.

For most “how to” questions people source the information on Google. If you search how to clean your jewellery you will find a variety of answers including using ketchup to shine tarnished silver, beer to shine gold, denture tablets and even toothpaste. If you are going to make a “homemade” cleaner for gold and silver jewellery (including plated metals) you can use warm water with dish detergent. Follow the steps below to create a safe solution for cleaning your jewellery.

Step 1: Make a solution with warm water and mild dish soap.
• DO NOT USE moisturizing products as they will leave film on your jewellery. If you want to make the solution a little stronger, add a few drops of ammonia.

Step 2: Soak the jewelry in the solution for approximately 30 minutes.

Step 3: Gently scrub the jewelry with a very soft toothbrush (harder toothbrushes can scratch the jewellery)

Step 4: Rinse the jewelry off with warm water
• PLEASE MAKE SURE…. If you rinse your jewelry in the sink – plug the drain (as a leader in the jewellery insurance replacement industry, we see may claims for jewellery that has gone down the drain).

Step 5: Dry the jewelry with a soft cloth.
• Avoid using paper towels as they can scratch the metal.

For all jewellery made by Hennick & Co we provide ultrasonic cleaning to ensure your jewellery is kept sparkling. You can see our Services page that outlines all of the repair and cleaning services we provide.