The Best Eco-Friendly Ways To Clean Your Jewellery

Whether it’s the jewellery you wear every day or a treasured piece that only comes out on special occasions, tarnish (when your jewellery turns black) gets to all of our most loved jewellery. 

A question that I get asked a lot is how to clean your jewellery when it becomes tarnished, so thought, why not pop all of my favourite eco-friendly methods, that I use all the time into a blog post.

Before I get into it, some of you may be asking, what is tarnished jewellery? 

Tarnishing is the oxidisation on metal. It starts to happen over time when items are left exposed to oxygen; something that can’t really be avoided. It occurs on jewellery when it is exposed to or comes in contact with things like make-up, lotions, sweat, body oils, chlorine and other outside substances, making it appear slightly blackened and dull in colour.

But rest assured, this doesn’t mean your jewellery is ruined. It just needs a little clean.

So, forget harsh cleaning products with nasty chemicals (most of which will actually damage and weaken your jewellery even more), I’m going to show you the most effective, non-toxic jewellery cleaning methods to make your jewellery sparkle again, including:

• How to clean solid gold jewellery
• How to clean silver jewellery
• How to clean gold plated jewellery
• How to clean jewellery with stones
• How to clean pearl jewellery

Even better, most of the items you need for this are likely to be in your kitchen cupboards.

How To Clean Solid Gold And Silver Jewellery

This jewellery cleaning method can be used on any solid gold and silver pieces, from high polish to matt finish to safely brighten up your jewellery and remove any darkened areas that may have appeared. 

I use this homemade jewellery cleaner all the time, as it’s so simple, yet so effective at bringing my jewellery back to life.

YOU WILL NEED

• Aluminium foil
• 1tsp baking soda
• Ceramic or glass dish
• Boiling water
• A soft toothbrush
• A soft, lint-free cloth

METHOD

1. Line your dish with aluminium foil and place your tarnished jewellery carefully inside
2. Sprinkle in the baking soda and cover with boiling water (it will bubble a little - this is fine).
3. Let it bubble and fizz for up to 15 minutes (please note the not so pleasant smell is normal and is the sulphur being removed from your jewellery).
4. Remove from the dish, rinse well with water and allow the pieces to air dry on a clean soft cloth.
5. If further cleaning is needed, use a soft toothbrush and mild eco-friendly soap, free from ammonia. 

How To Clean Gold Plated Jewellery

This is my favourite jewellery cleaning hack to keep your gold plated jewellery collection shining for years to come.

YOU WILL NEED

• Warm water
• Mild/non-abrasive soap
• A soft toothbrush
• A soft lint-free cleaning cloth

METHOD

1. Dip your toothbrush into warm, soapy water
2. Give your jewellery a clean using the toothbrush
3. With your cloth, dry and polish the jewellery

How To Clean Jewellery With Stones

When it comes to cleaning jewellery with hard stones, so any pieces with diamonds, sapphires or rubies, the baking soda jewellery cleaning method is the best option.

I ran through how to use this method at the top of this blog post, so take a look at that.

I would then recommend following this up with by cleaning around the settings with a soft toothbrush and then rinsing with cold water.

How To Clean Pearl Jewellery

Peals are very delicate and easily damaged so require a lot of care when cleaning. 

As pearls are often set with glue, you should avoid getting them wet as this puts a strain on them, the cleaning your jewellery with baking powder method should NOT be used here.

Pearls require regular maintenance, so simply wipe the pearls with a soft cloth every time you take them off to remove any body oil and other debris that might be on the surface.

 

Take a look at our video, to see our method in action!

I hope this quick guide will help you in bringing back to life your most treasured pieces of jewellery!

If you would like any advice on how to care for your ANUKA Jewellery, I am more than happy to help. Drop me an email at francesca@anuka-jewellery.com