Clean Rhinestone Jewelry
Rhinestones are very common stones in jewelry, and vintage costume jewelry pieces are very valuable. They are used to produce bright, striking colors that mimic large gemstones in their luster. However they differ greatly from gemstones. While diamonds, rubies and other gems naturally sparkle and are usually set with silver or gold, rhinestones are pieces of glass backed with foil. The foil stops light from going straight through the glass, acting as a mirror that sparkles in the light. The foil behind the glass is delicate, so rhinestone jewelry cannot be submerged when it is cleaned. To protect modern rhinestone jewelry or vintage costume jewelry you must follow a specific method. This article will teach you how to clean rhinestone jewelry.
Steps
- Lay out 2 paper towels to cover your workstation. Better still, use two soft hankies.
- Spray a can of compressed air to remove any loose dirt from the jewelry. You can also clean the dirt up with your fingers. During that, make sure no stone is loosening or dropping out.
- If there is any caked-on dirt, use a toothpick or a blunt knitting needle to make it loose. Do not use a metal tool, like the sharp end of a needle or dental pick, as it can scratch metal settings.
- Open a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. This is commonly known as rubbing alcohol, and it is often used for first aid and cleaning.
- Isopropyl alcohol dries quickly, which is what makes it a valuable cleaning tool for rhinestones. Moisture ruins costume jewelry because it gets behind the foil causing it to tarnish and darken. Tarnished stones cannot be saved; they must be replaced.
- Dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol. Rub off as much moisture from the tip as possible onto your paper towel. You do not want it to puddle onto the stones.
- Clean the individual stones 1 by 1 with your cotton swab. If the stone becomes very wet, use the opposite end of the cotton swab to dry the stone after it is cleaned.
- Turn the jewelry over and clean the metal finish with your cotton swab. Change the swab if it becomes too dirty; dip and rub off excess moisture on the paper towel.
- Make a mini-cotton swab, if your piece of jewelry has open backed stones.
- Remove a small amount of cotton from your cotton swab.
- Wet the tip of a toothpick and stick it in the middle of the cotton. Roll it between your thumb and forefinger. This is how you wash jewelry in the crevices on the back of jewelry, or between tiered jewels and metals.
- Use the same process of wetting the mini-cotton swab/toothpick in the alcohol, drying it against the paper towel and cleaning in small spaces.
- Wear or store your newly-cleaned jewelry.
Tips
- Put on rhinestone jewelry after you have applied makeup or hairspray. The chemicals in them can cause jewelry to tarnish quickly.
- Be delicate when cleaning vintage jewelry; it can break very easily.
Warnings
- Never use water to clean rhinestone jewelry.
- Never store rhinestone jewelry in a jewelry box where pieces are piled on top of each other. They can be easily scratched or stretched so that stones pop loose.
Things You'll Need
- Can of compressed air
- Paper towels
- Cotton Swabs
- Tooth picks
- Isopropyl alcohol
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