The Ultimate Guide To Cleaning Jewellery Naturally

Although I have a large selection of gem jewellery, I tend to wear a few favourites on the daily. As in: They’re literally a part of me now. I sleep, work, eat, and repeat, while rocking my couple of necklaces and bracelets - for better or for worse. The worse part of the spectrum? My jewels definitely get dirty.

Read on for a few insider tips on making sure your precious jewellery stays clean and shiny like the gems that they are.

All jewellery can collect dirt or smudges from wear and handling, however some lotions and perfumes can also make your metals tarnish more quickly. Good news, though - the more you wear your jewellery, the better. Jewellery worn more frequently will actually tarnish less because the friction from wear will keep it cleaner than if it’s just sitting in a cabinet.

Here are a couple tips for preventing your jewellery from getting dirty in the first place.

Tip number one, keep it sealed. When you’re not wearing your jewellery, keep it sealed in an air-tight Ziploc bag. Air will oxidize metals such as silver, causing discolouration.

Tip number two: Try not to sweat in your jewellery. Don’t work out or clean your house with the jewellery on. When you sweat, your perspiration can alter the true colour of the metal, and can mix with any lotions or hair products you already have on, which can affect the metal. When cleaning, the chemicals you’re using to clean with can slowly reduce the quality of the metals as well as wreak havoc on the gemstones.

For 2 ways to clean your jewellery once its tarnished, keep scrolling!

1. Use Baking Soda

Boiling water, aluminum foil and baking soda is a sure-fire way to remove oxidation and tarnish on silver jewellery. Add boiling water to a bowl lined with aluminum foil and mix in some baking soda. After three minutes, remove the silver from the bowl and rinse it in cool water. Buff it with a soft cloth and you should see a big difference. Be sure not to do this with gemstones as they are porous  and soft. For the silver pieces on our gemstone jewellery, you could use baking soda by making a paste with three parts baking soda and one part water. Use a soft cloth to wipe the piece clean. 

2. Use Dish Soap

Your dish soap is a multi tasker! Mix dish soap with boiling water to soak your chain in. Let it stand for 15 minutes, then use a soft brush to loosen the debris. Rinse off an extra soap and dry with a soft cotton cloth.