It takes some know-how to choose the best jewelry pieces. It can be overwhelming to know exactly where to start.
Use a polishing cloth to keep your jewelry clean and free from damage. This helps keep your jewelry shiny without the need for chemical cleansers, which can damage the pieces. Polish your jewelry with a two-sided polishing cloth as you might buff a lovely glass. Use one side for polishing and the other for improving its shine.
Don’t clean your jewelry in harsh household chemicals like ammonia, bleach or turpentine. This could cause the stone to change color or become dull in appearance, and it may eat away at the enamel on the piece.
Store your jewelry carefully. For best results, separate different pieces into different boxes, compartments or hooks. Avoid just throwing them into a box in an unorganized manner. This can harm fragile and fine pieces, along with severely tangling necklaces with other pieces.
Precious Metals
Keep your jewelry stored somewhere that is free from humidity or air. It’s best to store it in a closed box, like a jewelry box, or a drawstring bag. Metals will become tarnished when exposed to air and humidity. You will be able to polish precious metals to remove tarnish, but non-precious metals may lose their coating, showing the copper metal beneath.
Know the type of gem you’re buying, when you buy it. Gemstones come in three different varieties: natural, imitation and synthetic. You have to know that imitation refers to colored plastic. Natural stones are dug up out of the ground and synthetic ones are grown in a lab.
Costume Jewelry
If you want to start a costume jewelry collection, it is important to be aware of the pieces’ condition. Many costume pieces are a great investment and can be quite costly, but costume jewelry that has too many signs of wear will not keep their value over time. Investing in quality means that you can enjoy the jewelry for many years to come.
Consider stones when you are buying jewelry. Choose a stone that reflects both your personality, skin tone and lifestyle. Colors should be neutral so that they go with most of your outfits. Do not buy something that looks nice on the shelf but that you will never use.
A brooch will accent your belt and will instantly add visual interest. Place the brooch close to your hip or in the middle of your waist.
More desirable than a big piece is the cut and clarity of the diamond. Most important of all, make sure that the piece you choose complements the nature of the intended receiver.
Try to purchase sets of jewelry as a gift for someone. You will find that a great deal of stores offer discounts when you buy sets of jewelry. There is nothing stopping you from splitting a set after buying it; you can use a set for a series of gifts over multiple holidays, for example. This is a fabulous way to always have a gift that someone will love.
Any type of necklace or bracelet should have a strong clasp. If a clasp is not solid, you might end up losing your jewelry. You can purchase a safety clasp to secure expensive pieces of jewelry. For very expensive items, some consumers choose to increase security with an additional clasp or two.
As has been outlined in this article, whether you are buying or selling an item of jewelry, it is important to do your homework and then put in the effort towards achieving your end goals. Whether that is to own a new piece, or to sell an old one for profit, the effort put in will equal what you get out. If you use these suggestions you can be a winner!