How to Clean Pearl & Jewelry at Home

As we are at home during this COVID-19 CMO lockdown, Spring cleaning is one of the activities we should do to make sure that everything is well-organized, clean and out of germ.  How to clean pearl? Clothes, bags, shoes are women’s priority to sanitize.

Be that as it may, in case we disregard our jewelry and accessories! Considering we wear them out as much as we do our regular clothes, they deserve our TLC, too. Our rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces come into contact with our daily routines, such as outdoor activities plus regularly-used cosmetics like lotion, makeup and perfume, can cause a film of oil and build up.

Take this chance to clean and revive them.  Need a helping hand on how to start? ININY will be assisting you on the jewelry and accessories.  It’s effectively easy from home.

Basic Rules of How to Clean & Care for Your Pearl & Jewelry

Before we come to the point of cleaning, please make sure that you know the basic rules of wearing jewelry, watch, and other accessories.

• Always put on your jewelry, watch and accessories after applying perfume, hand cream or hair spray.
• Never wear your jewelry in the bath, in bed, doing dishes or when exercising. This can cause unreasonable stress and wear and tear.
• Store your jewelry in the air-tight zip lock bag provided by ININY to prevent scratching and oxidizing.
• Chains and necklaces will retain their shine and glitter best if they are hung up when not being worn.
• Do not store your Jewelry in areas of excessive heat or sun exposure

 How to Clean Each Type of Pearl &Jewelry

Diamond and platinum

• • Add a little bit of dish soap in a bowl of lukewarm water
  • Soak for 15-30 minutes
  • Gently brush stone with a soft-bristled toothbrush
  • Rinse under lukewarm running water
  • If needed, repeat.
  • To dry, use soft cloths like cotton (fibres in paper towels and tissue can potentially scratch the metal), or better yet air-dry.

Swarovski crystal

• • Add a little bit of dish soap in a bowl of lukewarm water
  • Gently brush stone with a soft-bristled toothbrush
  • Then rinse under running water.
  • Dry with a soft, lint-free towel and finish with the Swarovski polishing cloth.
  • To help you clean and care for your crystal, when handling your crystal, it is recommended that you wear the Swarovski Gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. This will help maintain the brilliance of your Swarovski crystal.

Swarovski Jewelry

      To set Swarovski element as jewelry piece, it’s in the category of fashion jewelry. ININY normally either set them in silver925 setting with vermeil or set in bronze setting         with gold or rhodium plated.  and a certain amount of wear and tear will occur over time.

1. To ensure the lasting beauty of your Swarovski piece, DO NOT use sonic cleaners, boiling water or commercial jewelry cleaners. Jewelry cleaners usually contain ammonia or alcohol which can have a damaging effect on the plating.
2. Add a little bit of dish soap in a bowl of lukewarm water
3. Gently brush stone with a soft-bristled toothbrush
4. Then rinse under running water.
5. DO NOT wash the Swarovski simulated pearls. These should be buffed with a soft dry cloth.
6. How to clean Swarovski pearl?  Same as the above.

 Natural crystal

      Note before you start cleaning your natural crystal:

• There are many different ways to clean your gemstones. Before you clean, you need to know type of stone you want to clean. An hour in direct sunlight is more than enough to clean most stones. However, certain stones will fade if left out in the sunlight. Amethyst and is one example. Keep your amethysts out of direct sunlight if you want them to retain their vibrant purple hues. Other stones that will fade include aquamarine, citrine, fluorite, rose quartz, or smoky quartz.
• Moonlight cleansing can take several hours or days. To expose a stone to all the moon phases(from a full moon to a new moon), place the stone outside each evening at dusk (retrieving it before sunrise) for 28 consecutive days.
• Most stones are OK with normal water, but some stones will dissolve in water (such as azurite, angelite, phenakite, selenite, and the like). Some will dissolve or scratch in saltwater, including: amber, turquoise, hematite, imperial topaz, red coral, opals, pyrite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, and calcites. Don't clean rough or raw stones in saltwater or those with a hardness level less than seven.
• To dry, use soft cloths like cotton (fibres in paper towels and tissue can potentially scratch the metal), or better yet air-dry.

 The following methods can be used for cleaning your crystals and gemstones

• Smudging: Smudge crystals with incense or herbs (lavender, sweet grass, and sage, for example)
• Sunlight: Energize crystals in the sunlight.
• Moonlight: Energize crystals under the moonlight.
• Saltwater: Soak crystals inside a bowl filled with saltwater. If you go to a sea or an ocean to cleanse them, secure them in a mesh bag, or you might lose them.
• Brooks, lakes, rivers: Cleanse crystals in a natural water reservoir (lake, river, creek, pond, or even under waterfall).
• Brown rice: Purify crystals overnight submerged in a bowl of uncooked brown rice. Then move them to the sunlight in the morning for an hour. Compost the rice afterward.
• Earth: Bury crystals in the earth for a ritual purification. Don't use this method for crystals containing iron, such as hematite, pyrite, and tiger iron.
• Cold tap water: Scrub crystals under a running tap of cold water.
• White light: Visualize a beam of white light to cleanse your crystals.
• Purple plates: Cleanse and re-energize with the positive energy of purple plates.
• Selenite: Use a selenite wand to wave over your other stones (selenite has cleansing properties).
• Intentional breath: Blow onto the stone with clearing intention.
• Rainfall and thunderstorms: Set your stones outdoors during a rainfall for a natural washing. Energize them further by allowing them to sit out during a thunderstorm.
• Dewdrops: Collect dew drops from grass or leaves to cleanse your stones.

 Natural gemstone

• • Lay jewelry on soft cloth
  • Fill bowl with warm water and shampoo
  • Wet a soft-bristled makeup brush with the water and shampoo mixture, and gently brush to clean
  • Rinse under warm running water
  • Lay jewelry on a clean, well-wrung damp cloth. Let it dry flat on level ground prevent the pearls and stones from weighing down and stretching the string

Natural/ Cultured Pearl

How to clean your pearl (Natural/Cultured Pearl)

• • DO NOT use sonic cleaners, boiling water or commercial jewellery cleaners on pearls
  • Wipe your pearls immediately following any type of spill.
  • Add a little bit of mild baby soap in a bowl of distilled water
  • Soak for 15-30 minutes
  • Gently brush stone with a soft-bristled toothbrush
  • Rinse under distilled running water
  • If needed, repeat.
  • To dry, pat off excess water with soft cloths like cotton (fibres in paper towels and tissue can potentially scratch the metal), spread pearls flat to air dry;
  • DO NOT move until they are completely dry.
  • Polish with a dry, soft silver-polishing cloth.

Pearl Care

1. Avoid wearing rough fabric with your pearls.
2. Put your pearls on after putting on cosmetics, hair products, lotions and perfumes
3. Do not wear your pearls while cleaning, bathing or swimming, cooking or exercising.
4. Limit the wearing of pearl rings and bracelets to those times you know you won't be working with your hands to avoid scratching.
5. Do not expose pearls to strong light or heat.
6. Examine pearls for loosening strings.

Pearl Storage

• Gently wipe pearls with a soft cloth after you remove them.
• Fasten pearl l strands and lay items out separately in a compartmentalized jewelry box.
• Keep pearls separate from other jewelry, in their own silk bag, velvet-lined box or satin-lined folder, wrapper in a chamois or tissue paper.
• Store pearls horizontally to keep thread from stretching.
• Do not hang your pears; this would put undue pressure on the thread

 Sterling silver Jewelry

• • Put a small amount of silver polish on a clean cloth
  • Rub the polish in an up-and-down motion (circular motions highlight fine scratches)
  • As you go along, turn the cloth frequently, to avoid the oxidized tarnish to redeposit onto the jewelry

          No polish? No problem. Try this home solution:

• Mix three parts of baking soda to one-part water
• Wet the silver and apply baking soda paste with a soft, lint-free cloth
• Rinse well in warm running water
• Buff dry with a soft cloth. Avoid paper towels and tissues they may scratch the silver.
• Frequent wearing keeps silver looking its best. The constant friction keeps the silver shiny.

 Demi-fine jewelry

• • Gold vermeil: Wipe gently with a dry soft cloth
  • Rhodium: Wash with warm water
  • Avoid using toothpaste or a toothbrush to prevent scratches

 Costume jewelry

1.  Rinse with normal water
2. Pad dry with soft and clean cloth
3. You can find silver cleaner-treated polishing cloth at your local mall. Gently rub the cloth over the accessories until its back to its shiny glory. Avoid excessive rubbing as this may remove silver plating.
4. Store separately in air-tight zip lock bags to keep moisture at bay.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this site is intended for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis or treatment by a licensed physician. You should seek prompt medical care for any health issues and consult your doctor before using alternative medicine or making a change to your regimen.

Special mention to Ininy Gem Sdn. Bhd.

If you are ININY customer and would like to know more how to take care of your purchased jewelry, please feel free to fill up the form below.