How to clean jewellery at home

Cleaning your jewellery is easier than you think!

How often you clean your jewellery at home will depend on your very special piece and how you wear it. If you wear your jewellery daily it will likely need cleaning more regularly than a piece you wear only for special occasions.

How to clean your rings at home

1. Wash your jewellery with warm water and a gentle colourless and fragrance free liquid soap. Castile soap, soap for woollens or even a gentle hand soap with no moisturiser, antiseptic or harsh chemicals should work well.
2. For rings with stones you can use a cloth or very soft bristled brush to gently help get grime out of crevices. Be sure not to leave soft gems such as opals or pearls soaking in water for too long as it may affect them.
3. Once your jewellery is clean, be sure to rinse and dry the piece quickly and well to avoid watermarks.

How to clean your necklaces at home

If you'd like to clean your pendant in water, please remove it from your chain prior to soaking as soaking your chain in water and soap can corrode the jumpring solder, causing the chain to weaken. When polishing your chain with a polishing cloth, please be gentle as pulling on your chain can also lead to breakages.

Tarnishing

All metals will tarnish over time, but this process will happen much faster if your jewellery has contact with perfume, oils, household chemicals, makeup, salty air, sulphur, skins creams, hairspray, harsh soaps, detergents, chlorine or acidic fruits. This is a normal process with metal and the tarnish is easy enough to clean off precious metals.

Should tarnishing occur, and this will depend on your skin and jewellery care habits, wipe your jewellery with a polishing cloth, unless rhodium plated (see below under white gold). Do not use tissue paper or paper towels to clean metal as they can cause scratching.

Once finished, give the piece a rinse and carefully dry it to remove any chemical residue.

Avoid the old wives tales!

Whether it is using toothpaste or baking soda paste on your metals, be sure to avoid these old wives’ tales at all costs. Rubbing these substances against the metal of your special piece can actually damage your modern heirlooms by removing very small amounts of metal each time you do it. Over time this can damage your pieces. 

Always be careful when using cloths or anything to rub and clean your jewellery, too much vigour when cleaning isn’t always the best thing. 

White gold pieces 

All RUUSK White Gold pieces are rhodium plated (unless otherwise requested) so it’s important to remember not to use polishing cream or cloths on rhodium plated jewellery as this will remove your plating. Additionally, when cleaning your jewellery, do so very gently and without great force.

Emeralds

You should never clean your emerald jewellery ultrasonically or with steam and avoid exposing your emerald to extreme temperatures as heat can damage the stone. It is also best to avoid hot water, soaps and chemicals as coming in contact with these can cause issues such as discolouration and damage to the clarity and structure of your emerald.

For more ways to keep your favourite emerald jewellery shimmering for a lifetime, read more about our emerald care instructions here.

Deep Cleaning

If you need to outsource your jewellery for a deeper clean or specialised care, you may want to take your piece to a local jeweller for them to clean in their ultrasonic machine. 

For rings with stones, we recommend taking them to a local jeweller every couple of years to have your stone settings checked and they will be able to professionally clean your rings in their ultrasonic machine at this time.

Storing your jewellery safely

After you’ve cleaned your jewellery, it is important to think about how best to store your special pieces to help keep them clean and protected. It is best practice to avoid storing your modern heirloom in humid places including bathrooms, as this can increase the possibility of tarnishing. Keeping your jewellery stored away from free flowing air will reduce the risk of tarnishing and also keep dust at bay. As will keeping your precious pieces stored in a small jewellery box or dedicated pouch.

To avoid scratching, do your best to keep your precious metal and gemstone pieces stored separately and individually, so that your rings and chains do not rub together. 

Enjoy your special pieces!