Jewelry maintenance methods

In China, the education of jewelry knowledge is limited to people in the industry. Therefore, most consumers know little about jewellery knowledge and cannot properly maintain their jewellery. This article lists the current methods for the maintenance of several valuable jewellery items on the market, as well as matters that should be noted in the use process, in order to attract consumers.

1. Factors influencing the durability of jewelry

Durability is an important feature of gemstones and an important factor that affects the value of jewelry. The durability of jewellery is affected by various properties of the jewel itself, the most important of which is hardness. In general, the dust in the atmosphere is some small silica particles with a Mohs hardness of 7. Therefore, in order to better resist the erosion of the outside world, and always maintain the unique brilliance of precious stones, the hardness of precious stones is greater than 7 or about 7, such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and so on. In addition, durability is also affected by other physicochemical properties such as chemical composition, brittleness, and cleavage development.

2. Precious jewelry maintenance

(1) Diamonds: Since diamonds have the highest hardness, higher refractive index, higher dispersion and higher luster, and their scarcity, they have been considered as the king of precious stones and were selected as the birthstone of April. Love, beliefs, wealth and status.

With a Mohs hardness of 10, the diamond is the hardest substance in nature and is worn on the body. However, diamonds are brittle, and they have oil-repellent and water-repellent properties. During the wearing process, they will break due to collisions, and they will lose their brilliance due to the presence of oil stains. Therefore, do not wear diamond rings to do the heavy manual work to avoid unnecessary losses. Diamond jewelry should also be kept separately when it is collected, because the diamonds will be scratched when put together.

Do not wear diamond jewellery to work in the kitchen, wash hands and use cosmetics to avoid losing the brilliance of the diamonds. Diamonds should be washed regularly to maintain brilliance by gently scrubbing with mild detergent and toothbrush, then cleaning with water or alcohol, and finally wiping with a soft dry cloth; sometimes it is also possible to wipe off dirt with a soft, dry cloth. However, during the cleaning process, be careful and the movement should be light so as not to damage the jewelry. Always check that the diamond jewellery is firm. If it is loose, it should be immediately sent to a special diamond shop for repair.

(2) Ruby and Sapphire: These two types of gems are corundum minerals. In general, gem grade corundum with different shades of red is called ruby, while gem grade sapphires of other colors are collectively referred to as sapphire.

These two gemstones are among the five most precious stones (diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and emeralds). High-quality rubies are rare, and their value is much higher than that of sapphire. Ruby was selected as the birthstone of July, representing enthusiasm, love and prosperity; and Sapphire was chosen as the birthstone of September, representing fortitude, feelings, future, stability and calm.

Their Mohs hardness is 9, second only to diamonds. That is, they will be scratched by the diamond without being scratched by other objects. Therefore, there will be no problem during normal wear. However, the ruby ​​and sapphire cracks develop and should not be collided with hard objects when worn to prevent fragmentation. Ruby and sapphire jewellery should not be placed together with diamond jewellery, nor should the jewellery of multiple corundum jewels be kept together to avoid mutual characterization. After wearing for a long time, the ruby ​​and sapphire jewellery will be stained with oil and can be wiped with a clean soft cloth or cleaned with a toothbrush and mild detergent.

(3) Emerald: Also known as Emerald, it is a gemstone of the beryl minerals and is a lanthanum aluminosilicate. High-grade emerald green, soft luster, people feel comfortable, peaceful, often see the emerald can eliminate eye fatigue Emerald is very rare in nature, especially high-quality emeralds are rare, is one of the five precious stones Selected as the birthstone in May, it represents loyalty, kindness, kindness, and longevity.

The emerald has an Mohs hardness of 7.25-7.5 and a high hardness, but emeralds have a very important feature of brittleness and fissure development. If they collide with hard objects, they are easily broken. Therefore, emerald jewelry should not be Hard objects collide, do not wear emerald jewellery to do housework; emerald rings should be kept separately and kept under regular maintenance. If the emerald jewelry is dirty, wipe it with a soft dry cloth. Do not put the emerald jewelry on the ultrasonic cleaner to avoid unnecessary damage.

(4) Opal: Opal is a kind of amorphous gemstone material composed of silica. The same opal can display different colors. The more colors are usually displayed on a dark background, the higher the value is. The unique luster and color change effect is used as the birthstone in October, representing purity, happiness and quietness.

Opal's Mohs hardness of only 5-6.5, easier to wear in the course of everyday wear; opal brittle, easy to break the collision; and the composition contains water, long time or exposure to high temperature or sunlight, after a long time will Dehydration, losing its color effect. Therefore, try not to make the Opal jewelry collide with other objects during the wearing process, do not drop it on the ground, and do not put it in a high temperature environment. If you do not wear Opal jewelry should be placed in a humid environment to avoid dehydration and lose its color effect. The opal is dirty and can be wiped carefully with a soft cloth. If it is dirty, it can be cleaned in a special jewelry shop.

(5) Pearl: Pearl is an organic gem material, which is formed due to the foreign matter that shellfish secretes in the shell layer of calcium carbonate and nacre. The color of the pearls is bright and changeable. The luster is soft. The form is natural and beautiful. The natural pearls are very rare. They are known as the Queen of Gemstones and were selected as the birthstones in June. They represent pure, soft, noble and elegant.

There are natural and cultured pearls. Natural pearls are invaded by shellfish because of the intrusion of foreign substances. The pearls are packaged with shellfish secreting nacre, while cultured pearls use nuclear transfer to nucleus into the shellfish to make it Secretion of pearls. At present, most pearls in the market are cultured pearls. In fact, there is no difference between cultured pearls and natural pearls. However, due to people's preference for natural species, natural pearls are much more valuable than cultured pearls.

In general, when pearls are freshly picked, their color and luster are bright, but when they are worn for a long time, the colors turn yellow and the luster becomes dull. This is due to the special physical properties of the pearl itself. The main constituent mineral of pearls is calcium carbonate (aragonite or calcite), which is eroded by acids, alkalis, sweat, cosmetics, and detergents during wear. The Mohs hardness of the pearl is only 3.5-4, so it is easy to rub; in the season of strong wind, do not wear pearl jewelry, so as not to wear out; do not sweat when doing physical work sweating or sweating in the summer; do not wear pearl jewelry and acid-base substances, Soap water, perfume, hair oil and other substances contact; do not put the pearl jewelry under high temperature conditions, so as to avoid dehydration and fragmentation.

(6) Jade: Jade is a kind of sodium aluminosilicate and it is a collection of many fine minerals. It belongs to jade material in gem classification. The word emerald contains two colors, namely “翡” and “翠”. The former represents red and the latter represents green. In fact, there are many colors of jadeite, among which the high-grade products are green jadeite containing chromium. The high-grade green jade color is very beautiful and expensive.

Jade has a high degree of toughness, can be processed into a variety of decorations, suitable for people of all ages with different personality needs. Its Mohs hardness is 6.5-7. Due to these special physicochemical properties, Jade has been hailed as the king of jade and was selected as the birthstone of May, representing happiness and luck.

In general, jade jewelry will not be worn during normal wearing, but due to its not very high hardness, it will produce scratch marks if it is in contact with hard objects. Therefore, jade jewelry should not collide with hard objects, and do not put together with other jewellery or multiple jade jewelry so as to avoid scratches and affect gloss. Dirty with a soft dry cloth or a toothbrush.

In addition to the decorative role, precious jewellery generally has a conservation value, so it must be properly kept and maintained. It is not difficult to do this as long as we understand the characteristics of these jewellery and take care in everyday wear.