Caution: Be Careful With The Family Jewels

Last updated on April 8th, 2012 at 08:07 pm

Does your dream look like my jewelry box?

Lots of potential on the outside, and really sparkly but a total jumble on the inside?

As part of my dream progress as a jewelry designer and serial entrepreneur, I thought I’d take you on a tour of my own jewelry box mess and help you take better care of your dream jewelry.

Following our dreams needs to be about taking care of  the things which support our dreams too.  One of my dreams just happens to involve jewelry.

I have several jewelry boxes, bowls, and piles of sparkling things. They aren’t filled with glamorous stuff, but a few choice pieces are kept for safe keeping. The rest of it is not really taken care of. Which is ridiculous since I make couture jewelry.

So what should you do with grandmothers pearls, and those gorgeous emerald earrings? Even your day to day costume jewelry needs love.

Here are a few tips for jewelry care:

• Store separately to it doesn’t scratch other jewelry – see my really bad example to the right
• Take your rings off when you clean the house, garden, and especially make bread. I learned the hard way trying to get dough out from under my wedding ring setting.
• Wait until after applying makeup or hairspray to put on the sparkles.
• Don’t swim with any jewelry – chlorine does nasty stuff like cause damage that may make them fall out of their settings.
• Remove jewelry before contact sports, like sex.
• Store all your shiny stuff away from heat. This includes your car dashboard.
• Always keep any knotted necklaces flat since the silk thread can stretch over time. This applies to those pearls.

Why do some items get scratched?

Gemstones have a hardness rating, and one of my favorites, emeralds, can be scratched really easily. Another no-no is sun damage. Did you know that most gems will get lighter with too much sun, and some may even change color?

Have you ever lost a stone from a ring? My first experience was losing, not 1 but 3 diamonds from my first wedding ring. They were super small, but were a huge pain to replace. Check your ring mounts, since they can get worn down.

How do you know they are getting loose? If the stones wiggle, or even worse rattle, have it checked out. Most jewelers can even re-tip the prongs to keep the stones safe.

If things have been sitting around a while, a few items may need a polish.

Sterling silver jewelry can be polished up by rubbing gently with a soft cotton cloth. You can keep this work down to a minimum by keeping sterling in a sealed plastic bag.

Don’t do this with your pearls. . . plastic and pearls is bad.

What sparkley things do you have hanging around? Are you taking care of them? Got any jewelry care or repair questions I can help with?

Leave your comments and I’ll be checking back to offer assistance.

Be sure to watch out for your family jewels this week ~

Heather

PS. If you are interested, I’ve done a few other posts about my jewelry business dream. They are Top 5 Inspirational Jewelry Designers; How To Pick Colors For Your Jewelry and How To Choose a Jewelry Pattern. Enjoy!

Heather’s dream is to have multiple streams of income, starting with launching an e-commerce website that showcases her one-of-a-kind designer jewelry, which are crafted by her. Her newly launched sites are couture jewelry available through For Your Adornment, and Twitter background designs on Twitter And Beyond Dot Com. She also teaches Social Media tactics for business, besides being CEO of her own web design company. Heather’s post day is Thursday.