How to care for your costume jewelry.

Caring for your Jewelry

Costume jewelry usually consists of less expensive stones and metals than those found in fine jewelry made from precious metals and gemstones. 

Over time, your jewelry comes in contact with moisture, acids, oils and air. They react with the metal in the jewelry, causing it to eventually wear down and tarnish. To prevent this keep your pieces DRY. Avoid putting on lotions, perfumes, washing your hands while wearing your pieces. 

Storage plays a huge part in keeping your pieces looking beautiful. Try storing them in a cloth pouch or just a cloth. You may also use a Ziploc bag, making sure most if not all the air is removed. 3M anti tarnish strips are great to use during storage.

Cleaning tips

You can try to clean with dry methods, if that does not work you can try gentle cleanser without harsh chemicals. 

Verdigris is the green gunk that builds up on some costume jewelry. Q-Tips and soft toothbrushes are a bit more abrasive when they're dry, so they may do a better job of scraping off the gunk. If you still can't get it off, try using a toothpick, or a can of compressed air.

Using a gentle cleanser be sure to rinse all the cleanser from your pieces. Use a soft cloth to dry or cool hair dryer. 

If you want you can choose to use a gentle jewelry cleaner that's safe for costume jewelry if your pieces are just to tarnished or has build up dirt.