5 Tips to Keep Your Jewelry Safe This Summer
Summertime is a prime time to do things that can damage your jewelry. I hope, by sharing these tips I can help people take a few extra steps to keep their jewelry looking great and undamaged!
- Chlorine & Saltwater: Keep your jewelry away from chlorine and salt water! Take off that jewelry before you hit the hot tub, swimming pool or beach. Chlorine and salt water can damage some metals and gemstones. I wrote about the havoc chlorine can wreak on your jewelry here. Chlorine and salt water can also erode the finish and polish of some gemstones. You could lose your jewelry in the water, so there’s another reason to take it off.
- Chemicals: Don't wear jewelry when you apply sunscreen or mosquito repellent. Yes, use them when you need to, but know that the chemicals in there aren’t always very friendly to your jewelry. Some may have a chemical reaction to your metal, pearls or gemstones. Other chemicals may build up on metal and can gunk up clasps or prongs. Just take care to gently clean your jewelry after exposure to these chemicals.
- Sand: If you’re going to be playing in the sand, take off that jewelry. Sand is abrasive and can scratch metal and gems. The sand can get stuck in prongs too.
- Sun: Prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause some gemstones to fade and some metals to tarnish faster.
- Humidity: Humidity can speed up tarnishing of some metals and even affect the integrity of some gemstones. Store your jewelry in a cool, dry place whenever possible.
At the end of each day, take a few moments to use a clean, soft, slightly damp cloth to wipe the jewelry you wore that day. This helps to wipe off sweat and other chemicals that could harm it.
Finally, when summer is over, take your jewelry to a jeweler to have it properly and thoroughly cleaned and looked over for any damage.
This is a general list of tips, and it doesn’t cover all the precautions to take with different gemstones. So, when in doubt, leave the jewelry home.
Take care of your jewelry. Remember, it isn’t indestructible. I told you about that in this post.
