Caring For Jewelry White Gold, Platinum And Silver_1359

Caring For Jewelry White Gold, Platinum And Silver



There are many different types of Jewelry and they can be made from a variety of metals. The most commonly used for jewelry white gold, silver and platinum. Each of these metals have different reactions to our environment but a standard set of tips will help you look after your jewelry.One thing these three metals have in common is that they often blended with other metals to make an allow. Silver has smallest amount of blended metal followed by platinum whilst white gold may have up to 67% foreign metals.Alloys are generally a combination of the base metal and copper, zinc, palladium, nickel, silver or platinum. White gold for instance, may include 20% silver and 10% platinum and 20% palladium along with 50% yellow gold. The use of silver, platinum or palladium bleaches the yellow gold to a white color.There are four factors that can cause problems with your jewelry. These are:Exposure to Chemicals- exposure to a wide range of common chemicals can cause problems with your jewelry. These chemicals include laundry detergents, bleaches, general cleaning products, soaps and shampoos. To prevent any problems you should either cover (by wearing gloves) or remove the jewelry before exposing them. If they have been exposed, give them a good wash in cleaning solution and dry and polish thoroughly.Body Fluids: our body fluids, particularly perspiration, contain salt which can cause problems to jewelry. Rings can be particularly vulnerable as the persperation sits under the ring, slowly dissolving the metal. Always wash and dry your jewelry after anything activity that may exposure your jewelry to body fluids. Air: exposure to air may commence a process known as oxidization. This is a process where oxygen in the air reacts with the metal. The most common seen is iron oxide - known as rust. Copper will turn green whilst Silver will turn black. Keep your jewelry clean and polished to avoid oxidization.Cleaning: whilst it is important to keep you jewelry clean, overdoing it, particularly using chemical cleaners, can create problems as well. A regular polish with the occasional chemical clean is all that is required. Overdo it and your cleaning could be polishing away the metal.Protecting your jewelry from the damaging effects of the environment will ensure you have many happy years of use.