Caring for your Gemstone Jewelry

With gemstone jewelry, as in any other type of jewelry, you want its life span to be long and productive. In other words, you want to use it often as possible. It’s easy to overlook your gemstone jewelry pieces especially if you have a lot (lucky you!) so here are some really basic tips to remind you of how you should be caring for your gemstone accessories.

1. To avoid dark spots (which usually happen when your wet skin touches metals), make sure to clean your gemstone jewelry pieces with a wet flannel after taking it off. If you are applying skin bleach, it is also best to remove your jewelry because it will cause the pieces to darken. Spots, however, can be cleaned off with some hyposulphite solution.

2. Among gemstone jewelry pieces, rings are hardest to clean. To remove dust from under the stone, use cotton buds soaked in cologne or glycerine and wipe the stone. Use a flannel cloth to then polish off the ring. And here’s a preventive tip: take off your ring when washing your hands to avoid clogging.

3. Speaking of protective tips, remove your gemstone jewelry pieces when taking medicinal baths, before going inside a sauna, while working out, and while cooking or grilling. The idea here is to not expose your accessories to high heat and water.

4. Depending on the type of gemstone jewelry that you have, there are different ways to clean your accessories. There are usually cleaning solutions specially made for gemstone jewelry so don’t just go and wipe your jewelry with water. Always use a soft cloth like flannel and if unsure, always check with your jeweller.

5. Storage is an important aspect of caring for your gemstone jewelry. The ideal place is to put jewelry in is a closed jewelry box. Make sure it is not placed in high temperatures and if possible, away from UV rays. Putting your jewelry inside the bathroom may seem like a convenient idea but the dampness is bad for your gemstone pieces so keep it out.

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Silver, Platinum and White Gold Jewelry Photography Tips

Taking photos, whether for professional use or not, of silver, platinum and white gold jewelry such as white gold rings and necklaces, is always a tricky subject.

For example, you want to take a photo of your engagement ring—a white gold ring. The first thing you will notice is that it is a natural mirror. It reflects everything around it. The easiest way to go about this is to carefully place the white gold rings in a proper angle in such a way that it does not reflect anything, catch light where it shouldn’t, and look natural. Of course, this sounds easy in theory but when it comes to actually setting silver, platinum and white gold jewelry up for photography, the challenge can be quite daunting.

Now, you do not have to be a professional photographer to get this done right. Here are our easy tips for taking quality photos of silver necklaces, platinum earrings and white gold rings.

1. Do not use a white background. This seems obvious but a lot of people are tempted to use white when taking picture of white gold rings or silver jewelry. (“It’s not really that white!”) Even if the jewelry will not blend in with the background, the subject will look dull and unnatural in the photo. Black background is always the way to go.

2. Use metallic-like backgrounds. By doing so, you let your white gold ring or your platinum earrings reflect a more natural color. It reflects against a background that creates a contrast between the white walls of the photography lighting system and the surface it is against. It also gives your white gold rings a three-dimensional look.

3. For silver jewelry, you need something a bit more complicated if you really want to get it done right, like a photography lighting system or a light box.

4. Be realistic about your expectations. And by this we mean do not expect completely reflection-free photos. Of course, there is always Photoshop for post-photo shoot touches but keep in mind that white gold rings, silver necklaces and platinum earrings are bound to reflect something, one way or another. So be patient and find the right angle.

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