Fashion jewellery not only looks chic, but is also incredibly versatile. Made from a wide variety of materials, fashion jewellery shines through its design and workmanship. To maintain this shine, you should clean it carefully. Our guide and tips will show you how to clean fashion jewelry.
1. Common problems with fashion jewellery
The term “fashion jewelry” refers to jewelry that is not made of real gold or silver. Even real pearls or diamonds are not found in this type of jewelry. Instead, fashion jewellery for adults and children often consists of substitute materials such as various types of metal or even plastic or glass. This makes fashion jewellery particularly versatile and always adapts to fashion, but has the disadvantage that it is not as durable and robust as real jewelry.
Many pieces of jewellery only shine particularly beautifully at the beginning. Over time and in the event of a lack of care, jewellery often discolors. But in contrast to real silver or gold, there are even more problems with fashion jewellery:
- The material shows traces of use more easily
- Individual parts turn green or black
- The jewelry starts to rust in some places
- Glued parts separate from each other
- The metal used no longer shines properly
- Dust, dirt and debris become entrenched
2. Clean fashion jewellery: methods
Good to know: Fashion jewellery only really became a trend in the course of the 20th century and has been produced en masse ever since.
Below we introduce you to some home remedies, with which you get your fashion jewelry clean again. Tools for cleaning include a soft cloth, cotton swabs, a gentle toothbrush and some aluminium foil. Soda or baking powder, which is used as a tip in many areas, also provide good services for cleaning.
2.1. Wipe with a microfibre cloth
Fashion jewellery that comes into contact with the skin eventually attracts dirt and loses its shine. But other deposits, which are caused by skin creams or sweat, also accumulate in such places. To get the jewelry clean again, wipe it first with a soft, slightly moistened cloth. A lint-free microfibre cloth is best suited for this purpose.
Thanks to their special fabric, these cloths absorb dust and dirt almost without residue. Gently wipe the cloth over the piece of jewellery until the jewelry is free of dirt and grease stains. Alternatively, you can use a soft cotton cloth, which is easily wetted with water. Another way to wipe the dirt dry is the use of practical fabric eyeglass cleaning cloths.
2.2. Remove dust from the grooves with a brush
With a soft brush, you can get into all the recesses of your jewelry.
If your costume jewellery is elaborately shaped and has several frills, grooves or notches, dust accumulates there with preference. To get the dust out of the grooves, you have several options: either you use a soft toothbrush, cotton swabs or a fine brush.With the toothbrush you can clean especially large pieces of jewelry such as brooches or buckles.
For small pieces of jewelry such as earrings, finger rings or frames of stones, a thin soft brush or a cotton swab is very suitable. First brush carefully over the costume jewelry with the toothbrush and remove coarse deposits from the recesses. Then free the grooves from dust by swiping back and forth over the respective areas several times with a fine brush or cotton swab.
2.3. Clean silver-plated jewelry with aluminium foil and salt
If you own metal jewelry or your costume jewelry contains silver-plated parts, you can also clean the jewelry with a little salt and aluminum foil. This method is especially suitable for fashion jewellery that has started. Especially fashion jewellery, which contains silver, reacts at times with the oxygen in the air. This chemical process is also called oxidation.
With salt, aluminum foil and water, you can reverse this process and rid your jewelry of the black discoloration. To do this, add a small bowl of aluminium foil and add a little salt. Fill the bowl with lukewarm water and wait for the salt to dissolve. Then place the costume jewelry in the bowl. The aluminium foil adsorbs the discoloration and your costume jewellery starts to shine again.
Bring your silver-plated costume jewellery back to shine by gently rubbing it off with a special silver cleaning cloth.
2.4. Cleaning with detergent, toothpaste etc
Fashion jewellery often consists of more or less sensitive components. Materials such as plastic, glass or other composites can either be easily wiped off or washed off with a little water and a drop of detergent. This often gently removes greasy coverings from creams or other grease stains. Persistent encrustations and green stalk can be removed, for example, with a toothbrush and some baking powder, toothpaste or soda.
However, baking powder and soda in combination with a toothbrush have an abrasive effect, so you should pay attention to possible scratches in the costume jewelry. Toothpaste is also very abrasive due to the microplastics contained, which is why you should first test the method in a hidden place and use it only in an emergency.
3. Avoid these methods
There are some remedies that you should avoid when you clean fashion jewelry. This includes all strong detergents as well as the home remedies presented in our table.
| Description |
|---|
| Alcohol, for example, frees gold jewellery from grease stains and adhesive residues.However, alcohol also dissolves compounds with adhesive during embellishments.Affected are, for example, glued rhinestones, which can detach. |
| Vinegar, for example, cleans glass beads without residues of grease and dirt.However, vinegar attacks real gemstones and dissolves lime compounds.Therefore, vinegar should not be used in calcit-containing gemstones. |
| Citric acid cleans metal like stainless steel without chemistry again blitzeblank.However, citric acid also works as a bleaching agent and replaces paints.Lemon is hardly suitable for dyed materials as well as plastic and leather. |
Is it worth a professional cleaning?
Even with baking powder, soda and toothpaste you can clean fashion jewelry.
A professional method to clean jewelry is an ultrasonic cleaner. With such a device, real jewelry is usually cleaned of gold and silver. Ultrasonication is not particularly suitable for sensitive jewelry made of real pearls and gemstones. The water, which is in strong vibrations, creates bubbles that release dirt when it bursts.
This method is also only partially suitable for fake jewellery or fashion jewellery. Normally, cleaning metal, glass and plastic with an ultrasonic cleaner is no problem. However, costume jewellery that is glued should not be cleaned with it. Painted parts or materials such as leather or wood are also better left out of an ultrasonic cleaner.
Ultrasonic cleaning is only worthwhile if you purchase an in-house ultrasonic cleaner to clean other items such as real jewelry, glasses or waterproof watches.
