Taking Care of Vintage Jewelry
- Use a soft zippered jewelry pouch, or a small zip lock plastic bag for each piece. This will protect your piece from scratches and dust (which is abrasive) and also helps protect it from tarnish.
- To remove dust: use mild soapy water and a very soft toothbrush or cloth. Do not immerse rhinestone jewelry with foil backing into water and be careful not to damage the backing when cleaning the piece.
- You can also try a cleaner like Windex by spraying it onto a soft clean cloth or a cotton swab (do NOT spray directly on the piece). Do not soak the piece in Windex.
- To remove tarnish: First try using a jewelry polishing cloth (available at many jewelry stores, or online). This will often remove simple tarnish or discolorations. If the tarnish is green, this means that oxidation has occurred and you will further damage the piece when you try to remove the oxidized portion. Use a toothpick and distilled water or alcohol to gently remove the oxidized areas.
- Air dry your pieces before putting them away. Never put them away while wet as this can cause further destruction.
Replacing Missing Stones
To replace stones, first you need to find a stone that exactly matches the missing stone. This is most important if it is part of a group of stones, and an inexact replacement will be obvious. Sometimes there are other matching pieces (such as earrings) that are in poor condition (not salvageable), but have the same stones that can be used. Be very careful removing these stones, and use a clear-drying epoxy or cement. H-G Hypo Cement is recommended because it has a needle nose applicator that allows for good precision. Squeeze a tiny bit of glue into the bezel (use a toothpick if necessary), let it set briefly, and set the stone in using tweezers. Immediately wipe off any remaining glue before it dries. Avoid using glues like Super Glue as they are more brittle and the stone will eventually fall out.
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