The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning and Storing Your Jewelry

As someone who worked in the jewelry industry for 4 years, I feel as if I have a pretty good grasp on jewelry and how to best take care of it. I see a lot of influencers post about jewelry and how they never take it off because it “doesn’t fade” so they wear it in the shower, in the pool or ocean, sleep in it… and honestly no jewelry is made to be worn all the time. So don’t be fooled when someone says their necklaces, bracelets, and rings last through anything. 

I would recommend taking your jewelry off every single time you shower. Even if it’s real gold, the products you use when you bathe get on the metal and can affect the way it looks. The good thing about any real jewelry (meaning NOT plated) is that it can be polished or if it’s white gold, can be rhodium plated (this should be done professionally). If you see scratches or marks on your gold, I would take it to a jewelry store to have it polished which will bring it back to its beautiful yellow gold color. That can also be done with platinum. If you have white gold jewelry, I would recommend rhodium plating over polishing because the rhodium will give it a bright white gold finish. 

My #1 rule for jewelry: DON’T SHOWER IN IT! It’s just not worth it. If it’s plated, it will tarnish and the color will fade. 

If you are a sterling silver lover, then be sure to store your sterling somewhere that air can get to it. If you keep your sterling silver in a jewelry box with a shut lid or door, it’s going to tarnish. It needs air to keep its bright silver color. I highly recommend this cleaning product if your sterling silver pieces look tarnished. 

The best (and cheapest) way to do a gentle at-home cleaning of your jewelry is to get a bowl and fill it with warm water. Then add some Dawn dish soap and let your jewelry soak. After about an hour of soaking, use a soft toothbrush and scrub your jewelry with the dish soap. The toothbrush helps get any of the pesky dirt off of the jewelry. 

You can also purchase some at-home cleaners that work really well. You can find my cleaning recommendations here. FYI, the wipes are literally magic. 

I can sometimes be a bit of a “jewelry snob” (not proud of that) but I also love to find fun costume jewelry from boutiques and even on Amazon. Just remember that your less expensive pieces from places such as Amazon, won’t last forever. That’s why the price tag is much less than if you were to buy real gold, white gold, or even sterling silver. While some costume jewelry may clean up well, not all of it will, and sometimes you may be better off getting a new piece instead of trying to bring it back to how it once looked. 

For all of my jewelry cleaning recommendations, click here. These are what I use to clean my own personal pieces!

One more tip!

Ever get a knot in your necklace and can’t get it out? Try laying the necklace on a flat surface, then take the sharp end of a safety pin and tap the knot (somewhat hard) over and over. Eventually, the knot will loosen up, and then you can use the sharp end to pull the pieces apart. 

If you have any questions, drop a comment below! 

xo Adelyn