Thursday, January 31, 2008

How To Safely Clean Your Diamond And Gold Jewelry


How To Safely Clean Your Diamond And Gold Jewelry 
By Victor Epand 
It can be difficult to maintain and clean gold or diamond jewelry because the cleaning methods differ according to jewelry settings. Fine jewelry is like a valuable possession crafted and designed to be kept for lifetime. Proper care should be taken in order to ensure that the quality of gold and diamond jewelry lasts forever. 

Gold and diamonds are valuable material for making jewelry. Since buyers have to spend a lot of money in buying them, it is essential to clean and store them in a proper manner so that the original beauty of these precious materials can be enhanced as well as retained. You can either do the cleaning at home or give it to a jeweler to do it for you. 

Due to use of hair styling products, oil or hand lotions, a film of dust and dirt sets on gold and diamond jewelry and because of this they don't sparkle. If you don't clean them, these materials can get accumulated in a thick layer of gunk, usually found on the back of the stone or gold jewelry. Even though diamond is considered to be a hard gemstone, scrubbing it vigorously and using harsh cleaners can remove the material and coating, which is used for enhancing it. So it is essential to be very careful while removing the film and dust.

Before cleaning try and find out if there are any treatments, which were used on the diamond before being placed in a setting. If you know this, it will be easy for you to clean it. The first thing you should do is, soaking the jewelry in a warm solution made out of water and mild liquid detergent. You can either use ivory liquid for dishwashing or any other mild detergent. 

After soaking it for sometime, you need a soft brush for removing dirt. A brush with stiff bristles should not be used otherwise the metal 

setting of the ring will get scratches. After cleaning it with a soft brush, swish it around in the solution and then rinse the jewelry properly in warm water. Remember to put the jewelry in a strainer or close drain so that you don't lose it. 

The next step should be drying it with a cloth that is lint-free. You can also use a stream of water for the grime to be flushed away. Even a toothpick can be used so that dirt is pushed away carefully from the stone. 

Water solution or ammonia solution can be used for diamonds that are not fracture filled. Diamonds that are fracture filled should be cleaned with a gentle liquid detergent. Eventually, the coating on the diamond gets removed or clouded with the use of ammonia. If there are other stones besides diamonds, then you need to be extra careful. The weakest and most delicate jewelry should be taken care of the most. A cleaning method that is usually meant for stones which is less durable can be used for other gemstones.

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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Jewelry For Beauty And Investment


Jewelry For Beauty And Investment 
By Victor Epand 
Distressed Europeans flocked towards America, driven by the native pursuit of the American Dream. In the years of conflict, those who had some funds sewed diamonds into the lining of their clothes so that they could use it during uncertain times. During those times, the national currencies were very erratic and fluctuated a lot. High quality diamonds and gems always exchanged for ready cash in case of emergencies in the international market.

Today also, rare gems and diamonds remain the object of de valeur for terror stricken people, fleeing tyranny, or those who fear taxes. Gems and diamonds command top dollar, especially since the gem resources have exhausted. Even so, a layman would always suggest buying gemstones as a mode of investment. Jewelry investment does not produce income like mutual funds or real estate. Gemstones and diamonds rates tend to fluctuate whereas high quality diamonds and gemstones may not make money at all, but they do not lose value.

A private jewelry collection has an advantage over mutual fund investment that sometimes does not yield any curves or interest on the rate of return etc. Jewelry may not offer any of these advantages immediately, but it retains beauty, romance and the money's worth. A pair of beautiful diamond studs adds glow to a woman's face than a set of convertible debentures.

Value of diamonds and gemstones are easier to measure than the jewelry designs since most of the precious stones have lab certificates that verify the quality. If you buy jewelry for its design rather than the gem value, then it could be an impulsive investment. Women love jewelry and they have a passion for beauty so they buy jewelry to enhance their looks and display style. 

The mysterious beauty of gemstones and diamonds makes any woman look enchanting and the exquisite color and lights inspires us to believe that they have supernatural origins and the magical mystery surrounds the wearer. Jewelry studded with gemstones or diamonds compliments fashionable clothing and adds sparkles and shine to the person who adorns it.

Gemstones were always thought to possess mystical powers and have the ability to enhance beauty. According to the legends, people invested and bought gemstones for some purpose, like emeralds were bought to bring good luck and yellow stones solved the jaundice problem and men wore ruby to project command, lordship, nobility and vengeance, while a woman wore the ruby to indicate pride, haughtiness and obstinacy. Blue sapphire denotes man's wisdom, high thoughts, but a woman's jealousy, transitory hope and ambition with a childish delight.

Industry experts agree that jewelry serves as a sustainable investment, hence before investing, buyers should always ask for a laboratory report that verifies the natural state. 

Fairy tales of enchanted princesses and the legendary Arabian Nights do not merely mention the ruby for nothing. It is mentioned for a purpose, as ruby is intimately connected with love and romance. Solomon rightly exclaimed that "a virtuous woman was more valuable than rubies", and that "the price of wisdom is above rubies". In addition, its value and scarcity have not decreased since their time. 

Accessorizing is everything today in the fashion world and jewelers combine traditional techniques with today's fashion to create stunning and gorgeous pieces, from the hot setters to the soothing kinds with more classic chic styles. Nowadays, jewelry is designed to appeal to the modern woman while retaining her romantic nature. Gemstone studded jewelry captures the essence of a woman who loves to combine art and fashion to look outstanding and dazzling!

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