Purchasing gold jewelry is only the first step in enjoying its many delights; the second step is maintaining the jewelry. This can be quite difficult if you have never owned gold jewelry before, or you do not know what you are doing. Maintaining jewelry requires a combination of effort and persistence. Many items you come in contact with every day can be harmful to your 14k jewelry without you even knowing. Here are the three best things to do to extend the longevity of your 14k gold jewelry.
Avoid Getting Any Fluids on the Jewelry
The primary fluids your jewelry is most likely to come in contact with is water and sweat. You can best avoid these kinds of fluids by taking off the jewelry at the right time. A crucial moment to remove your jewelry is before you enter the shower. When your gold jewelry is in the shower with you, it will probably get slathered by things such as water, shampoo, body wash, and even conditioner. Lots of these body cleaning items have chemicals in them that are known to deteriorate jewelry. Even just plain tap water can play a large role in removing the shine from the jewelry. There should always be shine when you look at 14k gold jewelry.
Another instance in which your jewelry could be negatively affected by fluids is when you enter a swimming pool, hot tub, or water at the beach. Just like a shower, hot tubs and swimming pools will cause the jewelry to get wet. This can cause the material to degrade and lose its shine. Pools and hot tubs also contain chlorine, a cleaning chemical that can be quite harmful to materials like gold and platinum. When gold jewelry comes in contact with chlorine, it can result in damage and discoloration.
Saltwater also has a similar effect on gold, as chlorine does. Saltwater can cause mild erosion of gold jewelry. If you spend too much time in the ocean with the jewelry on, it could eventually lead to the jewelry breaking.
Another dangerous fluid to gold jewelry is sweat. Small regular amounts of sweat will not damage the jewelry too much, but strenuous activities can be very harmful to the gold. It is best to remove the jewelry before you do anything that may result in a large amount of sweating. Activities that can result in a lot of sweating are things like working out, jogging, sunbathing, or lifting heavy objects.
You should also make sure to avoid your jewelry coming in contact with other fluids like soda, juice, or any condiments. These all contain chemicals that can harm the 14k gold. Other products such as hair spray, perfume, sunscreen, lotion, dish soap, and nail polish remover should be avoided. We often use these products daily without even realizing it. Most of these products seem to be just another part of our daily routine. Make sure to remove your jewelry when using these products as it will help to prevent damage and discoloration.
Clean the Jewelry Occasionally
Although coming in contact with water and soap is often bad for your jewelry, doing it once a month will keep the jewelry maintained. The 14k gold should not get wet once a day, but instead, it should be cleaned once a month. Cleaning the jewelry once a month will get rid of any harmful things that could have attached to the gold. This prevents those harmful things from damaging the jewelry over time.
The cleaning process is pretty simple. You will only need a glass of water, mild soap-based detergent, and a soft toothbrush to do the scrubbing. You should also make sure the water is warm before starting. To clean the jewelry, you’ll start by soaking it in the warm water for a minute. After the minute is over, apply some detergent to the toothbrush and lightly scrub until there is detergent covering every spot on the jewelry. Rinse the jewelry off with the warm water, and pat it dry with a dishtowel. Make sure to pat down instead of rub.
Once you have patted it dry, leave it out overnight to air dry. This will keep it away from excessive moisture that can tarnish the gold. There are a few items to especially never use when it comes to cleaning your gold. Toothpaste and baking soda should never be used to clean 14k gold jewelry. Both of them can be very abrasive and can cause tarnishing and discoloring. Remove your jewelry when brushing your teeth or doing the dishes to make sure it does not come in contact with the water or toothpaste.
When the Jewelry is Worn
Wearing your 14k gold jewelry too much can sometimes cause discoloration and tarnishing. This is because of the chemicals on our skin and the fact that you can not protect the jewelry from everything. Choosing certain important events to wear the jewelry will help to keep it in good condition. You should also try and limit the jewelry to skin contact as much as possible. For example, if you are wearing a 14k gold chain, wear the chain over the shirt so that only the top part is touching the skin.
Not wearing gold every day will help to prevent tarnishing. You can also find a way to wear your jewelry every day if you have more than one piece of 14k gold jewelry. For example, if you have two different pieces of gold jewelry, you can wear each one every other day. This limits the skin to gold contact of each but allows you to wear your jewelry every day still.
Do not let other people or yourself touch the jewelry when it is unnecessary. This is unneeded skin to gold contact that could harm the gold in the future.
All it takes to maintain your jewelry is a little bit of effort and consistency. Wearing the gold at the right times and cleaning it will help to make sure it stays in good condition.