Our fine jewelry is designed and crafted to last a lifetime. The proper jewelry care will assure the lasting qualities of your jewelry. Ridgewood Jewelers is pleased to offer you the following tips for the care of your fine jewelry.

Whether you wear your jewelry 24 hours a day, or just a few hours a week, you should still give all your jewelry TLC to keep it glowing for years. Caring for your jewelry means knowing when to put your jewelry on – and when to take it off: You should put jewelry on after applying makeup, perfume and hairspray. Also, handle gems and pearls as little as possible, since skin oil can build up over time and dull their appearance. Remove your jewelry if you're going to do any manual labor, including housework. Bracelets can be easily broken or bent if it catches on a hook. Gems, even diamonds, can chip or crack if they're knocked against a hard surface. Gemstones can be lost from the mounting because of worn or missing prongs. Another danger comes from the harsh solvents used in cleaning, which are not good for any kind of jewelry and are particularly harmful to pearls. Do not let your rings come in contact with a chlorine bleach when you're doing household chores, as this can damage and discolor the mounting. Be careful not to wear your rings in chlorinated swimming pools.

Do visit Ridgewood Jewelers at least twice a year and have us check your ring and other precious pieces for loose prongs and wear of mountings. We also can clean your jewelry at the same time. A good time to reminder stop in, is to do it twice a year when there is a time change.

When not wearing your diamonds and precious jewelry, they still require your attention. Keep your precious pieces in a fabric-lined jewel case, or a box with compartments or dividers, as this will keep the stones from possibility damaging each other.

lf you prefer to use ordinary boxes, stop in and let us give you some small clear plastic zipper bags to store them in. Do not wrap jewelry in tissue paper, as it is too easy to put it in the trash by accident.

1. You should remove all jewelry before showering or cleaning as soap can cause a film to form, making your jewelry appear dull and dingy. By preventing the formation of this film you immediately reduce the occasions of servicing

2. To clean your jewelry at home, there are many available commercial cleaners that can be purchased at jewelry stores. If your would rather make and mix your own cleaner, drop us a email and we will give you instructions. The trick to solution cleaning is to soak the jewelry for as long as possible. This will loosen any built up material that is trapped in and around the piece. Always remember to read the instructions on the commercial cleaners before you attempt cleaning.

3. Having a hard time removing grease, grime, paint or any other substance? Try using plain rubbing alcohol, soak then clean normally should do the trick.

Click here for our full list of 14 Cleaning Tips