Sara Golden Jewelry

How to Clean Your Gold Jewelry

Jewelry CareSara GoldenComment

I love gold! It’s one of the un-fussiest metals to take care of, it’s slow to oxidize or tarnish, and cleaning it is delightfully simple and straightforward. Here I share my best method for cleaning gold jewelry at home — don’t read too fast or you’ll miss it!

“Tools” you’ll need

  • 🪥 A soft-bristled toothbrush,

  • 🥣 A small bowl filled with…

  • 💧 Slightly warm water, and

  • 🧼 Neutral liquid soap without any additives (like Dawn, for example)

Cleaning your gold jewelry

  1. Put your jewelry in the warm water and let it sit for 3-5 minutes; this will help loosen up some of the more stuck-on dirt.

  2. Put 1-2 squirts of soap in the water, dunk the toothbrush in it, and scrub your jewelry with the toothbrush. Get all the nooks and crannies, including underneath the settings where lotions and crumbs (I’m calling myself out here) will get stuck.

  3. Rinse it under cold water to get rid of the soap, then dry it with your lint-free cloth. (Prongs holding stones in place tend to get caught on linty cloths, which is why I recommend something smoother but still absorbent.)

And you’re done! How easy was that!?

any pearls or opals in your JEWELRY?

Don’t let your jewelry soak in the water for more than 2-3 minutes. Pearls and opals love absorbing whatever they’re submerged in and you don’t want to risk dulling their natural luster.

You’re safe to scrub with the toothbrush, but please be gentle! These stones are soft and scratch easily, and are specifically why I recommend a soft-bristled toothbrush vs. medium or hard.

DON’T EVEN TALK TO ME ABOUT AT-HOME ULTRASONICs

At-home ultrasonic machines make me anxious because if you’re just buying one off of Amazon, there’s almost no way of knowing how powerful it actually is. You could be buying a weak, do-nothing dud or a too-powerful machine that’ll crack your stones. Just take your jewelry to a jewelry shop! They’ll know what to do.

My only exception here is for solid gold jewelry. Stones famous for their toughness (like diamonds and sapphires) can include tiny, minuscule things in them that won’t stand up to ultrasonic machines, and your safest bet is using ultrasonics for solid gold only.

Now that you know how easy it is to clean gold jewelry, let’s add to your collection!

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