Tips for the daily care of costume jewelry
Costume jewelry is a very nice way to express your personality by displaying colorful or more discreet ornaments. Having a collection of original costume jewelry allows you to be noticed easily and in any occasion without spending thousands of euros.
But the cleaning of your fancy earrings or your stitched brooches are not known by all. That’s why we wanted to tell you all the ways to preserve your Ciléa jewelry. Whether it is a resin earring, a gold-plated chain or a Ciléa brooch with a silver-plated backing, we have tips on how to keep it looking good!
How to keep your costume jewelry?
Especially if you leave them in the sun, they will lose their shine and quickly become dull. You should also know that costume jewelry is generally sensitive to perspiration, humidity and acidity. Gold-plated chains will blacken quickly and tarnish easily. It’s also nice to know all the little tricks you’ve picked up over the years to save your favorite costume jewelry and make it last forever.
First of all, if you leave your pieces in the bottom of a drawer, know that it is very harmful for your jewelry. Jewelry gets brittle with the dust that accumulates.
Is it a good idea to store them in the bathroom? Not at all! This exposes them to prolonged humidity and heat. The result? Mold and mildew and a jewel that will oxidize and fade very quickly!
The ideal: Keep them in a cool and dry place. For example, you can store Ciléa jewelry in the small case that was delivered with it.
Avoid putting on your women’s costume jewelry right after soaking yourself in moisturizer or perfume. In the same logic, the farther the jewel is from humidity, the better it will wear.
The ideal: You wait a few minutes before putting them on to minimize the aggression.
Always in the same logic, one avoids taking them to the beach, to the swimming pool or under the shower (except if one wants to strut, that must remain rare of course). Wearing them while doing the housework is also not recommended for everyday life.
I repeat: The less contact they have with water, the better they are!
A simple gesture to clean costume jewelry
Regularly, if possible every time after wearing your jewelry, it is important to clean it with a soft cloth.
This will not only remove dust, but also dirt and traces of moisturizer, mattifying powder or perspiration. All these elements could cause oxidation of fragile earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other fancy rings. Also, it is very important to rub well energetically to remove a big part of the black deposit (yum yum!). This will bring shine to your tarnished and faded jewelry.
Cleaning your blackened costume jewelry or reviving your oxidized costume jewelry
Need to clean your costume jewelry more intensively? Here are all our solutions to clean your necklace, ring or bracelet and prevent them from turning black. If you feel that the stains on your jewelry will remain, you also have various remedies to remove the stains:
– You can try applying toothpaste without rubbing too much with an unusable toothbrush. Then simply clean with a soft cloth and dry it well.
– Clean costume jewelry with a soft sponge soaked in water + a drop of shampoo or soap flakes. Rinse and dry.
– Clean your jewelry with clay stone with a pinch of salt and a drop of dishwashing liquid. Then rub the jewelry in your hand: it will shine.
– If your costume jewelry turns black, clean it with slightly diluted lemon juice, rinse it, dry it and then apply colorless varnish.
If traces of make-up persist, don’t hesitate to apply a small amount of gentle cleansing milk.
– There is also an effective way to clean the metal parts of your Ciléa jewelry: Apply baking soda to a slightly damp cloth.
– You can also sprinkle clay stone with a pinch of salt.
However, note that you run the risk of them rusting a bit in the process, especially if they have not been protected. If you want to deoxidize them and remove black marks, use fresh lemon juice instead. If you put some on a cloth to rub, its acidity will strip off the dirt. Otherwise, a few drops of ketchup or a thin paste of white vinegar, salt and flour can remove verdigris stains! Then, remember to rinse, wipe and protect your jewelry with varnish to prevent the stains from coming back and keep it shiny.
To remove verdigris or large stains, nothing better than to apply a gentle mixture of vinegar, flour and salt (preferably coarse salt). All in roughly equal proportions in a half glass. You will then obtain a rather liquid paste to be able to spread it easily. We will massage with our little fingers this divine mixture (which does not smell very good, we grant you, but which is so effective!). When you see your jewel sparkling again, all you have to do is rinse it off and dry it completely. Tadaaam! A beautiful shiny piece of jewelry!
Alternatively, you could also try ketchup with a small soft cloth.
Re-silvering and gilding the metal parts
There are gold or silver leaves initially intended for pastry or cabinet making. Their application consists in moistening the metal part. The application of the silver or gold leaf must be precise and meticulous.
There are also special products for silvering jewelry. The jewel must then be dipped a few seconds in liquid. Then wash the jewel with soapy water.
Easy, isn’t it?