Angela’s
Recipe for Cleaning Your Jewelry
First: find a small jar with a lid to store your solution
in, it can be used for 3-6 months and all you need to do is add more water or
ammonia when it begins to evaporate.
1. Fill the jar ¾
full of water.
2. Add one teaspoon
on laundry detergent (no chlorine bleach please!)
3. Add two
tablespoons of ammonia (omit if solution is to be used for silver jewelry.)
4. Put the filled
jar into the microwave and heat for 3 minutes (without lid, jewelry or metal of any kind)
When removing from the microwave it would be best to use
potholders because the jar will be very hot.
5. Place jewelry in
the solution and allow it to soak for at least 15 minutes, you can gently scrub
the jewelry with a soft bristled toothbrush to remove dirt and build up (focus
on behind the setting of a stone, prongs, etc.)
6. Remove jewelry
from the jar with tweezers or tongs and rinse thoroughly in a bowl of water
(don't risk dropping jewelry down the sink) the jewelry can then be dried with
a towel and it's ready to wear.
7. HINT: if you bend
a paper clip you can use it as a hook to suspend rings, pendants, chains etc.
in the solution. Use another wire to make a 'bridge' across the mouth of the
jar to hang the paperclip hooks on.
WORDS TO THE WISE: this solution will be at boiling point
when you remove it from the microwave, you can put diamonds, rubies and
sapphires in the solution at this high temperature but nothing else. Give the
solution some time to cool before you put other stones into it. For the sake of
your jewelry, do not put pearls, emeralds or opalescent stones into this
solution, they are irritated and damaged by such heat and chemicals.
Every piece of jewelry is different, it you're not sure
whether to use the solution with a certain stone or piece of jewelry please
feel free to call and ask. Thanks!