CARE TIPS
DIAMONDS
Diamond is the hardest natural substance on Earth. It can cut any kind of rock or metal, but only another diamond can cut a diamond. In fact, to burn a diamond, it must be heated to between 1290-1650 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet the oil deposited from the mere touch of a human finger can cause dirt to collect and make this nearly indestructible gemstone quickly lose its sparkling appeal.
Diamonds are natural magnets for grease, so they’re not easy to keep clean. When a diamond is handled, the oils from your fingers adhere to the diamond’s surface and affect its brilliance and fire.
A simple plan to keep diamond jewellery looking beautiful, is to soak it in a gentle degreasing solution, such as water with a few drops of mild dish soap, once or twice a week. After you remove the diamond from the cleaning solution, use a soft, clean toothbrush to remove any remaining dirt.
DON’T TAKE RING FROM HOT WATER TO COLD WATER IMMEDIATELY.
When cleaning your diamond jewellery, allow a 15 second window when switching from hot to cold water. The toothbrush should be new and reserved exclusively for cleaning your jewellery.
Use it to clean hard-to -reach places like the back of the diamond, which tends to collect the most oil and dirt.
Chlorine bleach or abrasives (such as household cleansers or toothpaste) should never be used when cleaning diamond jewelry. Chemicals like chlorine can damage some of the metals used to alloy gold for diamond settings and abrasives can scratch gold and other metals.
Note: While diamonds triumph in hardness and stability, their toughness presents a vulnerability that, if the conditions are just right, can cause a diamond to fracture.
Diamonds are vulnerable to chipping, fracturing, or even breaking apart along their cleavage lines.
When gemologists classify different stones, there are three major elements they use to determine durability:
– Hardness, or how easily it is scratched
– Toughness, or how well it stands up to breakage or chipping.
– Stability, or how well it stands up to thermal changes, like temperature.
EMERALDS
Emeralds are Not exactly soft gemstones; with a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale they are not easily scratched. However, Emeralds by nature have inclusions and surface-reaching breaks. These characteristics make emeralds prone to chipping or breaking on impact.
Stability:
Heat can damage emeralds, especially by extending existing fractures. Light and chemicals can cause the oils, resins, and polymers used to fill surface-reaching fractures to alter in appearance or deteriorate. It is advised to clean the emeralds that are exposed to light is showcases with a soft cotton cloth with a small drop of “baby oil”.
Care:
Emeralds are stones that require more care in wearing than a ruby or sapphire. Even so, emeralds are beautiful stones for all types of jewellery and with proper care will last for generations.
-Never wear your emeralds while showering, swimming or while performing household chores.
-Always put your jewellery on after you’ve applied make-up, perfume or hairspray, otherwise, the chemicals may damage the emeralds.
-Your emerald jewellery can be easily scratched, so be sure to store it separately from other gemstones and jewellery to avoid contact.
-The best way to clean an emerald, loose or set in jewellery, is to wipe the emerald with a clean wiping cloth.
Note: Emerald jewellery may need to be re-oiled after several years, and this procedure should only be done by a professional.
RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
Rubies are made of the same material as sapphire – corundum. Interestingly, all other corundum colors are called sapphire except red, which has the prestige of having its own name – ruby.
Sapphires are one of the most important of all the loose coloured gemstones and comes in a wide variety of “fancy” colors: blue, pink, yellow, green, purple, orange, padparadscha, blue green, lemon yellow, colour change, and black colour. With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, loose-cut sapphires are extremely hard, tough, and durable.
Corundum (ruby and sapphire) has excellent toughness and no cleavage (a tendency to break when struck.) This makes it a great choice for rings and other mountings subject to daily wear, however, that like any gemstone, a ruby may chip or crack due to blunt impact. This is especially true when mounted in a ring or bracelet. Corundum is stable under normal wearing conditions, which means it is resistant to the effects of heat, light, and common chemicals.
Care Tips:
1. Because rubies and sapphires are very hard, foreign matter accumulates on surfaces, causing a faded or cloudy appearance.
Keep your gems as clean as possible by applying lotions, perfumes and sprays before putting on your jewellery.
2. To eliminate dullness, it is possible to clean rubies and sapphires at home by applying a mixture of mild liquid soap and warm water. Gently scrub your rubies and the jewellery mounting using a soft toothbrush. Rinse immediately with warm water and dry with a lint-free cloth for sparkling results.
PEARLS
Do NOT store pearls in an airtight package such as a plastic bag: remember, pearls need moisture. If the environment is too dry, the pearls may crack. If placing the pearls in a safety deposit box or in a hot environment, leave a damp cloth nearby.
Pearls should be stored away from other objects or jewellery that may scratch their surfaces. Wrap the pearls with a soft cloth, or place in a soft pouch.
Pearl Care Tips
– Gently wipe pearls with a soft cloth to remove sweat, perfume, excess oils or dirt before putting them away.
– Make sure to put pearls on after finished spraying perfume or hairspray and putting on makeup. Be very careful with chemical substances as they will eat holes in the pearl nacre.
– Remove pearls before exercising to keep them away from perspiration.
– Do not submerge your pearls in water – Do not shower, swim, or do the dishes whilst wearing your pearls . The chlorine in the water will eat away at the epoxy securing the pearls to their mountings, and soaking the silk your pearls are strung on causes it to stretch out and eventually break early.
AQUAMARINE
Aquamarine is 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, so it is a durable gemstone for jewellery as long as it is treated with care to protect it against scratching and hard knocks. Professional cleaning is recommend.
Curiosity:
Although aquamarine gemstones can be easily confused with blue topaz, aquamarine is much more rare and valuable. Aquamarine is related to emerald, since both belong to the gemstone family of Beryls. Heat exposure is not recommended for aquamarine, but the color is stable against light exposure.
One of the most popular misconceptions about aquamarine is that its color should be just blue. Most consumers do prefer a dark blue aquamarine color. However, natural, untreated aquamarine is gemologically described as a transparent, blueish green variety of beryl.
AMETHYST
Amethyst is made of a very common crystal that is abundantly found across the world – quartz.
Quartz comes in a variety of colours and these are known by different names (citrine and rose quartz are some examples). Distinguished by its purple colour, amethyst has shades ranging from light lavender to dark purple. Its hue is caused by infections in the crystal lattice coming from irradiation, contamination of trace elements and iron impurities.
Amethyst rates a 7 on the Mohs scale and has good toughness, so it is suitable for all jewellery types. This includes rings, as long as the wearer understands the limits of its hardness.
Heating is the most common treatment used on amethyst. When an amethyst is too dark or too light it can affect the beauty of the stone. By heating, the colour is changed either by darkening, lightening or just completely changing the hue of the crystal.
Cleaning:
Amethyst can be safely cleaned with warm soapy water. Ultrasonic cleaners are usually safe except in the rare instances where a stone is dyed or treated by fracture filling. Steam cleaning is not recommended, and amethyst should not be subjected to heat.
TOPAZ
Never apply lotion or use hand sanitizer while wearing topaz. When it comes time to clean your topaz, do not use any special jewellery cleaners as they contain chemicals and acids often too harsh for this stone. Merely soak it in a solution of slightly warm water and mild dish soap for 10 to 15 minutes instead.
Topaz can be made into an almost limitless variety of jewellery due to its versatility. Topaz is very hard 8 on the Mohs scale, which gives it durability and resistance to scratches.
A variety of impurities and treatments may make topaz intense red, pale gray, reddish-orange, pale green, or pink (rare), and opaque to translucent/transparent.
Naturally occurring blue topaz is quite rare.
YATAGHAN JEWELLERY 2021
