Cleaning, Care and Maintenance of Gemstones

The atomic composition of different gemstones causes them to vary in hardness, toughness, cleaving or splitting potential, as well as their reaction to heat, light, acids, and more. The challenge of proper care and maintenance of gems confronting a gemstone owner can thus be quite substantial.

Similar to almost all other things, some gemstones are hardy and can absorb nearly any level of abuse or negligence without the slightest loss of beauty. Other gemstones are very sensitive even to the extent of losing their colour if exposed to sunlight for a few hours.

It is not enough to delegate the care of your gems to your gemstone seller. You can, and should, accept the major responsibility of your gemstones. You do not need to be a professional gemmologist to care for them expertly. Despite the fact that gemstone care appears formidable, a few general rules will produce a maximum of beautiful results plus maximum safety.

So far as cleaning gems is concerned, most gems, not all of them, can be brought to their full brilliance simply by using a mild detergent in warm water and a soft brush. Most commercially prepared jewellery cleaners are safe, but you do need to be a bit careful with some which contain ammonia or chemicals capable of damaging sensitive gems such as pearl or amber.

In absence of a total understanding of gemmology and which cleaning techniques are suitably compatible with which gems, you would be well advised to stick to the combination of a warm water-detergent solution and leave difficult cleaning jobs to a professional. Such a strategy will serve you satisfactorily 99% of the time.

The real key to lifting a transparent faceted gemstone to its best brilliance level is the careful cleaning of the base portion of the gemstone below the stone's girdle, called the pavilion. Some gem materials are heat sensitive, some are not. Some materials react violently to chemicals, some do not. Some are weakened by inclusions, some are not.

Warm water, a mild detergent, and a soft brush is the safest cleaning medium for almost all gems with the least danger of inflicting harm on gems with which you are not familiar.

Unfortunately, the pavilion is where most dirt accumulates and often the setting makes it the most difficult spot to get at. Be especially watchful around prongs. In cutting out the notches on the prongs, most gem setters do not polish the notches and any roughened metal is quick to gather dirt and debris.

As for safe, acceptable cleaning procedure, first let the entire jewellery piece soak for a few moments in the solution, whether it is the warm water-detergent mix or a commercial preparation. Scrub gently with the brush. A very soft brush is quite useful. So, too, is a fine camel hair artist's brush; it is narrow and fits better through the setting and in-between prongs. A shaved matchstick or toothpick is quite good at picking out accumulations, but do not be too harsh. Patience pays off.

When you are finished with the scrubbing, dip the jewellery piece back into the solution for one last wetting. Then rinse in warm running water, preferably about the same temperature as your solution. Radical temperature changes are dangerous and should be avoided. A good shake or blowing on the item, a hair drier can be used at home, will remove excess liquid. Then gently polish with a soft lint-free cloth or chamois leather.

Cleaning gemstone jewellery after it gets dirty is only part of proper care. Pre-use care is also important. Apply your perfumes, colognes, and hairsprays before you put on your gems. Not only will these chemicals reduce gem brilliance, they are highly destructive to pearls which react violently to acid and alcohol.

For much of the same reason, try to wear your perfumes in areas where they will not come in contact with gems. In the case of pearls, try to keep the pearls out of contact with the skin whether you are wearing perfume or not; perspiration is inimical to pearls too. That is impossible in the case of a choker or bracelet, but the pearls should be wiped clean with a damp cloth immediately after wearing.

In day-to-day use, take extra care with emeralds, opals, corals, and pearls, as they are softer than gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, and catseyes and can be chipped, scratched, broken, or abraded more easily.

Do not go for extreme gemstone cleaning procedures such as ultrasonic cleaning, steam cleaning, or boiling gemstone jewellery. These harsh cleaning methods need extreme expertise and experience and should be done by professional jewellery cleaning experts only. Otherwise you might damage your expensive gemstones.

Rapid temperature changes while steam cleaning or boiling, or extreme pressure while ultrasonic cleaning, can create structural havoc in even the strongest gemstones. Often the so-called flaws in a certain gemstone consist of an included crystal of an entirely different mineral. The two could have different heating coefficients, and a rapid jump or drop in the host gem's temperature could produce stresses that cause a split.

A liquid inclusion is even more dangerous because it takes only a small heat increase to expand a liquid which produces critical pressures. Following are brief discussions on recommended care for some of the more sensitive gems. As mentioned before, virtually all gemstones will respond nicely to the careful application of warm water, detergent, and a soft brush.