How do you clean gold jewelry?

Of course you like to keep your most beautiful gold jewelry neat and clean for as long as possible. Perhaps you have shopped for new gold jewelry, or received a precious necklace from grandma. Anyway, the jewelry has a lot of meaning for you & so it is important that you take good care of it. But how can you best do this? How do you clean gold jewelry? We answer all your questions.

What is gold jewelry?

When we talk about gold jewelry, we can distinguish two types of gold: real 14 or 18 carat gold jewelry and gold plated jewelry. We previously wrote an article about the latter in which we explain exactly what gold plated jewelry is. In short: this jewelry has a .925 sterling silver base, with a gold layer over it.

Does a real gold piece of jewelry consist entirely of gold? The answer is no, pure gold is a soft material, which you cannot actually make jewelry from. A piece of pure gold jewelry will bend, wear out and break quickly. But what about then? You have probably heard of the term 'carat' . This term indicates how much pure gold is used in your jewelry. One carat is equal to 1/24th part, which means that a 24 carat piece of jewelry consists of pure gold. Jewelry with less carats forms an alloy (mixture) with other materials, often copper and/or silver. This mixture is made to strengthen the gold, so that our jewelry does not break too quickly. In addition, it of course saves money when you can mix the more expensive gold with affordable copper or silver. In the Netherlands you will generally encounter 14 and 18 carat gold jewelry.

So you can say: the higher the number of carats, the more expensive and softer the material is. The advantage of a 14 or 18 carat gold jewelry compared to gold plated jewelry; the jewel does not discolour. The gold-plated layer of a gold-plated piece of jewelry can unfortunately wear out over time. On the other hand, a real gold piece of jewelry is a lot more expensive than a gold-plated piece of jewelry.

Gold necklace with zodiac sign

How do you clean 14 or 18 carat gold jewelry?

A big advantage of gold jewelry; they don't discolor or oxidize like silver or gold plated jewelry does. However, the gold jewelry can lose its shine in the long run. Eternally a shame, of course, so we'll tell you how to get the jewelry neatly clean again.

  • ♡ Make a solution of green soap & lukewarm water and let the jewelry rest for a few minutes in this soap
  • ♡ Remove the jewelry from the soapy water and brush it gently with a soft (tooth) brush
  • ♡ Rinse the jewelry with lukewarm water
  • ♡ Carefully dry the jewelry with a flannel cloth
  • ♡ Polish the jewelry with an impregnated silver polishing cloth and your jewelry will have its shine again

How do you clean gold plated jewelry?

As we described earlier; the gold plated layer can wear off over time. The silver core becomes visible and the gold color disappears. To prevent this, it is important that your gold plated jewelry is properly maintained . Contact with water, chlorine, perfume and cream can accelerate wear, so try to avoid this. Good to know: a high pH value (acidity) of the skin can speed up the process of discoloration. Therefore, give the jewelry some rest every now and then by not wearing it daily. Our tips to take care of your gold plated jewelry:

  • ♡ Do not wear the jewelry in the shower or while swimming;
  • ♡ Avoid contact with perfume, cream, body lotion or other chemicals;
  • ♡ Store your jewelry neatly in a dark, dry place with a soft surface. For example, think of a jewelry box;
  • ♡ Do not polish the jewelry too hard, this way you rub the gold layer of the jewelry.