How to avoid disaster
Cleaning: what to think of
Updated Jan 11, 2024
Cleaning jewellery can be so satisfactory! To see those layers of grime and dirt dissolve and the soft shine of silver reveal itself…and seeing your newly acquired item for the first time in all its splendour!
Cleaning jewellery is necessary from a maintenance point of view: it will help you prevent corrosion and subsequent damaging of your item. But, before you give your piece that first deep clean, here are four things you really need to consider!
Before you clean: consider information loss
Yes, the research begins even before it’s bath time! Those dirty patches and accumulations may actually contain part of the history of your piece.
Take these two Maria Theresia Thalers shown above for example: they have spent a lifetime together, which is visible in their wear pattern. Halfway the lower coin, a trace of blackish patina follows the curve of the upper coin. It allows you to place them exactly as they would have sat together, tightly pressed together.
I found these two in Jordan, and they have most likely been part of a Palestinian headdress: even though only these two coins remain, their wear pattern bears testimony to the piece they once belonged to.
Another example is this plait ornament from the Draa Valley, Morocco. The coral beads on top (look on the left and the right top beads of the ornament) still show patches of brownish paste.
This would have been scented paste, used to style and fragrance the hair for festive occasions. It no longer bears any fragrance, but its presence adds a visible memory of an invisible aspect of personal adornment that is all too easy to discard, and eventually forget, if you are not familiar with its existence in the first place.
Imagine scrubbing all of that history, scent, laughter and festivity vigourously off…!
Before you clean: write it all down
So what to do before you start cleaning your ethnic jewellery? The simplest way to document these bits and pieces of information is to take a picture before and after cleaning.
That can be as easy as taking a snap with your smartphone (I’ve got you covered with these 5 easy tips to make good jewellery photos with your phone). Include these before and after shots in your documentation: it’s always useful to have a record of any treatment of your pieces. Plus these make great content on social media, should you be looking for ideas.
Note down anything you’d want to record, for example if the layer you want to remove is sticky or dry, grainy or fine, its colour…
Finally, add a few notes on how you have cleaned it, with which products and utensils.
All of this may come in handy later, for example in the unhappy event your new jewellery starts to show a reaction to cleaning: having a record of what has been done with it, is instrumental in attempting any follow-up treatment.
Before you clean: consider the silver content
This is important! Especially for older pieces, a guaranteed silver content is not standard. The percentage of actual silver can vary greatly, and so do the components of copper, nickel or other materials.
Silver was obtained by melting down older pieces (with their variable compositions) and coins. Hallmarks indicating sterling silver (925), 800 or 600 have only been in use for a century or so.
This is important when cleaning jewellery with no hallmarks or known silver content: you will want to know how your cleaning method will affect other metals in the mix, and how in turn this will impact your piece in general.
It is also why I generally avoid the toothpaste-method or the squeezed lemons-method: both can lead to too aggressive results and damage your jewellery. Who knows what exactly is in toothpaste these days, anyway?
Before you clean: get a handle on the materials in your jewellery
There is more than just the silver content to be aware of when cleaning jewellery. And that is also where your cleaning attemps may go epically wrong, so this, too, is important.
If your piece consists of other materials, be sure to familiarize yourself with their properties and to identify their vulnerabilities.
Coral cabochons on a bracelet for example, or coral beads in a necklace. Coral is a porous animal product (see more here), not to be confused with solid material like stones: the properties of this material bring a new set of parameters to the table. Using the wrong cleaning agent may cause your coral to sustain heavy damage.
Traditional jewellery from the Arab world can contain a plethora of materials that all come with their own challenges: teeth, horns, claws, wood, scented paste beads, textile backings, and not to forget the stringing itself.
When you come across a composite piece, it’s a good idea to have a good look at all elements before attempting to clean it. You may either want to take it apart completely and reassemble it later, or bring it to a professional restorer instead.
With these four tips, I hope you will enjoy a new look at what stories your jewellery holds, and how to make sure they remain a part of its history!
Wondering how to clean and what method will yield the best results? Read this post on cleaning jewellery: 3 proven methods you can use at home – with their pro’s and con’s!
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More practical tips on managing your collection? Browse them all here!
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Sigrid van Roode
Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.