Wednesday, September 15, 2010

How-To: Clean Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry

I use my collection of vintage rhinestone jewelry to add to the natural sparkliness of my personality.  Pieces like these can often be picked up at antique malls, thrift stores and estate sales for very reasonable prices.  You will need to clean the pieces to bring out the most shine, and while Windex is a great cleaning agent for real diamonds, you have to be more careful with rhinestone jewelry.  If the Windex seeps behind the stones, it will compromise the silver backing and make your stones look cloudy.  Here's how to clean your costume pieces:

Step-by-Step

1.) Spray an old toothbrush with Windex.

2.) Blot off the excess liquid.

3.)  Gently scrub stones with the brush.

4.) Use a rag to buff the stones.

2 comments:

  1. I didn't know windex is same for jewerly stone cleaning. Thaks for the information

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  2. No problem! Windex can be used to clean hard gemstones like diamonds, but don't use it on more porous stones like opal, emeralds, rubies, coral and turquoise. They are more delicate, and you would probably be safest to have them cleaned by a professional. Of course, if you are in doubt about cleaning a particular stone, always consult your jeweler.

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