Yes, even if its 18 ct gold, or fine quality gold, it requires some basic care. Not sure how to clean gold so it shines? Don’t worry because it isn’t a complicated task and you can do it easily at home. But, before getting to work, you should know that there are different types of gold and the cleaning and care process of the piece of jewelry will depend on which type it is.
Firstly, you should know that not all gold is the same. The best gold used in jewelry is 18 ct, in other words, it consists of 75% gold and 25% other metals. This is the hardest wearing, most beautiful and shiniest gold. A goldsmith will never create a piece of pure gold (100% gold) since it is too soft and they wouldn’t be able to work with it properly, the piece of jewelry would deform immediately. Jewelry created with 14 ct gold (40% pure gold ) or lower are of a lower quality. There is also gold plated jewelry, which are pieces that have been made in an inferior material and are then plated with one or several layers of gold from 3 to 10 microns.
Types of gold by color
If you think gold can only be gold in color, you are mistaken. Pure gold is indeed yellow in color, however, the gold used in jewelry which is mixed with other metals can also be white or rose, depending on the alloy.
Yellow gold, the most traditional, is obtained from a mix of 75% pure gold and 12.5% silver and another 12.5% copper. However, to obtain a whiter color, or white gold, you need to mix 75% 24 ct gold with 25% of other white metals such as silver, platinum, manganese, palladium or nickel. A layer of rhodium is usually also added to white gold to increase its shine. And when it comes to rose gold, this is achieved by mixing 75% gold with 12.5% silver and 12.5% pure electrolytic copper which is what adds the rose color.
No color is better than another in terms of quality. The most appropriate for you will be the one that best suits your style and your preferences because, as we usually say, there’s a color to suit every taste.
How do you clean gold?
Gold is a robust and durable material. In fact, it lasts forever but, in order to keep its shine, color and beauty intact, you need to clean it regularly. Otherwise, the gold can darken and that is likely to be an unwanted result. In summary, to ensure your gold shines all the time like brand new, it needs some basic care. There is no need to wait for gold to become dirty before cleaning it. Moreover, you should avoid corrosive products from coming into contact with the jewelry so you don’t have any nasty surprises.
How you clean gold depends on its characteristics because, even if it is always 18 ct gold, some products will be more recommendable than others depending on the color. It will also depend on the type of jewelry as cleaning a yellow gold chain is not the same as cleaning a white gold ring.
How to clean yellow gold
Even if you’re unsure how to clean yellow gold, you don’t need to worry because it’s easier than you think. In addition, yellow gold is the easiest to keep in optimum conditions because it is the type of gold that is less prone to getting dirty and barely darkens.
To clean yellow gold, you just need to soak the piece in water with washing up liquid for 15 minutes. If you scrub it gently with a brush with soft bristles, you will remove all of the more stubborn marks. Finally, you just need to rinse the piece of jewelry in warm water and dry it with a cloth to bring out the shine. Easy, isn’t it?
How to clean white gold
White gold shows up marks and dirt more than yellow gold so it is even more important that you keep your jewelry clean.
To clean white gold easily, you should prepare a mix containing half a cup of vinegar and two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda. You need to leave the piece of jewelry in this solution for a few hours and then rinse it with water and dry. As you can see, there’s no big secret.
How to clean rose gold
And how do you clean rose gold? There is a very quick and effective method. You just need to clean the piece of jewelry with a toothbrush and toothpaste and then rinse and dry it. This is a convenient and simple way of making your rose gold jewelry shine.
If you’re not sure about using toothpaste, you can also leave the piece to soak for 10 or 15 minutes in a solution of vinegar and salt. Vinegar should cover the piece so it cleans it completely and, in terms of salt, a few teaspoons is enough.
Maintenance and cleaning gold
If you follow these tips, you will retain the shine of your jewelry perfectly throughout its lifetime. However, sometimes jewelry becomes so dirty that you can’t clean it at home and you need to get a specialist to do it. Did you know that if you choose Tous jewelry, you won’t need to worry about maintenance or cleaning? We take care of everything:
All of our jewelry comes with an aftersales service which offers you the option of having them cleaned and maintained free of charge. We will look after your jewelry, whether it is a yellow gold ring from the Cool Joy collection, some Les Classiques , yellow gold and diamond earrings, a white gold necklace from the Sweet Dolls collection, one of our rose gold pieces of jewelry or any of our pieces in steel, gold plated, etc. Why do we do this? Because, here at Tous, we firmly believe in the value of jewelry and in its meaning, and we want to offer you jewelry to last a lifetime.