It is important to periodically check your jewelry, including emerald jewelry, to make sure the gems are securely in place. So, if you want your emerald stones and jewelry to last for years, be sure to take good care of them.
Rough emeralds can be cleaned by wiping them with a soaked washcloth. The cloth should be smooth in order to avoid abrading the gems. The water should be warm in order to reduce temperature effects on the stone, and the item should not be kept in soapy water, because the soap may be too caustic.
Now you know that you can put an emerald in water without worrying about damaging it. Pour a mild cleaning solution into a bucket of water and lightly moisten the emeralds. Put your emerald jewelry in this solution, and then gently clean it with a soft cloth or toothbrush.
A Guide on Polishing Emeralds and Other Jewelry
Make sure to use a brush to access those hard-to-reach areas and clean them thoroughly. Use a soft microfiber cloth to remove oil and dirt from emerald jewelry.
Use a soft cloth or a combination of a mild soap without detergent (such as Woolite®) and warm water with a soft brush to clean. Soak artifacts in soapy water for a day to remove accumulated dirt, and wipe or brush. The safest way to clean them is to soak loose stones (not all stones can be soaked) or jewelry in warm, soapy water, then rub gently with a soft brush. If you do not have a cleaning machine, you can use a commercial jewelry cleaning solution or water mixed with a little dishwashing liquid and a soft cloth or brush to remove any fingerprints.
Filled and dyed gemstones such as ruby or dyed turquoise should avoid using acids or chemicals when cleaning. According to the Jewelry Center, porous gemstones like turquoise never lend themselves to cleaning with chemicals, as even seemingly harmless chemicals can sneak in and break them from the inside. It is important to remember that you should NEVER clean your emeralds with ultrasonic cleaners or commercially available jewelry cleaners (which often contain corrosive ammonia).
It is best to clean emerald jewelry with warm soapy water or a warm soapy cloth. Do not soak emeralds in soapy water and avoid harsh cleaners that can thin or remove oils from the stone. Emeralds should be gently brushed with a toothbrush and warm water.
To remove soapy water residues, especially under the gemstone, when the piece is made, we usually clean our emerald jewelry with an ultrasonic machine for no more than fifteen seconds and steam cleaning (no more than five seconds), the emeralds should not be processed. to high temperatures on a regular basis.
Using warm soapy water combined with a gentle scrub is the safest way to clean emeralds. Choosing what to clean an emerald is critical because chemically treated oil or emeralds can lose their processing and be damaged if harsh solvents are used to clean them. If you need to clean an emerald item, you can safely place it in warm soapy water and rub it gently. But you cannot vaporize the gem or put it in a cleaning solution containing organic solvents.
Ideal Temperatures for Washing Emeralds
A good rule of thumb is that if your cleaning fluid is too hot to put your hands in, don’t put Emerald in it. Emerald should be cleaned gently with a mild, warm cleaning liquid and a very soft toothbrush (such as an old toothbrush). You can clean emerald jewelry as many times a year or as needed, depending on the appearance of the gemstone.
Since emeralds are oiled and usually impregnated to some extent, this gemstone does not need to be placed in an ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic equipment and commercial jewellery cleaners can remove the grease that processes emeralds and damage gems.
You can wear emeralds every day and clean them frequently as described here without worrying about damaging them. Some people will hand their jewellery to professionals for cleaning, but you can also take care of your emeralds yourself.
If you are not sure about cleaning gems or jewelry, it is recommended that you consult a professional jeweler. Cleaning a gemstone after it becomes dirty is the only element of proper care. This means not only using caution and common sense when wearing emerald jewelry, but also ensuring that it is clean, maintained and stored properly. Here are some tips on how to clean gems and make them shine forever.
Abstain from Using Harsh Surfaces to Scrub Gems
No matter how hard the gemstone is, never use rough or hard objects to clean gemstone jewelry. Diamond is the hardest crystal, but that doesn’t mean it can be washed with a stiff brush. Add a little water to the baking soda to make a paste, and gently rub the gemstone jewelry using a gentle brush.
Wipe off any remaining oil from the surface of the stone with a soft tissue or handkerchief, being careful not to spill oil on the rest of the gem. Now that you know that emeralds can be dipped in water, but you need to be careful, let’s talk about how to cleanse a gem. But you need to carefully monitor how long to keep the gem in water, and thoroughly clean it.
Tips on Steaming, Heating, and Storing Emeralds
According to Elvas Jewelry, a gem jewelry retailer, you should never use a hair dryer, even on a sturdy gem such as ruby, as the heat can dry out the gem and make it more susceptible to breakage. Most jewelry cleaners on the market are too harsh to be used safely with emeralds. While emeralds are a fairly hard gemstone, that doesn’t mean they can be heavily refined. Emeralds can appear oily and velvety if they have accumulated dirt on their surface.
If you use a light engine for hours, you will quickly burn it out. To clean the emerald, I use green rotary heads (corundum) (non-polishing, which contain rubber and wear out in seconds). They remove the black matrix quite easily, but since their hardness is not much higher than that of the emerald, they slide a lot over the emerald without damaging it (with medium-light pressure on the instrument).
If you plan to store emeralds, make sure to separate them from harder gems such as sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, as they can scratch or damage your emerald jewelry. It is best to remove the emeralds from the setting before using heat to repair the jewelry, as some fillings may be damaged. Steam heating loosens the resin or oil used to fill the emerald’s cracks and can even cause damage.
However, emeralds are wonderful gems for making all kinds of jewellery, and if properly maintained, they will be passed on to you from generation to generation. Heat can damage emeralds, especially by expanding existing cracks. Although emeralds are exciting, they are more difficult to maintain than other gems such as diamonds or rubies. The reason for handling emeralds more carefully is simple.
Although considered a fairly durable stone, they are technically softer than other stones commonly used in jewelry. Emeralds have a Mohs hardness scale of 7.5 to 8, which means that harder gems and metals (such as sapphires, moissanite, diamonds, or tungsten) can easily scratch them.
