Caring for Vintage Costume Jewelry


Once you have purchased your lovely...


Vintage and antique jewelry pieces, you’ll want to preserve their beauty and value. A few simple steps can help you maintain your vintage costume jewelry.
  •         Wear vintage jewelry with care: Vintage jewelry is difficult to repair, so wear it with care.   Remove your jewelry when using household cleaners and when doing physical activities.    
  •         Store vintage jewelry separately: Store jewelry separately in soft, zipped-up pouches to protect your pieces from the elements and from dust, which is abrasive. The Queen's best tip is to put a piece of chalk in the back with the jewelry, to keep gold and silver tone brilliant for years to come.
  •         Use a jewelry polishing cloth: Keep it simple. Use a special jewelry polishing cloth to keep jewelry dust-free.    
  •        Remove grime from vintage jewelry: Use a soft cloth and plain rubbing alcohol to remove grime from stones. (We find that plain rubbing alcohol makes rhinestones sparkle with brilliants, you may also use glass cleaner).     
  •         Keep vintage jewelry dry: Never, never, never, place vintage jewelry and antique jewelry directly under running water. Water will sometimes dislodge the paste or glue, as well as get moisture under the Electra-plated metal.


Caring for your cameos:  
Cameos, shell cameos in particular, can discolor and crack from drying and aging, and require special care. You can do your part to keep them clean and moisturized.
  •         Store your cameos: Store cameos in a clean, dry place.    
  •         Clean your cameos: Completely cleanse your cameos once or twice a year. Clean cameos gently with a soft-bristle toothbrush in a mild soap-and-water solution. Rinse the cameo thoroughly with warm water immediately after cleaning. Never soak shell cameos or “soft” stones in any cleaning solution for more than 30 seconds. 
  • Prevent cameos from drying: Moisturize the cameo with mineral oil or baby oil. Apply the oil with your finger, a cotton swab, or a soft cloth. Let the cameo soak overnight. 

Be blessed, be jeweled, be amazing!
ECJ On-Line  

1 comment:

  1. According to jewellers, we should not wear our antique jewelry when on the beach, pools and in saunas as the biggest enemy of jewelry happens to be moisture, as this can be the breeding ground for rust damage or verdigris damage. However, I agree on what the author mentioned in this article that every piece of jewelry is difficult to repair especially if it is already vintage, that's why when doing household chores or any physical activities, we should remove it.

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