null

How To Clean

Care

Keep your gold jewelry away from harsh chemicals such as chlorine and cleaning fluids. This will reduce daily abrasions and prolong gold's luster. To clean gold jewelry, use a solution of warm water and detergent-free soap and wash gold gently with a soft-bristled brush (a dull tooth brush works well).

Fine jewelry is a precious possession that is designed and crafted to last a lifetime. However, proper care is required to assure the lasting qualities of your jewelry. Below are some simple, basic guidelines for the care and cleaning of your fine jewelry:

  • Store your jewelry in a clean, dry place.
  • Keep your jewelry in a fabric-lined jewelry case, or in a box with compartments and dividers. If you prefer to use ordinary boxes, wrap each piece individually in soft tissue paper.
  • Don't jumble your jewelry pieces in a drawer or jewelry case. Pieces can scratch each other.
  • Be careful when removing your jewelry to wash your hands. Do not leave your jewelry on the rim of a sink where it can easily slip down the drain.
  • See your jeweler at least once a year to have your jewelry checked for loose prongs, worn mountings, and general wear and tear. Visit your jeweler every six months to have your jewelry professionally cleaned.
  • There are many types of small machines on the market that will clean jewelry in a matter of minutes using high-frequency sound. These machines are called ultrasonic cleaners and are available in many different models and prices. They can be a convenient way to quickly clean your jewelry at home. However, ultrasonic cleaners can damage some jewelry and prolonged use may loosen gemstones from their mountings. Your local jeweler can tell you if an ultrasonic cleaning machine is right for your jewelry wardrobe and, if it is, recommend an appropriate model. Consider 18k gold for jewelry and ring settings because it is rich in color and durable. White gold is also an affordable substitute for platinum.

View our beautiful gold jewelry .

Check the setting of your jewelry to ensure it is secure and well fastened. If you begin scrubbing a loose stone you may damage or even lose a piece. Remove any dust from both the jewelry and cleaning clothes. The dust may cause light scratching during the cleaning process. If you don’t own a jewelry cloth, use a cotton or flannel cloth and shake it well to remove loose dust.

you can clean gold with soap and water, but it works best on gold pieces that are plain and free of other gemstones (such as a plain gold necklace or simple ring.) To clean your gold with soap and water, fill a small bowl with warm - not hot - water and a few drops of a mild dish soap. Place your jewelry in the soap and water mixture, and allow the pieces to soak for about 20 minutes. After soaking, use a clean, dry cotton cloth to dry your jewelry, and allow them to sit on a towel to air dry completely before wearing them again.

This method will get rid of all the oils from beauty products and regular day-to-day wear that makes your gold jewelry dingy and lackluster, and is a very simple and quick way to bring back the beauty of your gold.

If your gold jewelry includes gemstones, you can still clean them at home without fear of damaging the stones or setting. The important thing to remember about this type of gold jewelry is to NEVER submerge them into water, as the water can become trapped in the setting, rust or discolor your setting/stones, or cause the stones to become loose and fall out over time.

In order to clean your gold jewelry with gemstones, follow the steps above, but instead of submerging the piece into the bowl of water and soap, use a clean, dry cloth that has been dampened with the mixture. Use the cloth to clean your gold jewelry, gently rubbing over the gemstones and setting. Use a separate, slightly damp cloth that hasn't been dipped in soap to rinse the jewelry.

When finished, set the pieces upside down to allow them to air dry. Setting them upside down will allow any water left on the jewelry to drain off without causing damage to the stone or becoming trapped in the setting.

Cleaning Silver

There are a number of ways to clean your silver, but you need to be careful as to what methods you use. Many of the over-the-counter silver jewelry cleaners contain harmful carcinogens that have been known to cause cancer, so you might want to avoid those for your silver-cleaning needs.

The best way to keep silver clean is to avoid tarnish to begin with. To do this, make sure that you store your silver in a zip-lock baggie. When silver gets dirty or tarnished, create a baking soda paste with water and baking soda and gently rub the paste all over the silver with a damp cloth until the silver is clean. Rinse the silver off and make sure you dry it well before storing it or wearing it. People have also been known to use this same method using toothpaste instead of baking soda and water.

  • Gold is durable, sturdy, dependable, and makes an ideal setting for your precious diamond jewelry. Gold also comes in a variety of colors -- yellow, white, and rose (or pink).
  • The karatage of the jewelry will tell you what percentage of gold it contains: 24 karat is 100 percent, 18 karat is 75 percent, and 14 karat is 58.5 percent gold. When comparing gold jewelry, the higher the number of karats, the greater the value.
  • When buying gold jewelry, always look for the karat mark. All other things being equal, the higher the karat, the more expensive the piece. In the United States, 14-karat gold, or 585 parts pure gold, is the most common degree of fineness. Nothing less than 10 karats can legally be marked or sold as gold jewelry in the U.S. However, lower karatages, such as 8-karat gold and 9-karat gold, are popular in other countries
  • Approximate Metal Weight is intended use is for you to have an indication of Approximate weight of the metal. While being accurate is very important to us at Sarraf.com, due to factors beyond our control it is impossible to be exact each and every time, therefore we strive to maintain an accuracy of ± 5%.
  • In its pure form silver is almost as soft as gold, and therefore is usually alloyed with copper for strength. Karatage is not marked because, legally, anything called "silver" or "sterling silver" is 92.5% pure.
  • Fine Silver in its natural state, 999/1000 pure, is too soft an element for practical jewelry. To make it workable, an alloy such as copper is added. Here are the main silver alloys. Sterling Silver is a mixture of 92.5 % pure silver (925 parts) and 7.5 % metal alloy.
  • "Carat Weight" is simply the weight of the diamond.
  • By definition, 1 carat is exactly 200 milligrams. Since most diamonds sold in the jewelry industry weigh less than 1 carat, the carat is usually subdivided into "points." There are 100 points in 1 carat, so that a diamond weighing 3/4 carat would be a "75 point diamond." In summary:

    1 carat = 200 milligrams = 100 points
  • Carat is the simplest and most objective of the four C's. A 1.00 Carat diamond weighs 0.2 gm on scales weighs. In the trade we call 1/2ct - 50 points.
  • Naturally more Carat weight means more cost because BIG diamonds are very rare. A diamond of double the weight costs around 4 times more. Add the magic weight idea to rarity: a 1.00ct D color Flawless costs 1.7 times more than a 99 point D Flawless.

Diamonds are graded on a letter scale from D to Z: D, E, or F diamonds have no color detectable to the unaided eye; grad G, H, I, or J are nearly colorless, but a trained gemologist can detect a slight yellow cast. J through Z colored diamonds have yellow or gray color visible to the unaided eye. Diamonds rated lower than I have color that is detectable even to the untrained eye. Those rated J to M have a trace of color, while any diamond with an N or higher carries a noticeable yellow tint

The charts above are clarity plots, which is a representation of the number and size of inclusions typically present in diamonds of a particular clarity grade. Look for a clarity plot on a diamond certificate, or grading report, to get a clear idea of the number and size of inclusions in a particular diamond. From this map, you can perfectly determine a diamond's clarity without even

Gemologists use grades of clarity to describe how many inclusions a diamond has. These grades range from flawless (FL) or internally flawless (IF) to included (I3), with the numbers indicating varying degrees of quality within a grade (1 being the best). Most commonly diamond sold are diamond that has no inclusions visible to the unaided eye, like VS1 and SI1-2. Diamonds of this clarity are much less expensive than flawless diamonds, and will not contain inclusions that would reduce from the splendor of the diamond

MM
Inches
Inches
MM
Inches
Inches
1
0.04
1/32 inch
2
0.08
1/16 inch
3
0.12
3/32 inch
4
0.16
1/8 inch
5
0.20
3/16 inch
6
0.24
Just under 1/4 inch
7
0.28
Just over 1/4 inch
8
0.31
5/16 inch
9
0.35
Just under 3/8 inch
10
0.39
Just over 3/8 inch
11
0.43
7/16 inch
12
0.47
Just under 1/2 inch
13
0.51
Just over 1/2 inch
14
0.55
9/16 inch
15
0.59
Just under 5/8 inch
16
0.63
5/8 inch
17
0.67
Just under 11/16 inch
18
0.71
Just over 3/4 inch
19
0.75
Just over 3/5 inch
20
0.79
Just under 13/16 inch
21
0.83
Just over 13/16 inch
22
0.87
Just under 7/8 inch
23
0.91
Just over 7/8 inch
24
0.94
15/16 inch
25
0.98
1 inch
26
1.02
1 and 1/32 inch
27
1.06
1 and 1/16 inch
28
1.10
1 and 3/32 inch
29
1.14
1 and 1/8 inch
30
1.18
1 and 3/16 inch
31
1.22
Just under 1 and 1/4 inch
32
1.26
Just over 1 and 1/4 inch
33
1.30
1 and 5/16 inch
34
1.34
Just under 1 and 3/8 inch
35
1.38
Just over 1 and 3/8 inch
36
1.42
1 and 7/16 inch
37
1.46
Just under 1 and 1/2 inch
38
1.50
Just over 1 and 1/2 inch
39
1.54
1 and 9/16 inch
40
1.57
Just under 1 and 5/8 inch
41
1.61
1 and 5/8 inch
42
1.65
Just under 1 and 11/16 inch
43
1.69
Just over 1 and 3/4 inch
44
1.73
Just over 1 and 3/5 inch
45
1.77
Just under 1 and 13/16 inch
46
1.81
Just over 1and 13/16 inch
47
1.85
Just under 1 and 7/8 inch
48
1.89
Just over 1 and 7/8 inch
49
1.93
1 and 15/16 inch
50
1.97
2 inches

In order To get clearer understanding of how thick or wide is a piece of jewelry, you can use US coins for reference. For thicker items you can stack multiple coins to acquire the approximate thickness or the width of your selected jewelry.

  • Dime Thickness is 1.35mm and Diameter is 17.9mm
  • Penny Thickness is 1.55mm and Diameter is 19.05mm
  • Nickel Thickness is 1.95mm and Diameter is 21.21mm
  • Quarter Thickness is 1.75mm and Diameter is 24.26mm