My Favorite Wire Wrapped Jewelry Cleaner…

Like all jewelry, your wire wrapped jewelry needs to be properly cared for and cleaned. Properly cleaning & caring for your jewelry can make a world of difference in maintaining its beauty and keeping it sparkling for generations. I have created and cleaned thousands of pieces of jewelry! I thought I would share a little of my experience with you. This is a guide; I am not an expert-- just a jewelry artist that has cleaned LOTS of wire wrapped jewelry!! If you are not sure about cleaning your particular piece of jewelry try a polishing cloth on the metal…or bring it to a jeweler for cleaning assistance…it is not worth taking a chance!

My Favorite Wire Wrapped Jewelry Cleaner…
Dish Soap! I have bought many different types of jewelry cleaner & find my bottle of Dawn dish soap is my favorite. It does a great job (on the jewelry & the dishes)! It's safe on most gemstones, pearls and clay. It's gentler on your skin. I'll discuss a few commercial cleaners below.

My favorite Wire Jewelry Cleaning Tools…
A SOFT toothbrush, an artists paint brush, a cotton-flannel cloth, & a polishing cloth. I have also started using Q-Tips in place ofthe artist's paintbrush--they work quite well on delicate items!
Cover the drain, in case you drop your jewelry.
Run luke-warm water at a gentle stream.
Rub soap on the stone with your fingers or soft artist paint brush, I do NOT recommend brushing gems unless you know they are hard and can tolerate brushing…many stones can NOT be brushed.
Use the artists paintbrush (or Qtip) on the entire piece of jewelry if it has fine gauge wire or has delicate designs or stones—to avoid bending, scratching, or damaging the wire or gemstone.
Use the toothbrush or paintbrush to brush soap on GENTLY on the wire, taking care not to catch the bristles between the wires. Moving the brush perpendicular to the direction of the wires helps avoid snagging bristles between them.
Rinse thoroughly with water and pat dry with paper towel or a non-snagging cotton cloth.
Once the jewelry has thoroughly dried, you can buff it gently with a polishing cloth.
HINT- If tarnish is stubborn, I brush the soap on, let it sit for 5-10 minutes and rinse with water.
HINT- I DO NOT RECOMMEND TOOTHPASTE! IT IS ABRASIVE AND DIFFICULT TO CLEAN OFF WIRE WRAPPED JEWELRY!

About Liquid Commercial Jewelry Cleaners…
There are 3 main types of liquid jewelry cleaner readily available in the store…Silver Cleaner, General Purpose Jewelry Cleaner, & Delicate Jewelry Cleaner….
Delicate Jewelry Cleaner or Pearl Cleaner-The safest bet of the 3 types of liquid cleaner for any gemstone jewelry. I think most of these are diluted soap, but they work without damaging most gems.
General Purpose Jewelry Cleaner- This is a general purpose jewelry cleaner to use with caution—many stones cannot tolerate this jewelry cleaner, most contain Ammonia. Ammonia is acidic and can pit or damage many gemstones.
Silver Cleaner- I do NOT recommend using silver cleaner on any jewelry containing gemstones or pieces that are not solid sterling silver! It is a very harsh acidic cleaner! I almost never use silver cleaner; I basically use it as a last resort on OLD sterling silver chains needing serious cleaning.

Soft or Delicate Gemstones
Below is a list of gemstones I suggest you use only SOAP & WATER and NO HARSH BRUSHING to clean them! This list is not absolute… I'm sure there are more stones out there that I have not worked with or even heard of. This list should still be quite helpful to many of you who are not sure.

Amber (do not soak, just wet to clean & dry thoroughly)
Aquamarine
Charoite
Chrysocolla
Chrysoprase
Dyed or Treated Gemstones
Emerald
Eudialyte
Fluorite
Hemimorphite
Inlay Jewelry
Kunzite
Kyanite
Lapis Lazuli
Malachite
Opals (some may not be washed at all-they can lose their fire, use caution)
Pearls
Polymer Clay
Selenite
Seraphinite
Shell Cameo
Shell,Ivory,Bone,Horn,Coral
Sodalite
Sugilite
Tanzanite
Tourmaline
Turquoise

Wire Wrapped Jewelry Care…
We package each of our jewelry creations in a cotton lined box and an organza bag. We recommend you store it in this box or bag to protect it and ensure it will last a lifetime. If not stored properly any of your jewelry can be damaged or lose its color or luster.
Avoid scenarios that can crush or catch delicate or filigreed wire wrapped jewelry (beware of open weave sweaters and reaching into the washing machine with certain filigree designs).
Do not throw jewelry into a drawer or pile with other jewelry or things that can damage it.
Avoid storing in direct sunlight, excessive heat, cold, or area with extreme temperature changes (ie-near windows,vents,ducts).
Do not expose to harsh chemicals or household cleaners.
Remove when applying hairspray, perfume, lotion or any skincare/makeup.
Do not swim wearing jewelry, chlorine can pit gold, silver, & gems.
I hope you find these wire wrapped jewelry care tips helpful. I will add new information as I acquire it. Please visit our Ebay store for heirloom quality wire wrapped jewelry created to last a lifetime! If you have any questions or suggestions please contact me, I’ll be happy to answer them for you! Kristie-Lou, A.K.A. Sculpted Windows Jewelry . Please don't forget to give us a "YES" vote at the bottom of this page if you found it helpful--just click "yes"--there's no strings attached! Thank you & we'll keep the info coming!