Cleaning Your Jewelry 101

Alright y'all this is just a basic 101 tutorial for cleaning your jewelry at home. 

CLEANING BRONZE:

1. Wash it with soap and warm water.
2. Mix 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda with a little lemon juice and mix it into a paste.
3. Rub the paste onto your bronze jewelry, and keep rubbing until the item is clean; you can use a toothbrush or a cloth and even Q-tips for the holes of the honeycomb. Then leave the item with the paste on for about half an hour before rinsing the jewelry and drying it with a cloth.
4. This process may need to be repeated for heavy tarnish.

CLEANING SILVER:

1. Line the bottom of a dish or bowl with aluminum foil.
2. Mix 1 Tbsp baking soda with 1 cup of boiling water.
3. place jewelry in foil lined bowl and make sure jewelry is touching the foil.
4. Pour water mixture on jewelry and let sit for 10 minutes.
5. Remove, rinse jewelry and dry.
6. For best results follow this process up with a silver polishing cloth.  You can buy those at CVS, Walgreens or online.

Alternatives:

1. Brasso will work for bronze jewelry. If you use this product wear gloves and do it outside as the fumes are awful!

2. Connoisseurs Silver Jewelry Cleaner. Again, protect your skin, eyes and lungs.
   

3. Last but not least, bring your jewelry back to the person who made it and ask them to polish it.  Every jewelry designer I know wants their designs to look good on their customers so they will most likely do this for free.