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General cleaning dirty jewelry

Jewelry Discussion
#1

hi yall

please can you advise on what solution to use for general cleaning
dirty jewellry by hand or ultrasonic.

i see so many do and dont what dothe masters say. ignore the
tanzanite comments please but i had to say it!

  1. i bought a tanzanite ring for my fiancee now i am terrified it
    will just shatter lose its facets and i cant clean it with soapy
    stuff etc etc etc aside i believe tanzanite was over sold if i knew
    all its problems i would never have bought it.

it collects dirt very easy as diamonds dont tend to. one week and its
lost its luster back to the tooth brush.

frank thomson

#2

unless there is a medical reason for not using soap and water (e.g.
allergy), that works best for me. My scrubber is a very soft
toothbrush. Have not had a stone that I can not clean that way, just
takes manual labor (not really a lot, and I enjoy it).

John
John Atwell Rasmussen
Rasmussen Gems and Jewelry
www.rasmussengems.com

#3

“Oakite” my Friend, I have been using it for 33 years and it does
THE job. I buy it by the 20 gallon drum and transfer it out in to
letter or quart bottles to use at the sink or ultrasonic If you have
a problem getting it just E-Mail back with a heading of “Oakite”,
state your request and I will hook you-up

Stephen Wyrick, CMBJ, Gemmologist

#4

Frank- My fav is amonia and liquid detergent in equal amounts with
some warm water, followed by a dip in alcohol.

Jo
www.timothywgreen.com

#5

Regarding cleaning using the ultra sonic. I recently added Isopropyl
alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to the soap & water mixture in the ultra
sonic.

The results were quite amazing-- it quickly cut through the
polishing compound residue and left everything sparkling. It worked
much better than just the soap and water mixture.

Has anyone else tried this? Could the alcohol damage the machine?

Cheers,
Carol

#6

Hi again Frank,

I forgot to add B C R to the name of the cleaning solution. Here it
is in full "Chemetall Oakite, B C R, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922

Don’t put soft stones, pearls,turquoise,lapis, etc. in it as they
will haze or loose their polish. Use a heated tank ultrasonic and
your work will be very clean to weld on and repair and after each
polish stage put in the tank and you will impress someone with a
really good finish.

Stephen Wyrick

#7

Dear yall,

The best Ive found is using an electric toothbrush after polishing
and a few minutes in the ultrasonic. this will leave the piece as
new! The bristles on the electric toothbrushes are much finer so
they can get in under the stones and remove all the dirt, apart from
that the bristles go at 50,000 times faster than your wrist can. Its
money well spent. Re the Tanzanite: Tanzanite’s are very rare and
expensive, I don’t think a Tanzanite (or Emerald for eg) ring should
be worn on a daily basis but should be worn on occasions and treated
with love, care and respect just like a women (who also need
cleaning regularly!)

Best wishes
Colin Waylett

#8

I’ve tried all kinds of cleaners (home-made concoctions, commercial
preparations and combinations of both) and I’ve come down to my
"secret sauce" for ultrasound cleaning: 2 parts ammonia, 1 part hot
water, add 1 tsp burnishing compound and 1 tsp of dishwasher (liquid
gel type works best) detergent to a quart of this combination (yes, I
know it sounds like a waste of burnishing compound.) I think there is
something in the burnishing compound that works with the ammonia and
water to really cut through just about anything that’s not supposed
to be there, and fast too. Compared to other commercial ultrasound
solutions, this mixture seems to really get the crud out of the
crevices without corroding or damaging anything delicate. I make this
"sauce" up ahead of time as it seems to work better if mixed first
and allowed to set a few days before use. It also seems to work
better if warmed up a bit before pouring in the ultrasound tub.

Jeff
JeffreyDesign Jewelry

#9 
Regarding cleaning using the ultra sonic. I recently added
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to the soap & water mixture in
the ultra sonic. The results were quite amazing-- it quickly cut
through the polishing compound residue and left everything
sparkling. It worked much better than just the soap and water
mixture.

It does indeed work great but, it is also a real good way to start a
fire. The action of the ultrasonic and the heat puts lots of alcohol
vapor in the air and the electronics in the cleaner can be a dandy
ignition source. They sell special purpose industrial ultrasonic
cleaners for use with solvents with explosion proof electrical
systems and intended to be used with the appropriate ventilation.
Very expensive and costly to install.

If you do this be extra careful to think about ignition sources and
ventilation and don’t use too much alcohol to keep the vapor level
down.

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts


360-756-6550

#10

Hi colin

Thanks for the advice on cleaning.

Tanzanite was a dream of mine for an engagement ring as it was so
special

And beautiful then i find it is actually brown in colour naturally,
then Heat treated to get the colour then one has different intensity
of colour so It tells me it was up to the heat treater to decide how
purple it must be? I then google the tanzanite and find all the donts
do this and that .even

Dont use dishwashing liquid for cleaning, honest.

How do i now go and tell my fianc=E9 that she can only wear her ring
on Special occasions.(and dont do the dishes any more) I do know many
gems are heat treated to change their colour. But!!! Rarity now means
nothing except to a collector of stones if its and soft

Fragile etc etc it should be advertised as such. Look in all those
airline adverts not one has a warning that this rare blue Stone is
soft and can be easily damaged .

I understand even a diamond can shatter but why over sell this
tanzanite" Home coloured " stone without warning.

Surely the jeweller who sold it to me should have told me that it
cannot be worn like a normal diamond engagement ring. You dont have a
square diamond lying around i could change for some rare Tanzanite
stone.

(heard a lot of miners died the other day digging these things in
Kilimanjaro) Which are the other stones one should not wear on a
engagement ring??? Sorry to those who love tanzanite its not what it
appears to be.

Frank

#11

Frank,

sorry for your unfortunate experience. tanzanite is exactly what we
know it to be. i had a customer who wanted ‘tanzanite’ rings, until
I told her about the durability of the stone, etc. she decided on a
necklace pendant for her tanzanite.

john
John Atwell Rasmussen
Rasmussen Gems and Jewelry
www.rasmussengems.com

#12 
Surely the jeweller who sold it to me should have told me that it
cannot be worn like a normal diamond engagement ring.

Yes he should. Tanzanite should never be used for ring, unless it
worn only on special occasions and even than setting must be designed
with stone fragility in mind.

If I would be in your place, I would order another ring which looks
the same, except I would replace tanzanite with lab-grown forsterite
which can be matched to resemble you stone. Replacement ring can be
worn every day, and tanzanite only on special occasions.

This is common practice for jewellery with rare and special stones.
They are kept in the vault, and it is imitation that is worn in
public.

Leonid Surpin
www.studioarete.com

#13 
"Oakite" my Friend, I have been using it for 33 years and it does

I found Oakite at oakitestore.com. There are multiple Oakite metal
cleaning products. Which one do you use?

Rick Copeland
rockymountainwonders.com

#14 
unless there is a medical reason for not using soap and water
(e.g. allergy), that works best for me. My scrubber is a very soft
toothbrush. Have not had a stone that I can not clean that way,
just takes manual labor (not really a lot, and I enjoy it).

“Simple Green” buy it at the grocery or Hardware store. Works great
to clean jewelry and it’s not hard on your hands. I also use it in my
vibratory tumbler to clean the shot.

#15 
"Simple Green" buy it at the grocery or Hardware store. Works
great to clean jewelry and it's not hard on your hands. I also use
it in my vibratory tumbler to clean the shot.

I guess this qualifies as “yack”, but it is also the only thing I’ve
found that will reliably de-stink the armpits of my husbands workout
clothes without damaging them.

Noel