How do you Restore Tarnished Gold Costume Jewellery?

How does Costume Jewellery Tarnish?

The primary reason for tarnished costume jewellery is the chemical reaction caused by continued exposure to the environment's elements. When the surface of costume jewellery comes into contact with makeup, sweat, and body oils, it causes a chemical reaction that results in oxidation.

Gold Costume Jewellery

Gold is a precious and expensive metal that is highly versatile and delicate. People love gold jewellery because it is elegant and, most importantly, hypoallergenic. It plays a significant role in our rituals, heritage, and traditions. Gold is almost always used to craft any kind of jewellery, including jhumkas, necklaces, chains, bangles, bracelets, and many more. Costume jewellery is designed to complement a particular costume as opposed to real jewellery. When you step out of the house, your jewellery comes into contact with different kinds of substances that might tarnish them. Gold jewellery of low quality has the chance of getting tarnished due to the presence of alloys.

How to Clean Tarnished Costume Jewelry?

It can be heart quenching to see our expensive costume jewellery losing its original colors. Costume jewellery can get tarnished, destroying its worth and appearance easily. Fortunately, there are many options for cleaning tarnished jewellery pieces. To begin, you can take your tarnished jewellery to a trusted jewellery store to be repaired, or you can repair it yourself using a homemade formula.

Home Remedies for Cleaning Costume Jewellery

Toothpaste & Toothbrush

Apply a small amount of regular toothpaste to your tarnished costume jewellery with a brush and leave it for a few seconds. After some time, clean the ornament gently by using an old toothbrush. In the very next step, wash the jewellery pieces with normal water and dry them with a piece of cloth.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is rich in citric acid, which easily clears the discoloration on costume jewellery. Dilute a few tablespoons of lemon juice with a cup of water. Soak your tarnished jewellery in the prepared mixture for 20 to 30 minutes. The citric acid in lemon juice will clean the tarnished part of your jewellery without damaging the ornament glaze. After 20 minutes, separate the jewellery from the mixture and rinse it with water. Then dry them with a clean piece of cloth.

Baking Soda & Salt

Mix the baking soda and salt in a bowl of warm water. Then put all your tarnished ornaments in that solution. The composition of Sodium Bicarbonate aids in the reduction of tarnish on jewelry. Once you are satisfied with the result, take out the jewellery from that mixture, rinse it with cold water, and let it dry.

White Vinegar and Water

Take an equal amount of white vinegar and water in a container, then soak your jewellery for a few minutes. Then, gently clean the jewellery with a brush. White vinegar contains acetic acid, which helps reduce the tarnish on jewellery. Then clean the jewellery with cold water and dry it with a dry cotton cloth.

How to Store Costume Jewellery

Costume jewellery is attractive and affordable, so people buy it based on their fashion agendas. Costume jewellery needs more attention than other jewellery. It gets tarnished easily, so below we mention some points that are helpful for you to maintain the longevity of costume jewellery and avoid tarnishing.

Keep metal jewellery separate from other jewellery.

Always keep separate containers for your costume jewellery based on its category. This prevents metal pieces from getting tarnished.

Your Jewelry Should Be Cleaned and Dried

Moisture and dirt are the main reasons why metal gets tarnished and discoloured faster. So, before you store your costume jewellery make sure it is properly cleaned and dried.

Use protective spray.(Clear Coat Spray, Eternal Jewellery Coating, and Avance Brass and Copper Tarnish Remover etc.)

Before storing your costume jewellery you should treat it with a protective spray, which reduces the chances of it getting tarnished and also protects you from allergic reactions, skin irritation, rashes, and itchiness.

What Not to Do with Your Costume Jewellery

Don’t Expose Costume jewellery Pieces to Direct Sunlight:

Never place your costume jewellery in direct sunlight because harsh sunlight causes jewellery pieces to tarnish.

Don’t Wear Your Jewelry to the Gym, Shower, or Swimming Pool:

keep your jewellery away from brackish water, chlorine water, and sweat. These substances cause discoloration and tarnish on your jewellery.

Never Store Dirty or Wet Jewelry:

Before storing your jewelry, make sure it is clean. Always remove dirt and wetness from your costume jewellery with a clean cloth.

In Summary

Therefore, costume jewellery has become a craze among men and women. They not only complement every other occasion but also make a strong fashion statement for the individual wearing them. Because of its frequent uses, costume jewellery is subjected to normal wear and tear; for this reason, it requires tender touch, care, and maintenance from time to time. Hence, it's ideal for you to apply all those remedies that help you protect your costume jewellery from tarnishing by using home remedies.