Cleaning & Caring Gemstone Jewelry

Caring for your gemstone jewelry is an essential necessity for any jewelry owner, as gemstones are a durable material, and they do require care, so that when handed down as heirlooms in the years to come, they are just as brilliantly remarkable as they are to you now, to be cherished forever.

Most transparent and hard gemstones can endure being cared for by simply cleaning the jewelry with mild nonabrasive hand detergent and a soft bristled toothbrush; then dried with a soft clean cloth. It is wise to place a soft washcloth in the sink covering the drain, as doing so will aid in preventing any gemstones from becoming chipped or falling down the drain while you are cleaning your jewelry.

Some would suggest using ultrasonic cleaners, while this may be the fastest method for cleaning your jewelry; it is also the quickest way to damage your gemstones. Be very careful when using an ultrasonic cleaner, make sure that your gemstones can withstand such cleaning before using this type of method.

Here are some suggestions for cleaning and caring for your gemstone jewelry.

·Use 2 cleaning bowls. One that has warm water plus the cleaning liquid and one that has only warm water to rinse. Note: If you are using sinks, place a soft washcloth over the drains, this will help to keep stones from going down the drains and also help to prevent possible chipping.
·Use lukewarm water, never use hot water.
·Use a mild dishwashing liquid or mild jewelry cleaning solution. One that is safe for your specific jewelry gemstones and metals.
·Several soft, clean, dry cloths (1-for cleaning and 1-drying)
·Small, unused soft bristled toothbrush

Fill your sink with warm water, add a little drop of mild dishwashing liquid and swish around to make bubbles. Carefully, place a few pieces at a time in the sink allowing them to soak a few minutes (don’t overload the sink as this may cause jewelry to hit against each other causing chips, cracks and/or damage). Then take each piece out and carefully clean with the soft bristled toothbrush. Caution, you only need to use a toothbrush if you have a piece of jewelry that has tiny cracks, holes, and small places where dust and dirt can get in; otherwise, there is really no need to use a toothbrush. Rinse in a separate sink that only contains warm water. Place the jewelry on a soft cloth and carefully dry your jewelry pieces.

Cleaning your jewelry doesn’t have to be done often, but several times a year to protect your gemstones. It is also wise to have a jeweler check any gemstones that have been put in settings at least once a year. This is to make sure that the prongs are secure and your gems are safe. When in doubt, ask a professional jeweler about the care and cleaning of your new gemstone jewelry.

Balance to Mind, Body, & Soul

Bring balance to ones life through the use of gems and crystals has been both legend and history. People from all cultures and continents have practiced harnessing the balancing of the spiritual and healing powers of gems and crystals; dating back as far as the legendary lost city of Atlantis, through the ancient Mayan and Indian civilizations, and reaching into Far Eastern and Native American. For centuries these cultures have used gems and crystals for religious, physical, and spiritual healing purposes. Today, meditation and fitness mixed with the use of the energy points is said to promote health, happiness, and well being within a person’s life. Is it legend or truth…..try it and you decide.

Here is a small listing of the properties within the gemstones I use in my jewelry:

·Agates: Balancing physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies; perceptiveness, strength, inspiration, awakening talents.
·Aventurine: Healing, money, mental agility, visual acuity, peace, opening heart, motivation, leadership.
·Carnelian: Precision, analytical capabilities, physical energy, verbal skill, peace, spirituality.
·Coral: Diplomacy, quieting emotions, visualization.
·Crystal Quartz: Intensifying energy, spiritual development, healing, raising consciousness
·Dumortierite: Self-reliance, stamina, patience, recognition of potential, understanding, communication of ideas.
·Fossil Stone: Accomplishments, improvement of one’s environment, communication, innovation. ·Hematite: Mental attunement, memory, calming, balance, focusing energy and emotions, peace, inner happiness, transforming negativity.
·Howlite: Awareness, calm, emotional expression, observation, patience, eliminating negativity.
·Jaspers: Protection, nurturing, joy, awareness; balancing of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual energies.
·Labradorite: Alignment, spiritual connection, transformation, clarity, peace, progression, discernment.
·Lapis Lazuli: Wisdom, intuition, awareness, objectivity, clarity, creativity, expanded consciousness, dreams, purity, courage, serenity.
·Mother of Pearl: Mental clarity, intuition, sensitivity, imagination, adaptability, cooperation.
·Onyx: Self-control, decision making, intuition, recognition of personal strengths.
·Opal: Creativity, spontaneity, relationships, memory, happy dreams and changes.
·Pearl: Purity, faith, charity, innocence, integrity, focus, wisdom, spirituality, sincerity, fertility.
·Rhodonite: Peace, generosity, attention to details.
·Smoky Quartz: Dissolving emotional blockage, clearing the mind, cooperation, personal pride, joy in living, attentiveness to the moment, protection.
·Sodalite: Wisdom, logic, calmness, healing, stress reduction, companionship, self-esteem.
·Sunstone: Alleviating fears, energizing, cleansing.
·Tiger Eye: Practicality, peacefulness, clarity, intelligence, intuition, new experiences, financial stability, calmness, releasing inhibitions.
·Tiger Iron: Artistic endeavors, beauty, vitality.
·Turquoise: Spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, romantic spontaneity.

Featured Artist from BNR on Etsy

Looking for awesome pottery? Look no further than the great shop of PotteryPeddler from our etsy BNR.

PotteryPeedler, a/k/a Norine, hails from the beaches of Pembroke Pines, Florida which lies between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, on the east coast of south Florida.
Nornie got started when she first admired the pottery work of the local potters. She signed up for an adult education class and was drawn to the feel of the clay, the process and the results. She enjoys starting with a ball of clay, molding, forming and manipulating it until it becomes a functional piece of art. Favorite materials to work with are clay and stoneware clay.

So, why the need to make things, we asked her….”At my day job I do not produce a tangible product; the sense of accomplishment is difficult to share and fleeting; even a job well done, needs to be done again tomorrow. With pottery, the results are tangible, and permanent; sometimes more permanent than I would like. A finish a bowl, pot or cup can be used again and again.”

She doesn’t really have a favorite word, but while thinking about our interview question, she remembered something from the great (in TD’s opinion) George Carlin about the versatility of a “4 letter word” …I’ll let y’all use your imagination with that! However, her favorite colors are earth tones, with a huge love for the combination of blues and browns.
How are the five senses good to her; Touch – obviously important to FEEL the clay; Sight – to admire your finished project; Taste – this one gets me in trouble – too many favorite foods! Smell – helps me control the previous sense – taste! Hearing lets me know when someone appreciates my work.

At the moment her most ambition project is a special order of Cali Lilly Plant spikes for a wedding favor. The Bride is not sure how many are needed yet, but between 75 and 120! Good thing she has until February to get them all done, but that’s a tall order! And then there’s her most non-creative pet addiction Starbucks; “I know it can be an expensive addiction, but I found a way to justify my daily fix. I limit myself to one regular coffee or an ice tea a day – no frills, no extras and no sweet treats. I justify it by sitting outside in the sun while– absorbing my daily dose of vitamin D.” And I’ll agree to that…passing her the Sunscreen!

When not at Starbucks you can find at….
PotteryPeddler Etsy shop
BNR to see her latest promotional sale

The Labor Day Holiday

Labor Day…..Its ‘official’, school has started, and football games are underway…..this is usually the last day for families and friends to gather together and enjoy the outdoors. The right of passage, many say, as the transition from Summer to Fall happens over this holiday. Soon the colors of pink, blue, yellow, and green will be replaced with the wonderful colors of brown, yellow, red and burgundy. Labor Day leads to Halloween, leading to Thanksgiving, and then Christmas…and then New Year’s….where we start all over again welcoming the many seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.