Jewelry

[depglass]

LC has a 79.00 jewelry steam cleaner as their special today.  It got me thinking, I already own a household steamer.  Before I dust this off and spiff up some rather dirty rings, what do I have to avoid?  I think I already know to avoid pearls and opals.  

[Kachina624]

Don't use on opaque gemstones, especially turquoise.  I think people mostly steam diamond rings set in gold.

[GCR18]

I would avoid stones that are not clear or see through.

[SilleeMee]

I would not steam clean organic gems...pearls, amber, coral or shell (mop)...or a gem that is glued in or set in resin and also avoid steaming dyed gems and doublets or triplets.

[VegasBusinessWoman]

Hey depie, please let us know how it works out for you.  I've wondered the same thing but never got around to trying it.

[Tique]

They still have them listed on their site at the end of the day so they didn't sell out. There are too many options that you shouldn't steam clean which is the reason I've never purchased one.

[depglass]

OK, I did my first ring, a favorite Valitutti cushion blue topaz with scrolling on the band.  A jeweler's loupe showed dried soap in the openwork and a dull stone.  These household steamers are very strong, so hold the ring with a pair of tweezers over an area you don't mind getting wet.  I used the bathroom counter but avoided the sink with the open drain for obvious reasons.  It took a second shot after inspection to clean up the bottom of the stone beneath the under gallery. I will be doing more as the day goes by, I might even get the shower cleaned.   

[Shanus]

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@depglass wrote:

OK, I did my first ring, a favorite Valitutti cushion blue topaz with scrolling on the band.  A jeweler's loupe showed dried soap in the openwork and a dull stone.  These household steamers are very strong, so hold the ring with a pair of tweezers over an area you don't mind getting wet.  I used the bathroom counter but avoided the sink with the open drain for obvious reasons.  It took a second shot after inspection to clean up the bottom of the stone beneath the under gallery. I will be doing more as the day goes by, I might even get the shower cleaned.   

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@depglass  You were quite lucky not to harm your ring. Household steamers are too strong for cleaning jewelry. I’d invest in a jewelry steamer or what I use is an ultrasonic cleaning machine...same warnings which stones cannot be cleaned in a wet or soaking method. 

[Trinity11]

Steam cleaners and ultra-sonic cleaners are wonderful for gold jewelry without stones but I now stay far away from them for my personal use. Having worked in the jewelry industry for many years I saw many customers come back to Tiffany's with missing stones from their at home use of steam cleaners. Often times they had loose settings that they were unaware and needed frequent resetting of their diamond jewelry. I, myself, had a diamond tennis bracelet with some pave work in it and the diamonds were constantly falling out. My diamond solitaire became loose in the setting and would have fallen out if not for my noticing after a few cleanings that these at-home machines were just wrong for me personally.

So gold jewelry fine but I would never use them for jewelry with gemstones. Too risky..

[Shawnie]

I don’t touch my organic pieces, coral, opal, turquoise.  Other gold or gold and gemstones, i use a soft toothbrush and toothpaste, warm water.  i have a pave piece that i only take to the jeweler.