How To Take Care of Opal Jewelry?
A stunning gemstone that demands your attention to keep looking great, opal can last a lifetime if cared for properly. In fact, many people simply love opal gemstone jewelry. If you are one of them and wish to know how can keep this valuable jewelry as good as new for many years, then here’s a complete guide to opal care that you must read and follow.
Made of amorphous (non-crystalline) silica, opal gemstones can contain up to 21% water. Here’s how you can take good care of these beautiful gemstones:
How To Take Proper Care Of your Opal jewelry?
Opal gemstone, like many other natural gemstones, is susceptible to cracks and scratches easily. This is why it is recommend to not to wear opal jewelry while playing sports or while working in the garden as dirt can easily ruin the beauty of your opal stone.
Do not wear opal jewelry when applying any soap or lotion. As opal is usually very absorbent, applying such products while wearing opal jewelry may result in dirt build up. And may even dull the shine of the stone, forcing you to clean it more often than necessary.
Keep your opal jewelry at a good distance about to apply perfumes, hairsprays, colognes, etc.
It is important to note that the jewelry shouldn’t be stored under hot lights for a long period. If stored under hot lights, this semi precious gemstone may get cracked due to heat build-up. So, to save the gemstone from cracking, keep it away from direct hot light while storing it.
Store your opal jewelry separately in plastic bags with a damp piece of cotton so that dehydration doesn’t happen. Make it a habit to check your opal jewelry regularly. This will help you to determine any damages well in advance so that you can get them repaired and keep your jewelry in good shape.
How To Clean Opal Jewelry?
To get the right results, you can always clean your solid opal jewelry with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth or soft toothbrush. This will clean all the grime and dirt in the hard-to-clean areas of the jewelry.
You can buy a specially designed jewelry cloth to clean your opal jewelry. If your opal gemstones embedded in the silver metal, then you can get a special silver cloth to clean the same. Likewise, if it is embedded in the gold metal, then clean it with a gold cloth.
At the time of taking your opal jewelry to a jeweler, make sure you do not get your Opal Doublet or Opal Triplet Jewelry cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner. As these machines can loosen the glue bond because of water penetration, your opal gemstones may fall easily when cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaner.
As a matter of fact, even solid opals doesn’t clean using an ultrasonic cleaner as the vibrations of this cleaner may cause cracking in the solid opal.
It should be a habit to clean the opal jewelry regularly. Once in every two months is a good practice to follow. This will help to get rid of all the accumulated dirt and to make the cleaning process easier and faster.
Should you get your Opal jewelry polish?
You might have taken to maintain your opal jewelry well, there comes a time when you may think that your opal stone has lost its shine, or when you can see some scratches on its surface.
If such a situation comes, after years of use, then you can take your opal jewelry to a trustworthy jeweler and get it professionally polished.
This will give a new life to your opal jewelry and keep it damage-free due to inspection from professionals.
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