Cleaning Precious Gemstones
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Cleaning Precious Gemstones
There are different ways to clean gemstone beads. However, due to the different hardness levels of individual precious gem stone beads, certain methods of cleaning gemstones are more suitable for one type than another. There are five main methods of cleaning gemstones. They are as follows:
· Steaming- suitable for gemstones that have a high degree of hardness
· Ultrasonic- suitable for gemstones that have a high degree of hardness
· Boiling- only recommended for cleaning diamonds
· Cleaners-are not suited for soft gemstones
· Soap- are not suitable for the softest gemstones
· Cloth- available for all gem stone bead types
As with any gemstone jewelry, you should always read the care and cleaning instructions that are included with any wholesale gem stone you purchase.
Comments
7/17/2006 2:57:09 PMSandy said:
I wish I had read your tip last month, before I decided to wash all my stones. With dish soap and water just a bit cooler in temperture, than I would wash dishes with, I washed all of my stones.
I let them dry and then put them back in their plastic storage box, later I found my Peridot chips had broken down to sawdust like material. I could take a chip, and break it in half. It must have been still damp inside where a few days later the few chips that were still whole I could not break. I was so disspointed, and I bought this stone from a good supplier.
My Grade A and Grade AA amethyst lost its luster...
The Peridot though was just destroyed. I had rounds of peridot that did not break but were so fragile in feel I would not use them. Has anyone else had this happen. And I wish that suppliers would have a page saying how to care for the stones, ESPECIALLY if it is a stone that is sensitive to water or soap. Others said maybe the water was too hot and being quartz it could have destroyed it, that could be, but the water was not Hot just warm. And so I read here that it says not to use Soap.
Please suppliers list on your sites, how to care for stones. THANKS, it would help so much. Or maybe its up to us the consumers to learn how to care for the stones we buy, remembering that they are part of Nature, not man made..so they respond differently to different conditions. Thanks Sandy
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