Like most jewelry lovers you probably have some old
seemingly worn out necklaces, rings, or bracelets shoved to
the back of your drawer or jewelry box that you never wear.
The great thing about inexpensive costume jewelry is that
it is easy to get your moneys worth out of it. However, why
not get even more bank for your buck by breathing new life
into those old jewelry pieces by reversing some of their
most common issues:
Worn out gold or silver plating:
Because typical costume jewelry plating is very thin it can
eventually rub off from wear or become damaged from the use
of harsh chemicals, creams, or perfumes. If this happens
there are several options in gold and silver re-plating
solutions that can be found online. Some are fairly simple
and can be performed without the use of heat or electricity
while others are a little more complex. I found one website
in particular that offers a very good variety of plating
options (e.g. immersion plating, pen plating) and general
plating instructions for precious metals including gold,
silver, platinum, and rhodium. It is
www.shorinternational.com. Click on the contents and search
box and then plating gateway. One word of caution: I would
recommend buying only cyanide free plating solutions as
cyanide is poisonous. For silver lovers there is one
product that I have personally used that has worked well
for me and it is called Silver Brite. This is an all in one
cream that cleans, polishes, and re-plates worn silver on
jewelry and other items. It is very easy to use and fairly
inexpensive. Just rub the cream on with an applicator
sponge or a Q-tip for small items and rub off with the
buffing cloth that is included with the kit. The result is
a clean, sparking silver finish.
Tarnished or dirty:
Cleaning costume jewelry is simple but choose your cleaner
wisely. Only use a jewelry cleaner that specifically states
that it is safe for costume jewelry and read the
ingredients to make sure that it does not contain alcohol,
acids, or ammonia because these can strip the gold or
silver plate. Use a children's soft bristle tooth brush for
cleaning around costume jewelry stones. Its probably not be
a good idea to immerse rhinestone jewelry because the
stones can become unglued.
If your costume jewelry items are only lightly tarnished a
good buffing with a soft dry jewelry cloth may do the
trick. For more heavily tarnished items a jewelry polish
can work wonders.
Loose or missing stones:
If a stone such as a cubic zirconia, plastic, or glass has
become loose or fallen out a drop or two of super glue will
do the trick. Just be careful not to use too much. You
don't want the glue oozing out of the sides and causing the
piece to adhere to your skin or some other object. Most of
the time a single drop will suffice unless it is a very
large stone in which case you may want to use two drops. If
you cannot find the missing stone there are companies
online that sell loose cz stones if you have a special
chain or ring band you want to salvage. Simply do an
internet search for cz stones.
Broken clasp:
If your necklace or bracelet has a broken clasp make sure
it is the actual clasp that is broken. The problem may be a
broken jump ring which is a tiny metal ring that is open in
one spot which connects the clasp to the chain. If this is
the problem it can be easily fixed. First identify what
kind of clasp it is. There are several types (e.g. lobster
clasp which is shaped like a lobster claw and has a tiny
spring loaded lever, a magnetic clasp which is just as it
sounds) then visit your local craft store or do a search
online for jewelry clasps and you should find what you
need. If the clasp is soldered on you will need to contact
a jewelry repair professional.
Outdated:
If you simply want to add a new flair to your old costume
jewelry pieces you can simply mix and match. If you have a
special pendant that you are especially fond of give it a
new life with a more contemporary chain. Add new charms to
your favorite bracelet or re-plate that old silver necklace
with a shiny new gold finish. Be creative!
----------------------------------------------------
Windfall Enterprises specializes in beautiful inexpensive
costume jewelry. You can check out their selection at
http://www.windfall-costume-jewelry.com .
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