Patina on Vintage/Antique Jewelry

Thanks to Wendy for her excellent question:

Q: Will removing patina on antique jewelry lower the value?

A: Patina is a good thing as long as you are collecting furniture. Antique and vintage jewelry maintains it's best value when it is closest to it's original appearance. Unless you're dealing with the crown jewels or a museum-quality Mayan gold headress it's pretty safe to assume that a properly cleaned piece of jewelry is more beautiful and thus more valuable than it's counterpart that is caked with old hand lotion and body powder. Think about it this way: You have a solid silver service set that hasn't been polished in 100 years. You brush away the patina with a bit of Semichrome (excellent product for jewelry too) and WOW you've got a gorgeous set of spoons, forks etc. that you can actually use and that will exact a higher selling price. On the other hand, say you've got a set of plated silver service items that needs some cleaning. You dip it in Tarnex and...ooops, you've just removed half the plating and now you have a service set that looks as if it's been for a spin in the garbage disposal. Now you have an ugly, unusable service set that will cost you several hundred dollars to replate.

It's the same with jewelry. The lesson is; clean what needs to be cleaned and only using the proper method. First, know what materials you are dealing with and how to clean them. Here are some examples of materials and how to clean them:

Solid gold: Soak in jewelry cleaner for a few minutes, or if you want to save some cash, mix an ammonia-based all-purpose cleaner (I use Mr.Clean) and mix it with water 1:4 (1 part cleaner, 4 parts water). Brush with the little brush that comes with the jewelry cleaner or use a soft toothbrush. Follow up with a jewelry-buffing cloth. These cloths have a small amount of the polish used by jewelers with a buffing machine. These cloths are usually available at your local jeweler. My absolute favorite is the one made by Stuller. They are a bit more expensive but last longer and don't dry out like traditional cloths. By using light cleaning and buffing you will remove tarnish and general gunk without harm.

Solid silver: Never assume it's safe to use a dip product like Tarnex or silver jewelry dip. It's best to use the method above. Having said that, I admit to using dip all the time! When you have as much silver to deal with as I do it is simply too time consuming to hand polish everything. The results depend on the item. If you insist on being lazy like me, understand that you may sometimes have poor results. Dip the item into the cleaner and check it after 10 seconds. If it's starting to look duller pull it out and rinse immediately. If it's looking better, leave in in for another 20 seconds and rinse. You may have to repeat this several times before the serious grime is gone. After a good rinse, use a polishing cloth to remove any remnants and bring up a nice polish. If you have a newer silver item it may be plated with rhodium to prevent tarnishing. If you dip a rhodium-plated piece it will eat off the rhodium and leave it looking dull and, well, pretty ugly. Polish it with a polishing cloth until the shine comes back. Most jewelers can re-rhodium silver (or gold; rhodium is used on almost all new white gold to make it look more white than white gold actually is) but it can be expensive because of the cost of rhodium (more than platinum costs in pure form!).

Diamonds and Gemstones: Diamonds can be cleaned in jewelry cleaner no matter what the age. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, cubic zirconia, and most semi-precious stones (aquamarine, garnet, amethyst, topaz etc.) can be cleaned in the same manner but DO NOT soak them in cleaner. It's best to give them a quick dip, a gentle scrub, and a good rinse. DO NOT EVER soak pearls, opals, anything glued into the item, any item that has antiquing (the dark recessed areas), mother of pearl, other shell, coral, ivory, fake pearl, ivory etc., or foil-back rhinestones. There are "delicate" jewelry cleaners on the market for pearls, opals, and such but I never use them and never recommend them. Pearl and opal are porous like sponges. Pearls have an outer coating that is very delicate and can easily be worn or chipped off. You may soak pearls in mineral water and buff them clean and dry with a soft cloth (no polishing cloths!) but understand that this will break down the silk that they are strung on or the adhesive used to mount them. I do not soak pearls unless I am about to restring them. Pearls love your natural body oil. When you wear them you should avoid putting lotion or perfume near where they fall on your neck. Opals are made of silica and the areas between the silica molecules will wick up moisture and expand. So keep your opal ring out of the shower and sink. If you have an item with these NO-SOAK materials that really needs cleaning just take your time and protect those materials. Keep them safe from cleaners and away from polishing cloths by covering them with a bit of that super-sticky saran wrap. Or just avoid making contact with those areas alltogether. I can't stress enough the importance of the polishing cloth. They are gentle and easy to keep away from delicate areas.

If you have an item I have not mentioned, just ask!