How to Clean Gold Jewelry

Cleaning gold jewelry is simple and takes little to no time at all if you have the right materials at home! In this guide we will also cover more advanced or complex techniques that will be sure to make your beautiful and highly valuable pieces remain beautiful for a very long time.

Yes you can! Less is more in cleaning your gold jewelry as a simple wash and cleanse with dish soap will be able to get minor dirt out of your piece. Be careful though as you want to make sure the soap does not contain unknown ingredients which will cause damage and tarnish to your piece. A recommended safe source of dish soap is Dawn's Basic Blue Dish Soap.

Tools needed:

1. Dawn Dish Soap

2. Ammonia

3. Some sort of microfiber cloth or baby toothbrush

4. Warm Water

5. Soft Cotton Towel

All you have to do is combine the dish soap with a couple drops of ammonia in a bowl of warm water. Place your gold jewelry inside and gently scrub with your cloth or baby toothbrush. Let your gold jewelry soak in the warm water once done, and air dry or pat down with your cotton towel. Voila, your gold jewelry is as good as new in under 5 minutes. This is the best homemade gold cleaner as it is simple but also very efficient.

A lot of sites recommend using vinegar to clean your gold jewelry as it's convenient and simple. DO NOT use vinegar to clean your Gold Jewelry. 14K and 18K Gold Jewelry is mixed with different alloys. The vinegar can affect those alloys and cause permanent damage. For example 14K Gold is approximately around 58% gold and 42% other metals such as nickel, copper, silver, and zinc. Vinegar can kill bacteria and germs, now imagine what it will do to your jewelry.

As mentioned above vinegar is definitely one to avoid. Some more convenent DIY home remedies to avoid include baking soda, bleach, tooth paste and any commercial metal cleaner. Bleach is especially corrosive to gold and should be avoided at all costs. Bleach can be found in most of your cleaning solutions at home.

This question almost certainly should be advised by your jeweller as many gemstones are different and will not react the same to different chemicals. Gemstones can react to heat, light, scratching, and acids in unique ways. If you want to give your piece a quick clean then dip it in a warm water solution mixed with some dawn dish soap. Gem society has a great guide for proper care of your specific gemstone.

Simply follow the steps above as mentioned with the dawn detergent basic soap, ammonia, and warm water. The cotton microfiber cloth will work wonders and making your gold jewelry shine bright again.

Tap water and swimming pools contain chlorine which can cause minor damage to gold in the long run. It's best to take your gold jewelry off when washing, cleaning, or doing any sort of physical activity. The sweat from physical exertion can react negatively with the other alloys in your gold pieces. Even showering can cause you to accidently drop your gold jewelry and leaving you with not only an empty finger but an empty wallet as well.

You can find a very affordable polishing cloth on amazon made by Conniseurs

As long as you properly take care of your gold jewelry they can last up to a life time. Now other forms of gold jewelry such as Gold Vermeil and Gold-Filled are a different story.