Make Your Next Jewelry Shopping Trip Easier With These Tips

Whether your purchase jewelry for friends, inherit valuable pieces or receive jewelry as a gift, it is important that you are aware of the best buying, selling and cleaning jewelry practices. This article is filled with useful advice on purchasing jewelry.

Get a polishing cloth for your jewelery. This will give your jewelry shine and luster without the use of potentially harmful chemicals. Use the dual-sided cloth on your jewelry just as you would clean a glass. Use the side of the cloth that is designed for polishing to remove fingerprints, dust and other surface imperfections, and then use the opposite side to buff the jewelry and make it gleam.

Be sure that you store all of your jewelry safely away from air and humidity. Ideally, you should keep them in drawstring bags or in a jewelry box. Certain metals will be tarnished when exposed to humidity or air. Precious metals can easily be polished, but non-precious metal needs a special polish.

Bring a magnet when shopping for sterling silver jewelery. If the piece you are examining is not silver and is made from non-precious metal, it will be attracted to the magnet. Also, look to make sure that silver is hallmarked and stamped with .925, sterling or ster. If the piece you’re inspecting doesn’t carry such a mark, be careful, as it is likely a fake.

When shopping for diamonds, it’s best to comparison shop. Take a very close look at the piece you like, and then make the comparison to any others on your favorites list. There are deceptive tricks that can be used to enhance a diamond, so you need to be on the lookout.

If you want to start a costume jewelry collection, it is important to be aware of the pieces’ condition. Costume jewelry is pricey and can retain its value in many cases, but pieces that are damaged aren’t worth much and aren’t worth the time to restore. A piece in good condition will be much more resourceful to you in the future.

Well-maintained jewelry holds both its resale value and sentimental value. By learning what you need to treat your jewelry, you can protect the money and memories invested in it. There is a lot more information you can learn if you just educate yourself and know how to get the most from your jewelery.