How to Care for Antique Jewelry Before Selling Your Luxury Items
If you’ve collected antique jewelry throughout your life or you’ve recently inherited a few estate jewelry pieces, you may be considering selling these luxury items to earn some extra money. Before you list your antique jewelry for sale, however, it’s essential that you take the time to properly care for them.
Properly caring for your antique jewelry is crucial for protecting its value and ensuring you get the best possible price when selling your jewelry. Here are a few steps you can take to care for your estate jewelry and maximize its value.
Regularly Clean Your Antique Jewelry
One of the most important steps in taking care of your antique or estate jewelry is to regularly clean it. Even if your antique pieces may appear to be in great condition, they can dull or begin to tarnish over time if they aren’t cleaned on a regular basis.
To clean your jewelry, use a gentle soap and water solution and carefully rub the jewelry with a soft cloth. You can also use a soft-bristled baby toothbrush dipped in the soap solution to get into any nooks and crannies. However, always use a new toothbrush, not a used one, as any leftover toothpaste can scratch your luxury items. Make sure to clean the sides and back of the jewelry as well as the front of it since dust and debris can accumulate in those areas as well.
A polishing cloth is also beneficial for removing any dirt, fingerprints, or grime from your antique piece regularly. Polishing cloths are best for sterling silver as well as pearl or other strung necklaces.
Store Your Antique Jewelry Properly
Proper storage is also important for preserving your estate jewelry once it’s been cleaned. It’s understandable if you typically clean your antique jewelry in a jewelry box or drawer. However, this isn’t the best place for your antique values, as they can jostle against one another and potentially become scratched or damaged.
Instead, keep your antique jewelry in individual compartments to keep them safe. If you don’t have individual drawers or boxes, storing them inside individual dust bags can also help prevent scratches in your jewelry box.
It’s also important that wherever you store them is a location with low humidity and no direct sunlight. Heat, sunlight and humidity can all warp antique jewelry and cause them to degrade more quickly, so keeping them in a cool, dark place such as a closet or cupboard will help keep them looking their best for as long as possible.
Visit a Jewelry Repair Professional
If your antique jewelry has loose stones, deeply wedged dirt, scratches, dings or any other issues, it’s always best to take it to a jewelry repair professional. Attempting to rectify these issues through DIY solutions often leave jewelry in worse condition than before, and any amateur repairs will be noticed during an appraisal when you decide to sell your luxury goods.
Research the best places to sell gold jewelry near you, and make sure that they have a good reputation in jewelry repair and cleaning. While there are steps you can take at home to preserve and clean your jewelry, there’s no substitute for a thorough cleaning, polishing, or repair job from a trustworthy jewelry repair professional.
At Watch & Wares, our team of trained professionals has been performing watch, estate jewelry, and handbag repair services for decades. We understand luxury, and we always strive to provide the best service in the Orange, CA, area. Our master jeweler has over 40 years of industry experience and is the jeweler that other local jewelers go to for answers.
We’re also known as the best place to sell luxury items in Orange County. Since 1992, we’ve been the premier source for estate jewelry buying, selling and collateral loans. We’re confident you won’t find anyone better to restore your luxury goods, especially at our competitive price point. To receive a free estimate on one of our luxury repair services, give us a call at 714-633-2030 or contact us via our online form today.
