Whether it was a gift from your grandma or you bought it from an estate sale, estate jewelry that you have has been around for decades. It has been worn to parties and dinners, has seen countless summers and long winters so naturally, it shows signs of wear and tear. However a great thing about antique or vintage estate jewelry is that even though it might have dents and small scratches, it never goes out of fashion or is never past its prime. This is why estate jewelry is so much in demand. Taking good care of your jewelry is of utmost importance and when it is about antique or vintage jewelry then it becomes even more of a necessity. If you want to be able to pass down your estate jewelry to the young ones then follow the tips mentioned below.
Get proper storage: Never again should you dump jewelry on your dressing table into a pile among other baubles. A proper jewelry box with cloth linings and compartments is a must if you want to store antique or vintage estate jewelry. The cloth linings maintain the shine of the jewels while the compartments prevent jewelry from bumping into each other and cause damage. Silver jewelry requires special anti-tarnish boxes that prevent the interaction of jewelry with outside air and the cloth linings decelerate the oxidation of your precious jewelry.
Regular cleaning should be done: With time the jewelry items you own collect dirt and dust that not only takes away the shine of your pieces but also react with their environment that develops a bad coating on the surface especially if the jewelry is made of silver. In order to restore the jewelry, you must get all the pieces thoroughly cleaned by a professional.
Wearing antique jewelry often: One thing that owners of antique and vintage jewelry should keep in mind that this kind of jewelry has to be worn quite regularly as opposed to popular belief. This is because the gemstones on the jewelry have the tendency to dry out and thus get spoiled if kept locked inside a box for long periods of time. Thus wearing estate jewelry often prevents that from happening. However, it must be noted that harsh environments and surroundings must also be avoided at all costs if you want to maintain the life of your estate jewelry. This means that you must not wear it anywhere near any sort of chemicals. Many times people wear their jewelry to swimming pools which again is a strict no. Just because your vintage jewelry has lasted a few decades does not mean that it will not need proper care. Antique and vintage jewelry is delicate and requires regular professional-grade up-keeping. If you buy your estate jewelry online websites, remember to ask how old the piece is and what all you could do to keep it new forever. The older the piece is the more care it requires from your end.
