Buying or selling jewelry can be very intimidating to someone who has never done it before. It can easily lead to a bit of information overload because of all the resources available to those new to jewelry practices. Below are some tips to assist you in getting all of this information organized to where you can start buying and selling jewelry much smarter.
Try not to bathe or swim in your fine jewelry. Many times the type of water (hard versus soft) can splash and wear the metal jewelry or stain the stone. There are also chemicals like chlorine found in many swimming pools that can turn stones and badly stain metal jewelry.
If you are looking to purchase sterling silver jewelry online, make sure to also purchase a silver acid testing kit. Such kits are widely available online as well for under ten dollars. They provide a safe way for you to acid test the jewelry you receive to make sure of its authenticity. This way, if you are purchasing a vintage piece that may not be hallmarked, you are still able to know that you have not been scammed.
When shopping for diamonds, make sure that you shop for them based on their four main criteria: color, cut, clarity, and carat. The color refers to the hue of the stone. The cut refers to the way that the stone is fashioned, such as princess and square cuts. Clarity refers to the flawlessness of the stone. The carat refers to the weight of the stone.
Protect yourself when purchasing diamonds by keeping written documents of your purchases as proof. This is the only way that you can prove the 4 C’s you were guaranteed when you purchased the piece or stone. Treat your sales receipts and appraisals as contracts of what you can expect from your purchase, especially if they are not up to the quality you were guaranteed.
When storing your fine jewelry in a chest or case, wrap each piece in a small piece of velvet cloth. That way harder gemstones will not scratch softer gemstones and metals. It also helps pieces not get tangled with themselves and the velvet helps to keep the pieces safe from excess moisture.
When shopping for stone jewelry, you need to be educated on everything to look for. Your jeweler can help guide you on what and how to look at stones to make sure that you can distinguish bad from good quality. This type of education can help you make better decisions without so much help when you are jewelry shopping.
When choosing jewelry for an outfit, think about not only what color or colors your clothes are, but also what color your jewelry is. If you’re wearing a necklace on a silver chain, try to pair it with a silver ring or earrings with silver findings. Try to avoid mixing different colored metals unless you have a single piece, such as a watch, that combines both.
When shopping for jewelry, you may need to check what kind of metal you’re buying. Everyone’s heard of a cheap necklace turning skin green, but you may also have a bad reaction to certain metals in earrings. For earrings, look for items labeled “sensitive skin” or for stainless steel, silver, or gold.
To make sure your jewelry makes you look great, wear jewelry that compliments your skin tone. If you have a cool skin tone, choose jewelry with a silver tone. When wearing gemstones, try pearls or jewel-toned stones. To compliment a warm skin tone, wear gold jewelry and pieces with earth tones. Coral and turquoise also look great on those with warm skin.
When cleaning silver, it is best to invest in a jeweler’s rouge cloth. It has a polishing compound on the red side which is safe to use with all gemstones, and the yellow side is intended for giving a polish that will sparkle. This will keep your jewelry looking gorgeous for a long time to come!
If you own hemp jewelry, never wear it in the shower or while swimming. Exposure to water will greatly reduce the lifespan of your hemp pieces. Always remove your jewelry prior to water related activities, and avoid wearing it on very humid days as well. This will keep your special pieces looking great for a long time.
Create a vintage Victorian look with jewelry you already own. Layer several necklaces of different lengths and materials together. If you don’t have any long necklaces, consider fastening several shorter ones together end to end. Thread a piece of ribbon or lace through them and add a cameo pin clipped to one side to finish.
To keep your jewelry in top condition, never wear it to sleep. When you sleep, your body produces a lot of sweat and gives off a lot of heat, both of which can cause serious damage to jewelry. Sweat can cause it to tarnish or rust, while the heat can cause soft metals to deform.
Add extra depth and meaning to custom pieces by incorporating gemstones and beads that are associated with deeper meanings. To convey a sense of purity and peace, incorporate white stones like opals, pearls, diamonds, and colorless topaz as focal pieces. These colors look especially striking when paired with gold accents.
Remove your jewelry when you are going to be using beauty products. Lotions, perfumes, hair sprays, and shaving creams will hurt your jewelry. It may just make your jewelry dirty, but it could also damage your jewels. If you forget once in a while, that should be okay. Don’t make a habit of it.
Hopefully, these tips have provided you with some very valuable information, as well as given you a way to organize all the thoughts and information you may have already had on buying or selling jewelry. Keeping these tips in mind when you start buying or selling can help you in the jewelry world.
