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Care of Vintage Costume Jewelry

The term “Costume Jewelry” as we understand it today really came to be in the 1930s.  Although imitation stones had been used in jewelry much earlier, the term seems to come from the idea that a particular piece of jewelry was made to be worn with a specific outfit (or “costume”).  Since it was not “fine” jewelry (karat gold, silver, platinum with real gemstones) it was inexpensive enough to wear it while it was in fashion and then forget it.

 

Aren’t we lucky that most women simply put away their costume jewelry and actually forgot about it? 

 

Today, more and more of us have come to appreciate the design and workmanship found in vintage costume jewelry.  Collecting vintage costume jewelry is a beautiful and delightful pastime with the added benefit of being easily displayed.  There are so many creative ways to display a jewelry collection, but one of the most obvious is to display it by wearing it!

Once you’ve found that great piece of vintage jewelry, you’re sure to want to keep it sparkling.  Here are some hints for you:

Many types of vintage costume jewelry have rhinestone components.  The Number One rule of rhinestones is – never immerse rhinestone jewelry in any kind of liquid.  Ever!  Those little jars of jewelry cleaner?  That’s immersion cleaning – AND, why would you want to put jewelry in solution that you’ve already been using to clean other jewelry.  The gunk is still in there!

 

How often have you come across a great piece of vintage jewelry and notice that some of the stones have darkened or yellowed?  This can happen when the foil backing on stones becomes damaged and is THEN exposed to moisture.  Occasionally, foil can be scratched in open backed settings but more often the foil becomes damaged from improper cleaning methods.  Often in the past, homemade products that contained acidic ingredients such as vinegar, ketchup, or salt were used to clean jewelry.  Ouch!  Sure, the jewelry looked great after it was cleaned but acids do have a way of “eating” surfaces and, over time, the foil does become damaged.  So immersing your costume jewelry in jars of cleaner has the potential to get liquid between the foil and the stone … and it’s not long before the stone is discolored.

 

The very safest way to clean your vintage jewelry is to use a soft cloth and polish it carefully, making sure not to catch prongs in the cloth.  If this method doesn’t bring out the shine, the next best way to clean is to dampen that cloth with clean water and gently go over the surfaces.  Formula 409 is not recommended for use around rhinestones.  Even when used to test for Bakelite, use is sparingly and try to keep it from touching stones.

 

Sometimes old jewelry simply needs a little more help, and let’s face it – we like our jewelry to BLING!  A Sunshine Cloth is perfect for this type of cleaning.  It’s a soft, felt-like cloth that is treated with safe polishing compounds.  It’s non-toxic and there’s no rouge residue.  It removes tarnish on metal and cleans and brightens up the metal very gently and at the same time puts a shine on the stones.  Once the cloth is dirty – they’re inexpensive - dispose of it and get a new one to keep from redepositing the dirt onto your jewels.

 

A word about tarnish:  It’s called “patina”.  Some people like it and some don’t.  Certain very collectible and expensive older silver pieces should never have the patina removed, but other than that – it’s a personal choice.  NEVER, EVER --- EVER! use that dip in silver cleaner.  It is caustic and actually removes a tiny bit of the metal.  Many silver pieces have darkened areas intentionally as part of the design – the dip can and usually does remove that.  It also leaves the silver with a really odd tone.  Scary stuff!

 

Another method is to use Jewelry Joose.  This is a very gentle water-based, non-toxic, low sudsing cleaning formula made by a jewelry collector especially for use on costume jewelry. 

 

To use Jewelry Joose, all you need is a soft bristle toothbrush and water to rinse with.  Just spray a little bit on the toothbrush and very gently brush it over the piece of jewelry to get in all the nooks and crannies.  Avoid open backed settings where the foil on the back of the stone is visible.  Then, quickly but thoroughly rinse it off and pat dry on a NON terry cloth towel – flour sack is great because you don’t want to catch the prongs.  Finally, take your blow dryer and make sure the piece is good and dry. 

 

A word of caution about the blow dryer – they can have quite high temperatures, which is great for drying BUT don’t let your jewelry get hot enough to melt plastic OR, more likely the glue holding stones or Lucite/plastic pieces in/on.  Also, the metal gets hot and you can even burn your fingers. 

 

Now you’re saying – But you just told me not to get rhinestones wet!  Nope, I said don’t IMMERSE your costume jewelry.  Spritzing a little bit of the Joose on a toothbrush is minimal surface wetting and a very quick allover rinse should not be harmful when the piece is dried quickly and thoroughly. 

 

I use Jewelry Joose on MY grandmother’s and mother’s costume jewelry and they mean the world to me.  Believe me, I don’t even begin to take a chance of endangering them.

 

And the bottle lasts a long time.  I’m still using my first bottle, after about 2 years and you can imagine how much jewelry I clean!

 

One more MAJOR word of caution on the subject of cleaning jewelry – both costume and fine – NEVER use any type of cleaner on pearls (real or imitation), real opals, ivory, or bone.  The most you should do is to wipe with a clean, damp, cotton cloth.

 

Occasionally, you’ll find older jewelry with “the greenies” where some of the metal has oxidized and turned green.  Most of the time this will be around metal hinges and clasps.  A Q-Tip “soaked” with Jewelry Joose will remove it or soften it enough to remove carefully with a toothpick.  If it’s really bad, do the same with a little vinegar taking care not to let it touch stones, beads, or other areas.  Some people use ketchup applied to the green stuff with a toothpick.  Messy, but it does stay pretty well on the area.  Be sure to clean it thoroughly or you may find yourself craving French fries.

 

Once your jewelry is clean:

 

Make a habit of putting on your jewelry last.  Complete your hairdressing and makeup before putting on jewelry.  Colognes and perfumes are mostly alcohol, but the scent is oily and attracts dirt.  Just the tiniest bit of hairspray or powder every day can really build up on your jewelry.

 

Before putting your jewelry back in its place, just run a barely damp, clean, fuzz-free cloth over it gently, then dry thoroughly.

 

Remember – the cleaner you keep your jewelry the less frequently you have to expose it to cleaning.

 

Now to store your jewelry:

 

Again, making certain that all pieces are DRY, placing them in a single layer in a jewelry box is great!  Setting pieces on top of each other can cause tangling, breaking, and scratching. 

 

Always fasten necklace and bracelet clasps to help keep them from becoming tangled or caught on other pieces.

 

Adding one of the little Silica Gel packets will help keep any dampness from harming your jewelry.  I don’t recommend letting the packet touch the jewelry.

 

Some people like to use the little zippy bags to store their jewelry.  That’s a good method, too, especially if you have limited storage space – gives you a little bit of padding if you MUST “stack”.  This also keeps necklaces from tangling.  Again, be sure your jewelry is dry because the plastic bag will retain any moisture you seal in there!

 

So .. what happens when you do have the inevitable stone that turns yellow or darkens?  If it bothers you, you can carefully replace it.  Sometimes, in older pieces of jewelry the glue just dries up and gives out and a stone will fall out.  If you still have the stone and it’s a good stone, you can glue it back in BUT use proper jewelry glue like Hypo Cement (it’s available online and I’ve heard, at Michael’s).  NEVER use Krazy Glue!!  If that stone ever goes bad, you’ll never get it out to replace it without marring your piece.  The biggest mistake people make when gluing in a stone is using too much glue.  All it takes is a pinpoint dot of glue in the cup.  I usually squeeze out a little glue on a sheet of wax paper and use a straight pin to pick up a tiny dab to place into the cup.  Setting the stone in the cup spreads that little bit of glue out nicely and there is no excess to ruin the rest of the stones.

 

What about beads?  I love the old vintage bead necklaces!  But they have one little – or not so little, really – problem:  the old string tends to break.  Usually at the worst possible time and place.  (Like in the check out line at Walmart…yeah…beads everywhere.)  I just dropped a beaded necklace ON CARPET the other day and the string broke.  Here, you can be proactive and restring them (or have them restrung – just ask) before you wear them.  If you are unfortunate enough to have the strand break, do your best to find all the beads.  If there are any sections that have not come off the string, save those on the string to refer to in order to get the pattern back.  If you can’t locate all the beads (like the ones under the magazine rack and cash register stand at Walmart), then of course the pattern will have to change and the necklace will be a little shorter unless you add some new beads.

 

And lastly … what happens when the metal parts break on your vintage costume jewelry?  That’s the heartbreak.  I was always told that if metal on costume jewelry broke, that was the end.  Good news is that Gem Products does laser welding on costume jewelry.  I highly recommend this company.  So far, everything I’ve sent has come back looking like nothing ever happened!  Not all breaks can be repaired, but they are reasonably priced and will tell you if it can’t be repaired.

 

Finally – always use common sense with your costume jewelry (and fine, too!) 

 

Remove your jewelry before doing housework.  Cleaning liquids can harm the finish and it’s easy to catch your jewelry on something.

 

Remove jewelry before applying lotions.

 

Don’t wear your jewelry at the beach or in the pool.  (Be responsible – don’t blind with bling!)  Other than the obvious – don’t immerse your rhinestones – chlorine is very harsh.

 

And … don’t forget to remove your jewelry at your hairdresser’s!  Coloring and permanent wave chemicals are almost a certain guarantee of damage.

We offer Sunshine Cloths and Jewelry Joose for sale!

Copyright 2009 Diana Craig Sparks

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