Cleaning your fine jewelry at home might seem daunting at first, but it’s easier than you think. Most people already have the household items needed to clean and polish their pieces. To help your jewelry look shiny and beautiful, we’ve compiled expert tips for cleaning both metals and gemstones.

1. Cleaning and Polishing Precious Metals

The most common metals used in fine jewelry include gold, silver, platinum, and titanium. Here’s how to care for each:

Gold – Mix a little dish soap with warm water and soak your gold jewelry for 4–5 minutes. Gently scrub crevices with a soft toothbrush, then buff dry with a lint-free cloth. For tarnished pieces, add a few drops of ammonia, but use sparingly to avoid loosening gemstone settings.

Silver – Soak silver jewelry in dish soap and water, rinse with cool water, and use a soft cloth with baking soda for heavy tarnish. Buff dry with a lint-free cloth.

Platinum – Clean with dish soap and warm water, gently scrub stubborn dirt with a soft toothbrush, rinse, and buff dry.

Titanium – Use the same dish soap mixture. Rinse with warm water and buff dry to prevent water spots. Ammonia or Windex can remove stubborn grime if needed.

2. Cleaning and Polishing Gemstones

Diamonds – Soak diamonds in warm water with mild dish soap for 20–30 minutes. Gently brush under the stone setting to remove dirt, then dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Pearls – Do not soak pearls. Use a chamois cloth slightly dampened with lukewarm water and a touch of dish soap. Dry gently with a lint-free cloth.

Soft Gemstones – Stones like amber, coral, ivory, lapis, opals, and turquoise should only be gently wiped with a damp cloth when dirty. Never soak these gemstones.

3. Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaners

For people that possess a lot of jewelry and wear it frequently, an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner might be the best option for cleaning their jewelry. Ultrasonic cleaners simplify the cleaning task because the jewelry doesn’t have to be disassembled to be cleaned and it allows for cleaning several pieces at the same time. When you invest in an ultrasonic cleaner, you can also end up saving money as jewelers often require a fee for jewelry cleaning services, especially if the jewelry that needs cleaning wasn’t purchased at their store. Ultrasonic cleaners work by creating waves that then create bubbles. When the bubbles break they release energy that collides with the jewelry and knocks the dirt, grime and oil off of the jewelry and out of all its nooks and crevices. The result is clean and brand-new looking jewelry.

A word of caution: It’s extremely important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning your jewelry piece in an ultrasonic cleaner, taking care to follow specific instructions for specific metals and gemstones. And while most types of jewelry come out beautifully after being in an ultrasonic cleaner, some types of gemstones shouldn’t be cleaned this way. For example, don’t use an ultrasonic cleaner for softer gemstones such as opals, pearls, coral, amber, lapis lazuli, emeralds and turquoise. Gemstones whose color has been enhanced through heat treatment should also not be cleaned by an ultrasonic cleaner.

See for yourselves the difference it makes when you clean the fine lines between stone settings:

Cleaning and CAD jewelry

One of the most difficult aspects of cleaning fine jewelry is reaching the tiny nooks and crannies where dust and grit tend to collect. At Jewelrythis, we design our jewelry with this in mind, creating models that are not only beautiful and comfortable to wear but also easy to clean and polish. Explore our designs and create custom jewelry that combines effortless care with lasting beauty.