Gold

I sell antique dolls of all kinds, vintage jewelry, and artisan jewelry

Aux Jolies Poupettes
Great Antique dolls, small antiques, vintage jewelry, reasonable prices!

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About Aux Jolies Poupettes

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About Us
I have been collecting and restoring antique dolls for many. I do light restoration such as compo restoration, restringing, finger repair, chip repair etc. Quality is very important and that is why I make sure that every detail is in order before presenting a doll for sale.

I also sell vintage jewelry and artisan jewelry.

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"HOW TO CLEAN AND CARE FOR YOUR JEWELRY
Once you've acquired a pretty piece of gold or silver jewelry, how can you keep it looking its best? You can always take your ring, brooch, earrings, necklace, pendant, or bracelet to a professional to be cleaned, but that may not be necessary with today's modern equipment plus a few old-fashioned home remedies. Here are a few tips and tricks from a professional estate jeweler.

CLEANING SILVER AND GOLD
The most basic silver cleaner is something you probably already have in the cupboard: good old Windex with ammonia. Simply spray it on tarnished areas; wait about 30 seconds; rinse with clear water; and pat dry with a soft cloth. If you can then follow that up with a good rubbing with a silver polishing cloth, so much the better. silver polishing cloths contain a chemical that will put a nice shiny finish on the silver after the Windex with ammonia cleans it. Windex with ammonia is safe for both new and older pieces.

Windex with ammonia also works on gold, but don't use it on 24K gold because that's too soft. Just spray it on, rinse it off, dry with a soft cloth and follow up with the same type of polishing cloth you use for your silver. jewelry polishing cloths are available from most jewelers or on eBay.

For older or estate pieces, another good solution that you may already have in your medicine cabinet is plain Colgate toothpaste. Just don't get the tartar control formula. And don't use other brands, which are grittier and will leave visible scratches on the finish. Colgate has a mild degree of grit that will still leave tiny scratches, but they won't be noticeable once you've followed up with the polishing cloth. Just mix up some Colgate and plain water in a small bowl or even the palm of your hand, then apply it to the silver by hand. This is a particularly good method of cleaning chains, because you can really work the Colgate solution down into the links, and you'll never see any scratches on the chain. Rinse with clear water and pat dry with a soft cloth.

Beware of doing too much to vintage silver; you don't want to totally destroy a desirable patina.

COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS
If you want to use a commercial metal cleaner, reach for what the pros use: Simichrome, Flitz, or NevrDull. Simichrome is a cream, while Flitz comes in a tube. NevrDull is a wadding polish that does a terrific job on silver, gold, copper, or brass, but it takes a little longer with more rubbing. They are available at any good hardware store or online (try eBay). Just follow the dirrections. Hagerty is another reputable brand of silver polish that you probably can find at your grocery store or even pharmacy — or on eBay.

Two types of professional jewelry cleaner that can now be purchased for home use are the ultrasonic and ionic models. An ultrasonic jewelry cleaner uses sound waves to gently agitate the jewelry until the dirt loosens and falls off. It is suitable for all types of metal but may loosen stones and is too caustic for use on pearls or porous stones (see below). An ionic jewelry cleaner uses electricity, running it gently through the jewelry to soften and loosen dirt. It doesn't necessarily take the dirt off; you'll need to follow up with a soft brush or cloth to do that. But it will break down any build-up and let it be easily removed. Ionic cleaners also won't loosen stones, because they don't agitate the jewelry the way an ultrasonic cleaner does. You can find both types of jewelry cleaner on eBay.

There are various types of cleaning fluid available for use with these machines, but you can make your own ultrasonic formula out of ammonia, Joy liquid dishwashing soap, and hot water: For one cup, combine 7.5 ounces of hot water with .5 ounce of Joy and a capful of ammonia. The ammonia cuts the grime, and for some reason, Joy puts a really nice sheen on gold as opposed to other brands. It's not so noticeable on silver, but it is on gold. You also can just briefly soak most jewelry in this solution -- except for pearls and porous stones (see below) -- then follow up with a soft brush or cloth and a good rinse in clear water.

Deep scratches and nicks may be buffed out by a professional jeweler, who will use a buffing wheel to smooth out the damage. Never buff silver-plated pieces, because it will take the plating down to the bare metal.

CARING FOR GEMSTONES AND PEARLS
Non-porous stones — sapphires, rubies, diamonds, blue topaz, citrine, and peridot — can be cleaned with pretty much any kind of cleaner; porous (softer) stones such as emeralds, opals, turquoise, lapis,. coral, and sugilite may be cleaned with an ionic cleaner or with a mild solution of Ivory Liquid and water, but no Windex or ammonia.

Opals also should be kept from drying out. Don't ever leave them in the sun. You might even try keeping them in water. At the annual Tucson Gem Show, high-end opals are sold in bottles of water.

For pearls, use an ionic cleaner or a mild solution of Ivory liquid and warm water. For really grimy and/or discolored pearls, try "Efferdent". Pearls are very sensitive; after you put them on, you should never spray hairspray or perfume near them. And you should never apply perfume anywhere that your pearls can touch. The alcohol in perfume attacks the nacre (surface) of the pearls and discolors it. That's why you see a lot of discoloration in older pearls that haven't been properly taken care of.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR SILVER TARNISH-FREE
It's not very glamorous, but the best way to store your silver jewelry is in an air tight ziplock bag. Tarnish is caused by sulfur in the air; there's no air in a tightly sealed ziplock bag, ergo no tarnish. Store bought anti-tarnish strips work by absorbing sulfur from the air, so you might want to add a small square of one to your ziplock bag. Used by themselves stored with silver in a non-airtight environment, they will prevent tarnish to some extent, but not forever. The same goes for silver storage bags made of felt, which also work by absorbing sulfur from the air. Silver thus stored will still tarnish eventually, because those bags aren't airtight.

Gold jewelry may be stored in a ziplock bag, a pouch made of silk or other soft cloth, or a box with layers of cotton on each side of it."