Jewelry Organizers Blog

The Product of the Week this week fits right into your purse, jewelry organizer or suitcase, and comes in multiple forms!

Happy New Year!  Ahead of us we have a whole year of fun.  Fun traveling, fun with jewelry and much more.  Many of us like to polish our jewelry.  What can I say?  It’s just fun to watch it get a little brighter, shinier and more beautiful every time!  And it’s certainly more gratifying than most other types of cleaning.  For travel, there are many options for jewelry cleaners on the go.  Obviously you don’t want to bring a big jar of paste or (worse) liquid and have it spill all over your suitcase or car, so what can you do to make sure that your jewelry looks its best anywhere you go?  Here are some tips and great products for achieving this: 

1.  Polishing Cloths – this is a great one to keep in your purse or in the glove box.  Next time you are in a waiting room, or picking up the kids from school, you can whip out this cloth and shine your rings, for a start.  It’s hard to believe how well these actually work until you give it a try – it is truly phenomenal when you see the tarnish on the cloth after using it on what you thought were your clean rings.  Note:  since these cloths are coated with a cleaner, you will want to put them in a ziplock bag before sticking them in your purse. 

 2.  Gel and Brush Jewelry Cleaner – This one is great for travel, not so much for the purse, though, as it requires rinsing.  You can polish many jewelry pieces with the handy cleaner and brush set, and then rinse to perfection.  The cap screws on tight, but I would recommend putting this in a ziplock bag just in case.

Disposable Jewelry Wipes are this week’s Product of the Week, For Good Reason (read on…)

For on the go jewelry cleaning, or just cleaning at home, these jewelry wipes can’t be beat! You can keep them virtually anywhere, because they come in a small, lightweight plastic container, and they dispense just like wet wipes, through the top with a perforated lid! It couldn’t be easier, all you do is pull out a wipe, and shine away!

They work on metals, great for necklace chains, bracelets and rings. One of the things I like to do with them is to clean my wedding ring on the inside, where you sometimes forget to shine. This will help keep tarnishing to a minimum, and save your fingers from dark circles. The only thing that took me by surprise when trying these out was that they are actually dry to the touch. At first I thought maybe they had “expired”, but after reading the directions, they are actually designed this way, which is nice because they don’t leave an obvious amount of jewelry cleaner on your hands, which would make it impossible to use these “on the go”.

Here are some ideas on when and where to use these wipes:

• Travel – probably the best travel jewelry cleaner. You can put the whole box in your suitcase or, better yet, just place one or two wipes in a ziplock bag in your carry on so that you have something productive to do on the plane!
• Car – keep these in your glove box for instant jewelry shining in the car (not while you are driving, though )
• Jewelry Organizer – An obvious place for these is right in your jewelry box – you may find that you don’t even need anymore jewelry cleaners once you give these a try!

Now, get shining!

Ionic and Sonic Jewelry Cleaners for Professional Shine!

Is your jewelry looking tired? The easiest, quickest way to clean it is with a Jewelry Bath! Ionic and Sonic Jewelry Cleaners are used by professionals, but you can have them at home for a fraction of the price.

First, a WARNING: NEVER clean Pearls, Opals, opaque stones (like turquoise) or other Delicate Jewelry in a sonic or ionic jewelry cleaner, ALWAYS read the instructions to see what jewelry can be used in your cleaner. Pearls can actually dissolve in these liquid cleaners, so make sure to read the instructions for your machine and also do a test spot on metals before hand to make sure you won’t damage your fine jewelry.

How do they work?

1. Ionic jewelry cleaners work by using a positive charge to attract to dirt and tarnish on your jewelry. Your jewelry is dropped into a solution which has chemicals that make the water more conductive. These cleaners usually clean metals in under a minute.
2. Sonic or Ultrasonic jewelry cleaners work by using ultrasonic waves. These powerful waves blast dirt and tarnish off of the jewelry, a favorite of professionals.

Both types are very easy to use. They usually require batteries, and a solution. Usually the solution is included. You simply fill the machine with solution and (sometimes) water, then put your jewelry into a basket or on a clip, close the machine and turn it on. In no time at all, you will have beautiful, shiny jewelry just like it’s new!

I really like this small sonic jewelry bath, it looks nice because of the clear container, and it is small enough that you can put it right on your bathroom counter. It’s also compact enough that you can put it in a jewelry organizer or box. It is also very inexpensive, available at StacksAndStacks.com.