Jewelry has been in existence for eons, and the variety of designs is unlimited. You might find out how to select and care for a piece of jewelry which you will cherish forever when you check out these tips.

Don’t use acetone, bleach, ammonia or turpentine to clean copper. This can cause your stones to turn and dull in color, along with eating away any enamel on the pieces.

When storing your jewelry, be sure that you store it in a place with low humidity and free of open air. A jewelry box or drawstring bag out of a humid area is ideal. Air and humidity can cause the metals that the jewelry are made of to tarnish. Precious metals can easily be polished, but non-precious metal needs a special polish.

When you are shopping, think about the color or type of gem you want to buy. Gems can be natural, imitation or synthetic. Imitation gems are made out of glass or plastic; natural and synthetic gems both consist of real gemstone. Natural stones are dug up out of the ground and synthetic ones are grown in a lab.

A good piece of jewelery can last you your whole life. When you are shopping for your next piece, choose a reliable dealer. This can make all the difference in ensuring you get jewelry of the highest quality. Jewelry should display exemplary craftsmanship and be well-made. The person selling the piece should know its history, including who made it and the source of the stones. You need to buy quality jewelry so that you can pass it down as an heirloom.

Before buying a new item of jewelry, do a little research on recent trends. The only thing that beats getting a new piece of jewelry is getting it for a discounted price!

Insurance Policies

Make sure you check into insurance policies when you make a jewelry purchase from a jeweler. Insurance policies allow you to bring a defective or broken piece into the jewelry store for repair. Some stores even insure jewelry against loss or theft.

Collecting costume jewelry is a popular pastime, but if you wish to participate, be careful of the condition of the jewelry. Well-done costume jewelry is often worth the price, but if it’s worn out or visibly damaged, it won’t be worth the effort it takes to restore it. You’ll get more return on your investment later if you buy costume jewelry in good condition.

Take careful consideration when thinking of how you want to care for the jewelry you purchase. Different metals, stones, and settings have different needs to ensure proper maintenance. What works well with one type of precious stone may actually harm another. If you are unfamiliar with the correct way to clean or maintain a piece, consult a jeweler.

When you are buying jewelery for someone who is very different or eccentric, try going to a jeweler that will make you a piece that will fit their personality and add to their flair! Purchasing a unique piece that matches his or her personality demonstrates how thoughtful and creative you are. This is what you should be expressing to someone you love enough to purchase jewelry for.

Selling jewelry online requires you to capture stunning images of the piece. This is important to do because when someone purchases something online, they don’t have it in front of them to feel and touch. Take pictures of jewelry in an environment that will put the focus on just the piece, not the background.

Avoid both steam and dry saunas. Many pieces can be seriously damaged by extreme temperatures and moisture levels.

You can make some extra cash from your gold jewelry without sacrificing the pieces. Instead, you can just trim off some excess chain and sell it, and keep the important part to wear. You could make hundreds by shortening the chains of your necklaces, provided they are made of real gold.

Beautiful displays will help you sell the jewelry you make. When looking for materials that you can use in your jewelry, also be on the lookout for creative display materials. With a bit of ingenuity, even the most random object can be transformed easily into a unique jewelry display case. Look for interesting ways to use things like hatboxes, baskets and unique sculptures.

It is hard to determine whether a sapphire or a ruby is natural or synthetic. These beautiful stones are chemically and physically identical, but the artificial ones can be supplied for a fraction of the cost of natural flawless ones. Don’t spring for a supposedly natural sapphire until you have it check for “natural inclusions” by a gemologist with a good reputation.

The tips above have hopefully cleared up some of the questions you have about jewelry. It should help you pick out just the right piece. There is such a vast range of jewelry to pick from that it can all be a bit overwhelming. So make sure you do a little homework before you go shopping.