To keep a fine chain necklace from tangling in your jewelry box, slide the chain into a flexible straw. If the chain does tangle, sprinkle it with baby powder and slowly untangle the knots. Borrow magnifying eyeglasses from a near-sighted friend to help you see what you're doing.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
TAKING CARE OF JEWELRY
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6 comments:
I use two straight pins to untangle knots. It's foolproof.
> Borrow magnifying eyeglasses from a near-sighted
> friend to help you see what you're doing.
No, as a near-sighted person myself, I can assure you that I don't need magnifying eyeglasses. It's my farsighted friends that have to wear those things. I can untangle necklaces (and have) just fine without no specs needed... :-)
As a professional jeweler, I am shocked to see that you would advise using any kind of powder on fine jewelry. These all have an abrasive effect which will cause oxidation to rub "black" off onto skin or clothing. These old time myths advising toothpaste, baby powder, etc are all destructive. That's what professional jewelry cleaners (and jewelers) are for. Do you use a brillo pad on your vintage Corvette? I'll bet you use a cleaner intended for autos. The tip about the 2 straight pins wins the prize in my book.
Once a chain is tangled, just hold it in your fist to warm it. In my jewelry making class at college, we were taught that the warmth of our hand would be enough to give "elasticity" to the gold and it would be easy to untangle. I have found this to be true.
Carol Prideaux
To keep my necklaces from tangling, I screwed several open cup hooks into the inside of the outside wall of my bedroom closet. They're not behind any clothes, and all I have to do is open the door and look to the right. I can hang quite a few chains, necklaces, and pendants on each hook, and because they are hanging straight down, they remain untangled. If I want to remove one that is underneath the others, I just pull it around until I get to the clasp, unclasp it, and pull the whole thing through. The closet door is closed so they remain dust-free and out-of-sight. Much more convenient than a jewelry box.
Great information
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