Thread: Cleaning Rhinestone Jewelry

My rhinestone jewelry has really lost its luster - under the stones. Sweat has caused a dimming and yellowing and the pieces are no longer sparkly. How can I clean them? Is there a solution I can soak the pieces in? Polishing with silver polish is not going to get to the root of the problem - the stones.

Thanks for your help!
xoxo Nadira

Nadira, I sell vintage jewelry, and the collectors I've consulted caution against getting rhinestones wet, because it wrecks the foil backing that makes them shine. But I'll be keeping an eye on this thread in hopes that one of our fellow Bhuzzers has figured out how to solve this problem...

I've cleaned several pieces (my own collection) of good quality prong set rhinestone jewelry with common ammonia cleaner, most of the pieces several times, and they have not lost any luster. Please note that I said the stones are "good quality" and "prong set" rather than glued or otherwise set in place. I would not try this method with low quality stones which are either glued or sewn in place.

Put small amount of ammonia cleaner in glass dish or juice glass, enough to cover the jewelry when it is placed gently in it. If you don't want to use it "straight", put a small amount of cleaner in then add enough water to cover the jewelry. Gently swirl the jewelry in the cleaner solution - no rubbing, brushing, no touching - just swirl the glass. Drain, rinse thoroughly several times with tepid water until the ammonia smell is gone. Gently pat (do not rub!) excess moisture off the jewelry with soft low-lint towel (flour sack dish towel works well) and leave the jewelry laid out flat on a dry paper or other thin towel to finish drying. Place the jewelry so that the stones are faced down if possible so water can drain out of the setting onto the towel.

I know this may not help you now but if you invest in others.... Make sure you remove them from your body right after a performance. Also I have found that carrying baby wipes with me and wiping the sweat off with them helps prolong thier luster! Once you wipe them off place them in a paper towel so it will absorb the mosture away from the jewelery.
Good luck!
xoxo,
-NJ