How to Care for Your Priceless Pearls

Natural & Cultured Pearls:

If you are the owner of a set of magnificent natural pearls, there are a few things you need to know before cleaning.  Natural pearls are highly delicate and require special care when cleaning and storing them.  Every tip listed below can be applied when caring for cultured pearls as well.  Cultured pearl like natural are more fragile than other gems and require special care. Do not use toothbrushes or abrasive cloths to clean pearls!

1. Do not store your natural pearls next to other jewelry.  Natural pearls are considered to be "soft" gems meaning they can become easily damaged when not handled properly.  When removing your pearl jewelry, do not place it where it can be scratched by other pieces.  You should store them in a separate zippered pouch.  Blitz offers secure zippered pouches that are perfect for keeping your pearls safely separated from jewelry that could scratch or damage their surface.  Zippered Pouch -Untreated .  These pouches are fully customizable for wholesale orders and can be found in several different colors.  Low minimum quantity required.
2. Do not use home-made cleaners!  Pearls are primarily made of calcium carbonate and can completely dissolve in vinegar! Pearls can even become less colorful and lose their shape over time just by coming in contact with the oils in your skin and can also experience damage from perfumes and lemon juice.   Always use a cleaner that is specially formulated for delicate gems like Delicate Gem & Pearl Cleaner by Blitz.  This non-toxic formula is guaranteed to safely remove oils and dirt from the pearl's surface without damaging it.
3. When you remove your pearls at the end of the day, wipe them down with a non-abrasive cloth to remove oils and perspiration, which can also cause the pearl to deteriorate over time.  Blitz recommends the MoonGlow™ Cloth for Pearls.  This cloth will remove oils and perspiration released by your skin without risking the essential oils and substances of your soft stone.
   

Caring For An Engagement Ring

A Priceless Investment Deserves The BEST Care!

Caring For a Diamond Engagement Ring:

Diamonds are one of the hardest known natural materials, defined by its resistance to scratching.  However, this does not mean a diamond will always retain its brilliant shine.  A diamond's shine can be dulled as a result of everyday activities such as applying hand lotion, washing your hands, applying hair products, working in the garden, etc.  It is important to remember to remove your ring while doing tasks such as these in order to avoid a buildup of grime.  Remember, if your band is made of silver, NEVER expose it to bleach!  Bleach causes silver to tarnish and the effects can be hard to reverse! Also, NEVER use products that contain ammonia or acidified thiourea as these chemicals can damage your jewelry over time (not to mention they are highly toxic).  When it is time to give your diamond a good cleaning, Blitz has several non-toxic solutions guaranteed to be safe and effective.  All of the products listed in this article can be purchased on this website by clicking on the images.  See # 5 below for information about caring for Cubic Zirconia.

1. Gem & Jewelry Cleaner SKU 651: This non-toxic jewelry cleaner is a signature Blitz product for use on non-porous precious and semi-precious gems and precious jewelry.  This product contains NO harsh chemicals such as ammonia, which can actually damage the surface of your jewelry making it more susceptible to tarnish later on.  Simply place the jewelry in the included basket and immerse the ring into the non-toxic solution.  Replace the cap and agitate gently for no more than 3 minutes.  If necessary, use included brush to remove loosened dirt from the diamond and its setting.  Remove and rinse thoroughly.  Dry gently with a clean, soft cloth. *If swallowed drink water to dilute.  If your stone is loose, please have it tightened before using this product.  Gem & Jewelry Cleaner for Diamonds: Buy now.  *Please note: This product will remove dirt and grime from silver but will not remove tarnish.  If the silver on your engagement ring is tarnished please use either our SilverShine™ Silver Jewelry Cleaner or our Silver Care Cloth.  It is important to remember that when cleaning silver, you never want to use any product that contains ammonia or acidified thiourea.  These are highly toxic chemicals and can damage the surface of your jewelry over time.
   
2. Our Gem & Jewelry Cleaner can also be found in two other convenient forms including Gem & Jewelry Cleaner Concentrate for use with Ultrasonic & Sonic Jewelry Cleaning Machines (Simply mix with tap water); or Foamz™ foaming Gem & Jewelry Cleaner for travel.  We highly recommend Foamz™ for our customers who are constantly on-the-go, as Foamz™ can be easily slipped into a handbag or car glove-box for an effective, last-minute touch up.  Both products are also non-toxic and contain NO harsh chemicals.  
3. Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaners (used with Blitz Gem & Jewelry Cleaner Concentrate) are a home necessity for diamond care.  Achieve professional results at home without the use of harsh chemicals.  This ultrasonic machine produces 42,000 energy producing sound waves per second and gets the job done in only 3 minutes.  Will remove dirt and build-up from the hard to reach places in your setting.  This machine can be used on all jewelry, not just engagement rings and will prove to be a trusted source for all of your home jewelry care.  For a limited time get a free Foamz™ Foaming Jewelry Cleaner with the purchase of a Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaning Machine CD2800.
   
4. Our Jewelry Care Cloth is another highly recommended product for our customers who are always on-the-go.  The cloth is treated with a non-toxic formula that is perfect for the care of diamonds and other jewelry while on the go.  Blitz invented the concept of putting the cleaner in the cloth over 100 years ago.  The inner cloth is treated with our cleaning formula, which will not only remove dirt, makeup, body oils, and other build-up but will also leave a protective barrier that blocks further tarnish.  The cotton-flannel outer cloth can be used to buff your diamond back to its original brilliance.  This cloth will polish any type of fine jewelry and fine metals.  Click the link to be redirected to the Jewelry Care Cloth product page to learn more.
5. What if my ring is a Cubic Zirconia?  Cubic Zirconia is becoming a popular alternative to diamond engagement rings because of its likeness to diamond, low cost, and durability.  We are excited to inform you that every product listed on this page can be safely used to clean Cubic Zirconia (CZ).  We would also like to suggest our Microfiber Cloth 7808 as an everyday solution to general care and upkeep, not just for CZ but for diamonds as well.  These microfiber cloths are 100% lint free and non-abrasive meaning you will never ever risk the brilliant appearance of your CZ or diamond.  Use to remove fingerprints, water, dirt, and more.  Simply buff the surface of the CZ or diamond to achieve a quick shine before a dinner date.  (These cloths also work to remove fingerprints on cell-phone & I-Pad screens, sun glasses, tv screens and more!) Click the link to learn more about this miracle microfiber cloth!
   

Blitz is always 100% Non-Toxic

Blitz is 100% committed to producing non-toxic products that are not only safe for you to use, but safe to use around your family.  Our jewelry cleaner consists of non-toxic ingredients without the use of harsh and sometimes dangerous chemicals.  Traditional silver dip contains an ingredient that is not only noxious but highly toxic; Acidified Thiourea. Below you can also find information on the dangers of Ammonia in traditional jewelry cleaner.  Blitz relies on a non-toxic formula, which means that if our product is accidentally swallowed, drink several glasses of water to dilute.

Read the article below to find out why ammonia and acidified thiourea are so dangerous for you and your family and why they are not the best choice to be using on your silver jewelry.

INFORMATION ON THE DANGERS OF AMMONIA IN JEWELRY CLEANER

Ammonia is a colorless gas, which dissolves easily in water where most of it changes to a non-gaseous, odorless ammonium hydroxide.  Ammonia's sharp odor warns you of its presence, however, your sense of smell may gradually adjust and stop warning you even though ammonia is still present.  Ammonia's ability to dissolve in water and its tendency to escape quickly as a gas make it a potential environmental problem.

Ammonia enters the body when breathed in or swallowed in water or food containing it.  Strong amounts may burn the skin if spilled on it, but most probably enters the body when you inhale the fumes.  It is corrosive to skin because it reacts with moisture to form caustic ammonium hydroxide.  Long exposure may result in destruction of tissues.  Ammonia that is swallowed enters the blood stream and is carried throughout the body within minutes.  Swallowing ammonia solutions, including cleaners, can burn throat and stomach passages.  Ammonia is intensely irritating to the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract.  Toxic effects include lachrymation, respiratory distress, chest pains, and pulmonary edema.

Ammonia is currently under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal for regulation. 

INFORMATION ON THIOUREA AS CONTAINED IN TRADITIONAL SILVER DIP

Thiourea in a sulfuric acid solution causes silver sulfide (silver tarnish) to revert to silver metal by an electrolytic action. This reaction creates hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg gas) and pure silver metal. This is why silver tarnish "miraculously" disappears in silver dip. The reason is no chemical mystery, Thiourea when extremely acidified becomes a cyanide.

The pure silver left behind is even more susceptible to tarnish forming, since it is right at the surface and is of a different nature than cast or formed silver.

 

Bronze is a very old alloy, yet cleaning it can be complicated.

First, be careful to differentiate brass and bronze. Brass is a copper-zinc alloy, usually has a smooth yellowish surface, and is relatively easy to clean. Upon the first appearance of tarnish (darkening) use Blitz 105 cloth!

Bronze is a hard, heavy alloy made of copper and tin. Scuptures or items are usually cast by the lost wax process. A wax image is created, encased in a mold which is heated to an extreme temperature. The wax is burned away at these hot temperatures, and the empty cavity is filled with bronze.

The casting is cleaned, and while warm a wax is applied. Since the bronze surface is porous, the wax eases into the surface and keeps air and moisture from penetrating and causing the copper inside the bronze to tarnish.

If an item is kept indoors, bronze tarnishes very, very slowly. It might take many months to show any effect, or even years. A simple dusting and periodic washing with a mild cleaner is necessary. The more washing, the more wax will be removed, and eventually air will get to the surface.

Rewax your inside item one or two times a year. There are many commercial products for this purpose.

However, frequently used and frequently washed items will darken. Unused pieces might sit in a garage for years. Then, once rediscovered, cleaning is needed.

A recent article (Chemical and Engineering News, 7 September 2009, page 53) explained that scientists examining a wide range of museum items found that there are three basic sculpture items: High zinc brass, Low zinc brass, and tin-bronze. Make sure that the item you have is brass or bronze first. That will involve showing it to an expert in antiques.

If you have an item that is bronze and dark, you must make a personal decision. Cleaning will sometimes affect the value of an item. However, if you decide you want to clean the item, consult an expert.

Tarnish should be judged with three criteria. Is it dark, is it black, or is it green? Then grade the intensity of the tarnish.

If the bronze is dark, and you must have it lightened, hand rubbing is probably the best solution, and the Blitz 105 cloth would be best. Simply rub the cloth over the metal lightly until the color is restored. Wash the item, and re-wax.

If the bronze item is black, the copper has reacted with oxygen and sulfur. If you decide this must be removed, determine how deep the metal is affected. The corrosion could be extreme, and pits may have developed. The tarnish can be removed with great difficulty, and the surface will then be shiny again, but scarred. If so, then judgment will be needed if the surface should be smoothed. All this will take a great deal of time, patience, and possibly special tools and ingredients. An expert should be consulted.

If the bronze is in various shades of green, greenish-blue, mottled with gray and earth tone blues, stop and consider what the next step should be. This is usually a highly desirable appearance, and much thought should be taken before cleaning. It is the natural state for a copper-tin alloy to turn an earth tone greenish-blue. This actually protects the metal. This will often be seen in garden sculptures.

A useful site is by Richard Rist largeart which explains how to clean an outside sculpture that you want to have remain a metallic-bronze. Essentially, washing and re-waxing periodically is required. Waxing will rarely last longer than 3 months outdoors.

There are a number of online household cleaning solutions. These essentially amount to creating a home made acid-paste.

The first is known as the vinegar, salt and flour paste incubation: This creates a form of dilute hydrochloric acid soak. The same thing worked when you were a child, and cleaned pennies by swirling them around in a solution of salt crystals, salt water, and vinegar. The effect will probably produce a reddish raw look when used.Then the piece will need to be polished. The pores of the metal will be open and will no longer match the copper-tin alloy beneath, since more of the copper will have been rinsed away.

Citric acid base cleaning involves the use of lemon juice and baking soda. The baking soda tends to be gritty, thus making a mild acidic polish. The mix should be used quickly, lest the citric acid and sodium bicarbonate neutralize one another.

Though usually reserved for brass, the Blitz 105 cloth is precisely the kind of cloth that will have mild, balanced ingredients that will clean this kind of bronze. After the polishing, a tarnish resistant ingredient will be left behind.

Today's technology is confused by marketing terms. There are many new alloys of copper, tin, zinc, aluminum, and trace metals. One of these is light weight, aluminum bronze. On this and other modern alloys, consult a metallurgical, or other metal specialist on how to clean and preserve these items.

Is your bronze lacquer coated, polymer coated, or varnished? If so, you should not see tarnish. If you do see tarnish, then you have a decision to make. You can clean only that portion which is tarnished, but if you do, it's likely that the polished section will no longer match the pristine surface still under the original coating. If that's acceptable, recoat the item. Otherwise, a laborious process of stripping the entire item lies ahead of you, cleaning, and then recoating.

What is Tarnish, Why Silver Jewelry Tarnishes and How to Store It

Storing silver or sterling silver in the open air and humidity for extended periods of time can often cause it to tarnish quickly. Tarnishing is a normal process and is caused by oxidization and moisture from air. The actual compound that makes up tarnish is called silver sulfide which is directly related to the amount of sulfur in the air. The best way to keep silver jewelry tarnish free is to keep it in a dark, dry place.

Tarnishing is caused by oxidization and moisture in the air. Tarnish looks a little different on gold and copper, and the chemical process are different in both gold and silver. Tarnishing occurs when natural gases in the earth's atmosphere (Hydrogen Sulphide) react with the surface of your silver. Tarnish starts as a light yellow discoloration of silver; it then starts to change to darker shades of brown as the tarnish gets to be more severe. Tarnish is not dirt, and dirt must be cleaned off with jewelry cleaner or soap and water before you remove the tarnish. Homemade cleaners are sometimes fine for diamonds in gold or platinum, but stronger solutions get risky with some of the other metals, which can be tarnished, depending on exactly what cleaner you're using and how strong. Jewelry lovers can now clean all jewelry metals removing all dull tarnish from platinum, yellow gold, white gold, sterling silver, and titanium jewelry metals with Blitz products.

These exciting new and continuously improved products make the arduous process of cleaning silver easier by providing a no fuss, no muss way of polishing silver quickly and flawlessly using dry, disposable cloths impregnated with tarnish removers and tarnish control chemicals. These pleasant smelling, non-toxic silver cleaners use the electro-chemical properties of the tarnish on silver coupled with the special formula and a top secret cleaning solution to literally pull the tarnish off your silver. Blitz's polishing cloths and silver polish make the arduous process of cleaning silver easier by providing a no fuss, no muss way of polishing silver quickly and flawlessly using dry cloths impregnated with tarnish removers and tarnish control.

One good suggestion to help reduce tarnish and keep your silver jewelry tarnish free for months at a time, is to keep your jewelry in an air-tight protective bag. Try to use a tarnish proof cloth or you can use a plastic zip lock bag made of Mylar or polyethylene. Some plastic contains sulfur compounds which can cause your jewelry to tarnish faster or even stain! Never use polyvinyl plastic bags, such as garbage bags.

Silver jewelry isn’t scratch resistant and it isn't scratch proof; you should store your jewelry so that it isn't rubbing up against other jewelry or wood, like in a jewelry box. It is good to remember that wood usually contains acids that can mar a finish.

How to Clean Silver and Sterling Silver Jewelry

Using a Cloth:
Clean your sterling silver jewelry with a soft 100% cotton (nub and prill free) cloth or flannel cloth and gently rub off any excess makeup. Silver is a very soft metal and it can be scratched it is rubbed too briskly. Never use anything but a clean, special sterling silver cleaning cloth. Paper, polyester, and coarse fabrics may contain wood or other fibers and even synthetics that can cause tiny scratches in the surface of fine sterling silver jewelry. Dirt left over from previous cleanings can scratch the surface as well.

Try the Blitz Sterling SilverShine™ Polishing Cloth - A Blitz Best Seller for cleaning sterling silver jewelry & silver-plate!

Try the Blitz Ultra Silver Cleaning and Polishing Cloth:
The Blitz Ultra Silver Cleaning & Polishing Cloth is a 100% cotton flannel cloth. The inner cloth cleans and the outer cloth polishes. Formulated for all fine sterling silver and silver-plate. 12" x 15

Types of Liquid Cleaners to use:
To remove light dirt, fingerprints or makeup just use a small amount of Blitz Silver Polish. (This is specially designed for Silver! Dish Soap and other home made jewelry cleaners are not specifically designed for this.) Unlike pastes and other silver polishes, the Blitz Silver Care Polish is a liquid polish with tarnish inhibitors to clean and restore a mirror like finish to heavily tarnished silver flatware, hollowware and silver service.



Blitz Silver Polish Not all paste cleaners are recommended for soft, porous gemstones, so care must be taken to use the appropriate polish or cleanser that will not harm your gemstones.

Blitz, one of the only makers of completely non-toxic jewelry cleaner, makes a wonderful product called, “Blitz Silver Shine”. Blitz Silver Shine is designed to remove tarnish from silver jewelry in seconds by utilizing a revolutionary new electrochemical process and is packaged in a wide mouth jar to easily clean larger pieces of silver jewelry.

Blitz Silver Shine

 How to Clean Fashion and Costume Jewelry

There are several kinds of Costume and Fashion Jewelry. Blitz products can assist you in cleaning many of these. The broad categories are: Composites, Plated, Antique, Plastic and Metal.

Composite and Art Jewelry.

Art jewelry should never be cleaned without the advice of the artist who designed the item or their designated representative. It can be fragile, and any cleaning can cause irreparable harm if not done to exacting specifications.

Composite jewelry can be made of precious or non-precious metals, minerals, stones, cloth, wood, paper, plastic, pottery, or any other item the artisan can imagine. Therefore, each piece is unique, and manufacturers instructions should be consulted and followed.

Stage or Theater Items.

These items are usually limited use items. They can easily get soiled from actor's makeup and perspiration, or fade under the bright lights. It is best to consult with a professional theater artist who will examine your items and determine how best to clean them.