Three Tips For Caring For Your Chain Maille Jewelry

26 May 2016
 Categories: , Blog

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Your jewelry collection may contain some of your most valuable and prized possessions. Unfortunately, there are many people that may not be aware of the best practices for caring for these items. In particular, chain maille jewelry can have unique care needs when compared to other types of jewelry. By using the following tips, you can help ensure that your chain maille jewelry is kept in the best condition possible.

Prevent The Chain Maille Jewelry From Scratching Other Pieces

For many people, it may seem only natural to toss their various pieces of jewelry into a single jewelry box. However, you should be aware that your chain maille jewelry may be able to scratch the other items in your box. As a result, you will need to either store these pieces in separate compartments or place them in a small bag. If your jewelry box does not have separate compartments, you may need to place your chain maille pieces in small resealable plastic bags. This will prevent the edges of the metal from scratching other pieces while still allowing you to easily see the contents of the bag.

Clean The Chain Maille Every Few Months

Chain maille jewelry can contain a number of small gaps and spaces that can easily trap dirt, dust and other particulate matter. Once these materials become wedged in these small spaces, they can be extremely difficult to remove. Fortunately, you can help to minimize any problems this may cause by simply cleaning your chain maille jewelry every few months. When cleaning these pieces, you should vigorous wipe the exterior using a microfiber cloth as these cloths are soft enough to avoid scratching the metal. To remove dirt and debris that is wedged between the small gaps, you should hold the piece of jewelry under a faucet that can provide relatively high water pressure. After you have removed these substances, you should thoroughly dry the piece of jewelry to prevent corrosion.

Have Your Jewelry Sealed

Tarnishing and corrosion can be common problems for jewelry to experience. However, many people are unaware that it is possible to have their jewelry sealed. When this work is done, a thin layer of wax is applied to the exterior of the piece of jewelry. This wax will repel water and other substances from damaging the jewelry. While it may be possible to buy the jewelry wax to do this work, you should consider having a professional do this for your chain maille pieces as they will have experience applying this wax to the various small gaps and spaces are found in these pieces.Contact a jeweler, like Bead Me a Story, for more help.