Jewelry

Care, Storage and Repair

Jump Rings

  The jump rings that we notice most, are the small usually round or oval shape rings in back of our necklaces that holds the clasp/ connecting part onto our chain.

  Now here we’re talking about the jump rings on the pendants and some brooches of this web site. How to attach them onto your chain or ribbon ?

  If you receive a pendant you need to first see if it slides onto your chain. If the end of your chain or the chain itself is too large to slide the jump ring over or onto the chain, then you need to open the jump ring. Never try to force the jump ring onto your chain. So how can you do a good job at this with the items you have at home? I think all of us have a pair of old tweezers, if you have two even better. Put gray electric tape on the tip of the ends or scotch tape, the purpose is to have a soft smooth surface, whereas you do not rube metal together, which scratches.

  Second, take the jump ring on your pendant hold one end with your finger tips or if you’re lucky and have a second pair of tweezers, use them, holding firm/ tight. Then with your other hand take the only or second pair of tweezers you have and grip tightly the other end / side, then turn one side sideways, never try to pull apart or try to open, just one side turned. Then attach to your chain and turn back where the ends meet.

  Now if your chain is too large, (larger than your jump ring) and you want to put a pendant on. You need to see if your chain is made with multi links. Some wide chains have 3 links or more holding each piece together. Then just follow the directions above with the jump ring and putting one end of the jump ring through 2 (or most of the links), then closing the same way as above. If you’re comfortable with this idea, it might work better than just adding to a chain. Why? The pendant stays in one spot forcing the clasp to stay in back. This is a good idea for large pendants.

  After you have worn a piece jewelry and are taking it off, you should wipe it off with a piece of cotton or cotton like soft material. This keeps the pollution and body oils from tarnishing & deteriorating it. Put your pieces in a zip-lock bag, or back in the bag it came in. Push all the air out before final sealing. This keeps most other metals in your jewelry box & your new pieces from causing oxidation to form, which causes deterioration of metals. Store in a dry area. If the area you live in isn't that dry, you might want to put a small piece of cotton in the bag.

  Oxidation and/or deterioration, looks green, bluish green, black and/or white. Some people call it patina, yet it's like an acid that eats the metal. It forms from lack of proper care to metals. The air around different metals that are put together, example; putting silver, brass & costume jewelry together in your jewelry box, causes oxidation. A good reason to bag all your jewelry. Another good reason to bag your jewelry is to cut a minimum of 50% of the cleaning time down, specially silver.

  Now when it comes to brooches / pendants on the re-enactors corner area that are brass. If it looks like some dirt has gotten on it, just take a clean damp sponge or soft clean cloth to it, dry then re-store. Most of the antiquing on these reproduction  brass pieces have long-lasting finishes on them, so if they are cared for properly, they should not need brass cleaning for several years.