How do I care for my uranium glass jewelry?
Glass is a more delicate material, so keeping that in mind when wearing it is best practice. The main concern with this is rings since they are knocked about easily. Despite this, I have had very few reports of glass in rings breaking out of the thousands I've sold. I find glass rings in perfect condition that are 100 or more years old, so it does hold up. With that said, I do offer free lifetime replacements for the glass gems in my pieces. Some gems are very rare and I cannot replace, but most of them I will be able to replace for years to come.
Glass jewelry cannot be cleaned in an ultrasonic machine. It will break. Likewise, my body jewelry cannot go into an autoclave. Soap and water and a small brush is best. You can also use rubbing alcohol.
The exception to this is if the glass stones have foil backing, in which case they cannot get wet. The best way to clean is to use rubbing alcohol on the tops of the gems, and then around the rest of the piece to get the dirt and grime off.
Brooch with foil-backed uranium glass rhinestones
Foil-backed rhinestone should be wiped with a little bit of isopropyl alcohol, not cleaned with soap and water
Foiled rhinestones have gold or silver foil on the back sides
Sterling silver, and sometimes even gold, will oxidize as you wear a piece, turning a darker color. This is because it reacts with oxygen and the moisture in your skin. I recommend polishing your pieces with a Sunshine cleaning cloth. No need to get the cloth wet. They work amazing. Most jewelers sell them, and you can get them online.
For vintage and antique filigree sterling silver pieces, I recommend polishing only the high relief details, and only a small amount. A patina on vintage filigree sterling is very desirable as it brings out the beauty of the piece. Now with that said, if it's your piece, you can polish it however you want.
Vintage uranium glass filigree with with a beautiful patina. I gave the high-relief details a mild polish to make the details pop
If you have a piece that is difficult to polish, I recommend storing it in a plastic bag or container to keep the air off of it. It won't oxidize nearly as fast.
If you prefer to have your pieces professionally cleaned, I am happy to do it no charge except for postage, just send me an email.
Items that are gold or silver can be resized by any jeweler. I do recommend you make sure that you tell them the stone is glass so they protect it from the heat.
I do ring resizes but I prefer not to if you have access to a local jeweler that is a fair price, because I am usually quite backed up on repairs and resizes.