How to clean gold jewellery at home

The bowl we tell people to use

At the counter it is the same sentence every week. Warm water. One drop of mild soap. Soft cloth to dry. That is how you clean gold jewellery at home. A ring, a chain, a pair of earrings, a set of ornaments. Same method. We do not hand out a second recipe.

Take a bowl. Water that is warm, not hot. One drop of mild soap, the kind you wash your hands with, not laundry detergent. Put the piece in. Let it sit a minute, not an hour. On plain gold, a soft brush if a crease still holds dirt. Rinse until the soap is gone. Dry with a soft cloth. The kind you use on spectacles.

Jewellery on after perfume, lotion and hair spray. After wearing, wipe it. People ignore that, then bring a dull chain back and ask why it looks tired.

All gold here is hallmarked. 916 is the default. Same metal whether it is a work chain or a wedding haar. How we check a piece is on hallmark and QC.

What not to use

Toothpaste. Kitchen powder. Kitchen cleaner. Baking soda. Vinegar. Lemon. Detergent. Chlorine. Ammonia. Club soda. A silver dip from a reel. An ultrasonic jar. No.

They scratch the gold, they eat the silver, they leave a film, or they loosen a claw. Baking soda is not a polish. Vinegar is not a rinse. Pitambari is the exception, and only when silver has gone black. Not on gold. Not on a diamond setting. If a page told you to scrub 916 with paste, ignore it.

Chlorine and the sea are the same no. Take the jewellery off before a pool, a bleach bucket, or a day at the beach.

Gold chain, bangles, earrings

A gold chain is the piece people ask about, and the piece that comes back dull. Links hold soap and skin oil. Same bowl. Extra rinse. Leftover film is what makes it look tired. If it has knotted, do not yank. Ease it, or bring it in. A chain that has thinned should come back before it opens on the road. See gold chains.

Bangles and kadas: wipe after wearing. If you wash them, soap sits in the carving. Rinse those seats. Do not store a carved pair against a light Italian bangle.

Earrings: posts and backs hold lotion. Wipe the post. Same wash if they are plain gold. A screw that sits wrong, a hoop that will not close. Bring it in.

A gold ring is the same wash as the rest of the plain gold. Soft cloth after you take it off. If a stone is set in it, treat it as a setting, not as a plain band.

Mangalsutra lock

A mangalsutra lock that has worn should come back before it opens on the road. We see this every season. Do not wait for a function morning.

How to clean diamond jewellery

A diamond looks dead when dirt sits behind the stone, not when the stone has “gone dull”. Oil from the skin, lotion, and kitchen air collect on the underside. That is what you are washing off.

Soft cloth after you take it off. That is most days. If you wash it: the same bowl, warm water, one drop of mild soap. A soft brush from the back of the setting, gently. Rinse until no film is left. Dry with a soft cloth. Do not pry at a claw at home.

Diamond claws loosen with wear. If a stone rocks, stop. Bring it in. Before a wedding morning, not the morning itself. Papers stay dry. Do not soak a diamond piece that also has pearls or a soft stone.

Diamond-first sittings, and the pieces that need a diamond look, sit at Kundali, next to Thunga. Himmatji and Ankitji. A gold haar with a diamond still belongs at the gold counter if that is the sitting.

How to clean silver jewellery

Silver goes dark. That is the air, not a fault in the metal. Mumbai air, perfume, and a bathroom cabinet speed it up. A light wipe after wearing slows it.

Same bowl as the gold when it is only dull. Warm water. One drop of mild soap. Soft cloth to dry. That takes off oil and a light film.

If it has gone black, Pitambari. That is what we tell people at the counter. Soft cloth after. Rinse the powder off. Do not put Pitambari on gold, on a diamond setting, or on a stone. Do not use toothpaste, baking soda, lemon, ketchup, or a silver dip. Those scratch or strip the surface. If a stone is set in the silver, or the black will not lift, bring it in.

Do not store silver against gold. The gold picks up marks. Silver in its own dry pouch, not in a bathroom, not in a plastic bag that sweats.

Gemstones, antique, Italian

Gemstone rings (pukhraj, neelam, panna, manik) should not sit in a hot car, in bleach, or in a pool. Hard sun is the same no. Do not soak pearls or opals. Those go in fabric, not plastic. Gemstone rings.

Antique and temple work has more seats and edges. Wipe. Do not scrub those seats. A brief soak if you wash it. No hard brush on the carving.

Italian gold is still gold. Same care. Same hallmark. Same cloth. It is light, so it knots and scratches if it shares a box with a carved haar.

How to store gold jewellery

Each piece in its own pouch or its own slot. Chains knot if they share a box. A carved haar will scratch a light Italian chain. Pearls and opals in fabric, not plastic. Silver in its own dry pouch, away from the gold.

Not in a bathroom. Not on a dashboard. Not in a plastic bag that sweats.

When to bring it back

Still dull after a wash. Silver that stays black after Pitambari. A lock that does not sit. A chain that has thinned. A claw that rocks. A design worn through is a remake, on custom jewellery.

Bring it to any of the four. No appointment needed.

Bhayandar is the original, Talao Road. Phoolji and Yogeshji. Mira Road is Gopalji and Ramji, equal partners. Kandivali is the newest, not the smallest: the bridal sitting at Viceroy Court, Thakur Village. Kundali Jewels is the diamond-first room, next to Thunga Hospital on Mira Road. Himmatji and Ankitji. Challengers Tower is the registered office. It is not a fifth store.

Staff have stayed over 10 years. The person who sold you the piece is often the person who looks at it again.

Gold you bought from us is 100% exchange. Gold from elsewhere: a nominal melting loss. We do not publish a repair price list, gold rates or making charges. They will look at the piece and tell you.

People from Dahisar, Borivali or Malad usually come to Kandivali or Mira Road. Walk in. If you are not sure, message the store you use and send a photograph of the clasp or the claw. We would rather see a chain a week early than hear it opened on the road.