how to clean loose stones

[enbcfsobe]

sorry in advance if this has been answered before -- my searches didn''t come up with threads on this topic but maybe i used the wrong terms. i have a few loose stones that i''ve been trying to photograph, but the more i handle them, the dirtier they get and the more it interferes with the pictures. i know different types of stones can take different types of cleaning, but generally how do you clean loose stones? i''m hesitant to put them in the ultrasonic, even the ones that are OK to go in there -- it seems too easy to lose them in the process. any recommendations on how to keep these little guys from looking all smudgy without risking losing them? maybe part of it is that i need better tweezers to hold them with while i photograph instead of putting my grubby paws all over them...

 

[tsavvy]

A few good swipes with denatured alcohol should safely clean your stones. I used to only wipe mine off with a cloth because I was worried that solvents could ruin the gemstones, but I just started faceting as a hobby (have only completed one stone) and denatured alcohol is used to clean the rough before dopping a stone and then to remove wax or epoxy after the stone is finished. After learning this, all of my gems received a quick cleaning

 

[Arcadian]

I use a microfiber cleaning cloth (same type i use for my eyeglasses) that generally works the best for me. I''ve got a million of them hanging about constantly.

-A

 

[T L]

It really depends on the softness of the stone, anything below a 7 on the Moh''s scale of hardness, I use a leather chamois gemstone cloth on. As for softer stones, I''m too afraid to touch them, let alone clean them!! Maybe someone has better advice on softer stones, like tanzanites (a popular yet soft stone).

 

[StonieGrl]

What they said!

What I was taught was that the only safe cleaning is soapy water.

The denatured alcohol tsavvy refers to, logically it should be safe as it used in faceting but if you had a stone you suspected had any kind of fissuring or crack, I''d go with Arcadian''s methold which is 100% safe.

Arcadian, do mean the cloths the eye docs give you when you get new glasses or do you mean microfiber as in dust clothes?

 

[enbcfsobe]

thanks all! good question TL -- i hope someone chimes in. right now i don't have anything that soft, but someday i hope to expand my collection!

ETA
SG -- what kind of soap do you use? when i put stuff in the ultrasonic i usually use a tiny drop of palmolive. would that be ok for cleaning most colored stones? do you just put them in a bowl? use a toothbrush? do you use the microfiber cloths to dry them or something else? thanks!!

 

[T L]

Just be carful submerging fracture filled gems and certain soft or fragile gems, like opals, pearls, tanzanites, emeralds, in any solution. I''m unsure if the alchohol would affect them.

 

[RockHugger]

Soap and water and a soft cotton cloth. I dont like US cleaners either even though they are ''safe''. The idea of sound waves crashing apon my little babies makes me want to cry.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/20/2010 7:09:30 PM
Author: Tropicgal10
Soap and water and a soft cotton cloth. I dont like US cleaners either even though they are ''safe''. The idea of sound waves crashing apon my little babies makes me want to cry.

US cleaners are not safe for many stones. Tanzanite will break up in them, and do not put fracture filled stones in them.

 

[colormyworld]

Not including emeralds or oil treated stones. I use a glass cleaner like windex. This may not be safe for all stones but for most it works very well.

 

[StonieGrl]

Re soapy water, I submerge (assuming I really know the condition of the stone; if I''m not sure, I slop the soapy water onto it) and use Dawnand I never use a toothbrush unless its some cruddy diamond, LOL.

I have been told by many sources to never use ultrasonice on colored gemstones.


Also, some gemstones carry charges, ions and all, so you may check before you use microfiber.

 

[RockHugger]

Well yeah, I wont even let someone at a store touch my tanzanites because they immediately want to dip them in the cleaner to clean them for me. I mean diamonds and such that are ''safe'' for US. Funny (in a way) story, I took my paraiba ring to get sized, and he took my stone then said "I will steam it for you, it looks dirty''. I was like one of those show motions action shots yelling "noooooooooo!" about to jump on him. I cought him before he pulled the knob. I told him you CANNOT steam tourmaline, as they are VERY thermal shock sensitive. He looked at me like I was insane.

Anywho, back to the OPs question....Yeah, I wouldnt use toothbrush inless its a diamond either.

 

[T L]

Tourmalines, in particular, cuprians, are commonly being fracture filled, so that is another reason not to US or steam clean them.

ETA: I do use a toothbrush (a soft one) on my garnets, beryls, spinels, tourmalines, and other harder stones.

 

[RockHugger]

I know, thats a shame. Mine arnt fracture filled, but I recently saw one that was. Tourmalines are so pretty even with fractures, so why ruin a good thing!!

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 1/20/2010 7:04:22 PM
Author: StonieGrl
What they said!

What I was taught was that the only safe cleaning is soapy water.

The denatured alcohol tsavvy refers to, logically it should be safe as it used in faceting but if you had a stone you suspected had any kind of fissuring or crack, I''d go with Arcadian''s methold which is 100% safe.

Arcadian, do mean the cloths the eye docs give you when you get new glasses or do you mean microfiber as in dust clothes?

Yes, those are the ones! I don''t know about any one elses doc but mine gives me 3m cleaning clothes (those are the bomb!!) I think you can find those at CVS (or even the cvs brand)

I use them to clean all my stones of fingerprints and oils after being handled. Unless they''re really gross dirty I never put them in water until after they''ve been set.

Even after setting I use a soap and water soak and a cool rinse. I''ve never seen the need for more as my rings don''t get all that dirty.

-A

 

[marcy]

I also use one of those strainers you can get for tuna to set my loose stones in then set that in a bowl of soapy water.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 1/20/2010 6:15:09 PM
Author: Arcadian
I use a microfiber cleaning cloth (same type i use for my eyeglasses) that generally works the best for me. I''ve got a million of them hanging about constantly.


-A

Ditto

 

[virgoruby]

I understand that most of you just use a cloth or mild soapy water to clean loose gemstones, which makes sense to me..
However, what if the gemstones are already set in jewelry & you need a good cleaning? Hypothetically speaking, is it safe to use an ultrasonic cleaner on harder stones like spinels and sapphires, if they are:
1) untreated and natural (& without too much inclusions), AND 2) set in well constructed settings?
Alternatively, do you think ultrasonic cleaners are totally unnecessary for cleaning any gemstone jewelry, even if the stones have high Moh''s ratings, natural, untreated & have good clarity?

 

[chrono]

All stones above Moh 7, I rub them with a cotton cloth for a quick swipe. For tougher dirt and oils, an ammonia jewellery cleaner or ammonia free Windex is fine. Anything softer than Moh 7, soapy water is best but do not pat dry unless you want abrasions and scratches. For emeralds and stones that have been oiled, a quick dry wipe is sufficient otherwise the oils will be removed and you do not want that. I never use ultrasonic because you never know if the stone will be damaged by the wave action especially for stones that are fracture filled or has naturally occurring liquid filled cavities even though Spinels and Sapphires (set or unset) are usually fine with US. I would never steam clean anything with coloured gemstones.

 

[virgoruby]

Date: 1/21/2010 7:41:57 AM
Author: Chrono
All stones above Moh 7, I rub them with a cotton cloth for a quick swipe. For tougher dirt and oils, an ammonia jewellery cleaner or ammonia free Windex is fine. Anything softer than Moh 7, soapy water is best but do not pat dry unless you want abrasions and scratches. For emeralds and stones that have been oiled, a quick dry wipe is sufficient otherwise the oils will be removed and you do not want that. I never use ultrasonic because you never know if the stone will be damaged by the wave action especially for stones that are fracture filled or has naturally occurring liquid filled cavities even though Spinels and Sapphires (set or unset) are usually fine with US. I would never steam clean anything with coloured gemstones.

Chrono - Thanks so much for your helpful advice & info!
One more quick question though - can you use alcohol to clean stones above Moh 7? I've read somewhere that vodka is a good cleaning agent for some gems - is this correct?

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/21/2010 8:37:38 AM
Author: virgoruby
Chrono - Thanks so much for your helpful advice & info!
One more quick question though - can you use alcohol to clean stones above Moh 7? I''ve read somewhere that vodka is a good cleaning agent for some gems - is this correct?

I don’t see why not although I’d rather a fine quality vodka down my throat.

 

[Liane]

I''m such a dork, I actually went out and bought distilled water for the specific purpose of cleaning my gemstones/jewelry. It''s cheap and a gallon has lasted me over six months.

For harder stones, I squirt ''em with Windex, rub with paper towel or toothbrush, rinse in distilled water, pat dry with paper towel. Softer stones get swirled in soapy water, rinsed in distilled water, and left to air dry. Since it''s distilled water, it doesn''t leave any residue on the stones like local tap water would.

If it''s just a single fingerprint or something, I rub them with a soft polishing cloth (I have a couple that came with purchases from mineralminers.com so that''s what I use. They come in little plastic bags so I store them in the bags to prevent dust from accumulating on the cloth).

I don''t own any super soft stones and I''m also not enough of a purist to care about micropitting -- if I can''t see it with a loupe, it doesn''t exist -- so that system works for me.

 

[Michael_E]

There are three classes of deposits which can mess up a gem. Each one requires a different approach as do gems which may be sensitive to whatever approach you take to clean them. Here''s a short list of those deposits and way to clean them:

1. Plain dirt. This is actually kind of rare, but easily cleaned, since it doesn''t stick to stones very tightly. Often you can just wipe it off with a soft cloth after a good soak in a little detergent an water or glass cleaner.

2. Oily dirt. This is usually just as easy to clean off as plain dirt and with the same methods. Sometimes the soak period in detergent need to be a little longer. With stuff that''s been baked on over long periods of time you need the BIG GUNS....oven cleaner. Yep, oven cleaner is a STRONG alkaline and can break up and dissolve nearly any organic junk and do it rapidly. Don''t use it with sensitive things like pearls and maybe stuff like peridot, turquoise, or other stones that could be affected by a strong alkaline material. For things like sapphire it works great. All the stuff about babying gems is kind of silly, particularly if you saw what went on at the jewelers bench. Make sure to wear safety glasses and gloves if you''re going to mess around with this, since it will eat you too !

3. Hard water deposits. These are the toughest of all of the junk that can cling to a gem. It sticks like glue, is hard and mixes with a bunch of other stuff to make some of the best concrete in the world. There are two ways to remove this junk. The first is to chip it off with a jack hammer...not so good for many gems. The second is to use an acid to chemically react with the basic hard water deposits and dissolve them. The strength and type of acid used are determined by the material you''re cleaning. If you''ve got the time a good soak in vinegar will remove most light deposits. If things require it a stronger acid can be used. Since this gets a bit dangerous I''d suggest having a jeweler remove deposits that you can''t get off with vinegar and never mix household chemicals, since they can ruin your day if you fool around with the wrong ones.

Never use anything with chlorine, bromine or other strong oxidizers on mounted pieces, since many of these chemical can eat jewelry metals leaving you with parts in the bottom of your bucket.

 

[HVVS]

Great post, Michael E! It''s nice to see you back on the boards.

 

[enbcfsobe]

ditto -- thanks for the detailed instructions!

 

[ma re]

Some stones are porous and therefore dyed to get a nicer (or more even) coloration, and some of those are lapis and turquoise, not sure about coral (possible), and it''s a standard for onyx. Pearls are dyed differently than these (at least from what I know), but still using chemicals so it''s best if you know exactly which treatment your gem has undergone before cleaning. Using chemical cleaners on such stones could do much more harm than good. I heard mild liquid soaps are OK for most gems, somebody correct me if I''m wrong. Oh, some stones like pieces of druzy etc. are often coated so care should be taken not to use harsh chemicals, or not to rub them hard while washing.

Oh and DO NOT...blow dry them

Unless you''re really bored and/or rich