Woops -- Turquoise Help!

[tigerhearted]

Okay, my turquoise earrings and ring are /sadface now... This morning I decided to actually..clean my jewelry! XD I''m a total jewelry scrub, so in the past I''ve only used soap and water. >.> My e-ring and sapphire ring were looking dingy, so I broke out the Mr Clean and soft toothbrush like my appraiser recommended a couple weeks ago, and went at it. I went ahead and cleaned some of my old silver jewelry too...a couple of which are turquoise earrings and a turquoise ring.

I thought the turquoise looked a little..different when I dried them. I came here and did a quick search to find a PS pro saying NEVER to use ammonia products on turquoise because it will destroy the polish. T_T

Drat! Okay lesson learned! My questions now are:

1: What can I do to rehab my poor turquoise pieces? Is there any way to restore the polish?

2: How SHOULD you clean turquoise? I wasn''t able to find anything about what you should use to clean turquoise, only what NOT to use lol.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I would take it in to a jeweler to see if you can have it polished, it shouldn''t cost much.

 

[Sagebrush]

Tiger,

If removing the polish is all that you did, I am surprised. Today, turquoise is mostly "stabilized", an interesting term that means dyed and plasticized. Natural turquoise is quite porous and other than the very finest Persian and some Southwestern, will turn greenish as it ages as a result of interaction of your skin oils.

This is America and in America we expect all our turquoise to be a stable sky blue and all our pearls to be round. As a result both of these gems are often processed beyond any resemblance to their natural state. If your stone started off and remains sky blue, congratulations, it is well stabilized.

 

[Upgradable]

Richard, so if you have an old piece that has turned slightly greenish, is there anything you can do to restore the original color?

BTW- I really loved your book!! I''m thinking of all of the beautiful pieces of tourquoise that Tavinier found during his travels.

 

[empress]

It is not recommended to use ammonia products on silver, either. It''s much more porous than gold.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

For turquoise, pearls, shell, and other soft or organic materials, steer clear of ultrasonics, metal cleaners, and traditional jewelry cleaning solutions. I too am surprised that''s all the damage that was done. I recently got spaced out and tossed a newly made piece with spiny oyster shell in pink jewelry cleaner....and the hydrochloric acid in the cleaner ate away the shell surface.

In my studio I use Haggery''s Silversmith''s Wash. It is supposed to be safe on just about everything, although I would still not use it on very high end pearls. It''s a thick brown paste. Scoop some up in your fingers and rub briskly with your hands (no toothbrush) until it turns black. Rinse in warm water and repeat. Very tarnished silver can take several or more washings, but I have never had it damage a stone or finish.

 

[innerkitten]

I don''t think you can restore turquoise that has turned green with age back to blue. On the other hand there is always the possibility that it was green to begin with since some turquoise is green. If it''s stabilized the color will not change.

I would not use any type of silver cleaner on pearls by the way. I would stick to something made for pearls of just a little warm water and a soft cloth.

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 4/3/2010 12:20:17 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry
For turquoise, pearls, shell, and other soft or organic materials, steer clear of ultrasonics, metal cleaners, and traditional jewelry cleaning solutions. I too am surprised that''s all the damage that was done. I recently got spaced out and tossed a newly made piece with spiny oyster shell in pink jewelry cleaner....and the hydrochloric acid in the cleaner ate away the shell surface.

In my studio I use Haggery''s Silversmith''s Wash. It is supposed to be safe on just about everything, although I would still not use it on very high end pearls. It''s a thick brown paste. Scoop some up in your fingers and rub briskly with your hands (no toothbrush) until it turns black. Rinse in warm water and repeat. Very tarnished silver can take several or more washings, but I have never had it damage a stone or finish.

thank you for stating that its best NOT to use a toothbrush.Ive gotten flack for recommending the use of fingertips rather then a toothbrush on smooth high polish surfaces.

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 4/2/2010 1:46:05 PM
Author:tigerhearted
Okay, my turquoise earrings and ring are /sadface now... This morning I decided to actually..clean my jewelry! XD I''m a total jewelry scrub, so in the past I''ve only used soap and water. >.> My e-ring and sapphire ring were looking dingy, so I broke out the Mr Clean and soft toothbrush like my appraiser recommended a couple weeks ago, and went at it. I went ahead and cleaned some of my old silver jewelry too...a couple of which are turquoise earrings and a turquoise ring.

I thought the turquoise looked a little..different when I dried them. I came here and did a quick search to find a PS pro saying NEVER to use ammonia products on turquoise because it will destroy the polish. T_T

Drat! Okay lesson learned! My questions now are:

1: What can I do to rehab my poor turquoise pieces? Is there any way to restore the polish?

2: How SHOULD you clean turquoise? I wasn''t able to find anything about what you should use to clean turquoise, only what NOT to use lol.

it could also be that you removed a surface stabilizer that gave the turquiose a sheen.

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 4/3/2010 5:32:54 PM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 4/2/2010 1:46:05 PM
Author:tigerhearted
Okay, my turquoise earrings and ring are /sadface now... This morning I decided to actually..clean my jewelry! XD I''m a total jewelry scrub, so in the past I''ve only used soap and water. >.> My e-ring and sapphire ring were looking dingy, so I broke out the Mr Clean and soft toothbrush like my appraiser recommended a couple weeks ago, and went at it. I went ahead and cleaned some of my old silver jewelry too...a couple of which are turquoise earrings and a turquoise ring.

I thought the turquoise looked a little..different when I dried them. I came here and did a quick search to find a PS pro saying NEVER to use ammonia products on turquoise because it will destroy the polish. T_T

Drat! Okay lesson learned! My questions now are:

1: What can I do to rehab my poor turquoise pieces? Is there any way to restore the polish?

2: How SHOULD you clean turquoise? I wasn''t able to find anything about what you should use to clean turquoise, only what NOT to use lol.

it could also be that you removed a surface stabilizer that gave the turquiose a sheen.

An after thought...what kind of professional appraiser would recommend this type of distructive cleaning method!Not very smart

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 4/3/2010 5:58:39 PM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 4/3/2010 5:32:54 PM
An after thought...what kind of professional appraiser would recommend this type of distructive cleaning method!Not very smart

Ack! Good point

I didn't pick up on the fact that it was supposedly a professional that said this, one would think that an appraiser would know a little more about the stones.

Someone gave you flack for not using a toothbrush? Have they ever seen what one can do you one's beautiful finial polish

 

[jewelerman]

Date: 4/3/2010 6:40:52 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry

Date: 4/3/2010 5:58:39 PM
Author: jewelerman

Date: 4/3/2010 5:32:54 PM
An after thought...what kind of professional appraiser would recommend this type of distructive cleaning method!Not very smart

Ack! Good point

I didn''t pick up on the fact that it was supposedly a professional that said this, one would think that an appraiser would know a little more about the stones.

Someone gave you flack for not using a toothbrush? Have they ever seen what one can do you one''s beautiful finial polish

there has been many a time that forum members have been up set with me for suggesting that the only use for a toothbrush is to carfully clean the pavillion area of hard stones, and not the whole piece of jewelry.