5 Tips for Caring for Vintage & Antique Jewelry

My vintage & antique jewelry is really important to me, so I love these tips on taking care of them!
Victorian Engagement Ring in Rose Gold with old mine-cut diamonds

Many of us have vintage and antique jewelry that is of the more expensive type.  They may be pieces we've bought for ourselves, been gifted, or inherited from a family member, but they're all investments and fabulous additions to our wardrobes.  They're one of a kind and deserve special care to keep them looking pristine and in good condition.


My vintage & antique jewelry is really important to me, so I love these tips on taking care of them!
vintage engagement ring with 1.35 ct natural Burma Ruby, circa 1970's

I asked Flashback Summer sponsor VintageDiamondRing.com to share their top five tips for caring for these precious pieces, and this was their advice:

1. Do the basics to take care of your jewelry.
Take your pieces to a jeweler to be inspected, cleaned, and repaired if necessary.  Try to find a jeweler that has experience with vintage and antique jewelry to routinely check them.

2. Store your fine jewelry away from plastics.
Gems are harder than plastics and might scratch them if bumped against each other.  To keep your celluloid and bakelite safe and shiny, store them separately from your nicer pieces.
My vintage & antique jewelry is really important to me, so I love these tips on taking care of them!
1940s old mine cut diamond engagement ring in yellow and white gold

3. Don't wear your vintage and antique pieces during rough or dirty activities.
This one is kind of a no-brainer, but avoid wearing your rings and jewelry during gardening, working out, or other rough times to prevent dirt, damage, and general wear and tear.

4. Store different gemstones in different places.
Rings with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and semiprecious stones such as aquamarines and garnets are softer than diamond rings.  If they come in constant contact (such as from being loose in a jewelry box drawer), they may rub on each other and get scratched.
My vintage & antique jewelry is really important to me, so I love these tips on taking care of them!
Art Deco ring with French cut diamonds and square cut Kashmir sapphires, circa 1930's

5. Seriously consider whether or not to polish antique and vintage rings.
Especially when it comes to antique rings, a patina has built up over the years.  Polishing destroys this patina.  Consider whether you really want your pieces with character to look new, or whether you want them to retain the aged look we love in older pieces.

Vintage and antique jewelry is special and irreplaceable.  Especially if the piece has sentimental ties to family members, an engagement, or other significant life event, it's important to take good care of these pieces for future generations to enjoy.
My vintage & antique jewelry is really important to me, so I love these tips on taking care of them!
antique Art Deco ring with .70 old European cut diamond in platinum, circa 1920's

I know I'll be following this advice when taking care of my few pieces of fine jewelry like my wedding ring and two of my grandmother's rings!  Not to mention... I went to VintageDiamondRing.com and drooled for a while... and sent my husband the link.  You know, for future reference. 

Do you have any special jewelry pieces?  Do you have any tips for taking care of or storing them that you've found useful?

Which ring on VintageDiamondRing.com is your favorite?  (I have SOOOO many!) 

This post was sponsored by VintageDiamondRing.com, but the opinions in it are my own!

4 comments

  1. I don't have any real heirloom pieces besides my great grandmothers (my granddads mother), my great-great grandmothers (her mother) and my grandmas (my mothers mother) wedding rings and a victorian brooch bought by great grandmother. The brooch is gold with a ruby and her and her sister bought them when they were out shopping together one day apparently. To put this into perspective in terms of time, my grandfather was born in 1901 (yep, my grandma was his second wife after his first wife died) and he was by no means the oldest child, so all the jewellery would probably be from the late 1800s and my great great grandmothers would have been earlier than that. The wedding rings are very simple, they were quite poor, hence them moving to Australia during the breakout of WW1, there was once an intricate pattern on it but it has long worn down. Both of them are tiny, they barely fit on my pink finger, they both must have been incredibly small. My Grandmothers is a bit more ornate and she has a diamond encrusted watch that is beautiful that my grandfather bought for her when they were married in the early 60s. My Great Grandma and Great Great Grandmas rings are very precious to me even though they are not ornate, as I never really had any connection to that side of my family (grandad died at the age of 92 when I wasn't even a year old), so Its as close as I get to them, because they are buried all the way back in Wales. I hope to keep them and pass them on to any children I have.

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  2. Handy tips! Another point with early celluloid, especially that produced prior to the late 1920s (when the formula was altered by most companies to make it safer), is to keep it away from high heats and/or direct sunlight (when not being worn and even then, cautiously), as it's notoriously flammable.

    ♥ Jessica

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    Replies
    1. Oooo, that's VERY good to know! I hadn't heard that before... I'd hate for my jewelry to randomly combust!

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  3. Very useful & informative. It's not easy to keep jewelry always new & refresh forever. Actually i also have mu vintage themed wedding jewelry & your tips will help me to keep my wedding jewelry clean 7 safe. Thanks for sharing.

    123WeddingCards

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