July 14, 2012
Has your Pandora Bracelet turned brown? Silver turning yellow? Here are some tips and tricks to clean a Pandora Bracelet or Charms that will keep your precious Pandora pieces shining for years to come!
1. Fill a bowl with luke warm, soapy water.
2. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub your pieces clean.
3. Rinse in clean water!
That's it!
Pandora recommends this method over any other for cleaning dirty or tarnished pieces. While it may take some extra effort on your part by using this gentle method, preserving the detailing and quality of your pieces will be well worth it in the end!
For charms needing a little more attention, soak your sterling silver pieces in soapy, luke warm water for no more than 10 minutes. Again, take your pieces out & scrub them gently with a soft toothbrush and rinse in clean water.
This should take care of any caked on dirt / tarnishing & leave your pieces sparkling!
*NEVER soak your wooden, pearl or leather pieces in water!*
In between these more intensive cleanings, you can also use a polishing cloth which contains a cleaning solution. A combination of these two processes will ensure that your Pandora pieces are always looking their best!
While you’re shopping all of the fabulous new Pandora collections we have in-store, we can clean your bracelet for you! This service is complimentary and we would love to see you soon!
Click *here* to find a Reeds Jewelers, or Reeds Jenss location nearest you!
Silver alone is too soft to wear as jewelry. This is why most silver in the world of jewelry is called “sterling silver”. Sterling silver is a much more durable material to be worn as an everyday piece of jewelry – like your fabulous Pandora charms! The reason that sterling silver is more durable than just silver – is due to one main reason; it is mixed with other alloys. Sterling silver contains 92.5% Silver and the other 7.5% is copper. This addition of copper makes the silver stronger and more durable so that it can be sculpted & styled into your unique Pandora Charms!
Regardless of what silver is mixed with, it will tarnish. Being exposed to moisture, skin and the air causes a chemical reaction that gradually over time, oxidizes the silver metal turning it from shiny silver, to a light yellow/silver color. If you do not properly clean your pieces after this occurs, that yellow coloring will again gradually turn to black.
More specifically a chemical called hydrogen sulfide is the cause of the oxidation and discoloring of your silver. This chemical is found in many everyday items like wool, rubber, and foods like eggs and onions. It’s not harmful to you, but if you’re going to be coming into contact with any of those items – be sure to remove your Pandora jewelry first!
Moisture also causes your silver to slowly tarnish. Excessive contact with moisture will simply speed up the natural tarnishing of your pieces – similar to sulfide’s effect stated above. Avoiding moisture is a bit harder to accomplish but proper storage will definitely aid in minimizing this elements effects on your pieces.
The bottom line is that simply by wearing your Pandora jewelry, the pieces will slowly tarnish. Don’t fret! Tarnishing is a natural effect with silver metals and is in no way permanently damaging to your jewelry. Fun Fact: Pandora actually uses this reaction to silver in some of the detailing of their sterling silver pieces!
Cleaning tarnished Pandora pieces is simple! Follow the instructions listed above in the “Cleaning” section of this post. DON’T use any type of Jewelry cleaners. These chemicals often do TOO good of a job in cleaning your charms and some of the detailing that was done by oxidizing the silver will be cleaned off in the process! Basically, your charms will end up being too clean & lose their charm.
The wooden beads are particularly susceptible to being damaged by any silver specific cleaning cloths or moisture. So when you’re cleaning the wooden bead’s silver or 14k gold end cap, be sure to keep the wood away from the moisture and with the polishing cloth. Excessive exposure to water can cause the wooden beads to swell and damage your piece! A very light wipe with a slightly moistened cloth can clean any dirt off of your wooden pieces but be sure to dry it off immediately!
The glass Murano beads can be cleaned with soap & water just like the silver, but be sure to avoid contact with any silver cleaning products.
Just like any other mixed material Pandora piece, you should be very careful with how you clean it. They do have sterling silver or 14k gold clasps so try to keep any metal specific cleaning products away from the very delicate leather!
Usually wiping the leather cord down with a damp cloth will remove any dirt or slight stains on the material. If you do get any other stains on the bracelet after cleaning – try to wipe it off immediately before it gets a chance to be absorbed in the very porous leather.
Pandora also recommends regularly applying a leather conditioner and essential oils to help keep it looking and feeling great!
Keeping your Pandora jewelry in a moisture free, safe place (i.e. a jewelry box, or your bedroom) will keep your silver shining and avoid any chance that your glass pieces could fall & break.
Anti-Tarnish pouches are a great idea for placing your jewelry in. Or, a simple zip lock bag could work just as well! The plastic that the bag is made of (polyethylene) doesn’t react with silver so this makes a fabulous, inexpensive moisture locking, anti-tarnishing alternative for your precious Pandora jewelry!
