Victoria’s Secrets: How to Clean Your Jewelry

Your fine jewelry may not look its best if you don’t keep your pieces clean. The buildup of sweat, soap, lotion, and everyday grime can make your custom jewelry look dull and dirty and harbor bacteria. Although cleaning jewelry is one of the complimentary services Rock N Gold Creations offers, many clients ask me how they can do it themselves at home. Here are some tips to keep your custom jewelry clean and gleaming:

GOLD: Soak the item for 15 minutes in a two cups of warm water with a few drops of a mild dishwashing liquid, like Joy. Gently scrub with a soft-bristle toothbrush. Rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

DIAMONDS: Soak for 20 minutes in a mixture of one cup warm water and ¼ cup ammonia. Gently scrub with a soft-bristle toothbrush, getting into the small areas between the diamond and the setting. Rinse with warm water, and lay on a tissue to dry.

PEARLS: Rub each pearl individually with a soft, clean cotton cloth dampened with a solution of two cups warm water and a few drops of a mild dishwashing liquid, like Joy. (Don’t soak your string of pearls; it can cause the string to stretch.) Let them air-dry overnight.

SILVER: Rinse in warm water and pat dry. If silver is tarnished, use a silver-polishing cloth or a jar of silver-cleaning fluid. (Silver cleaner won't harm gold and platinum, but it also won't clean them.) For intricately designed jewelry, use a silver-cleaning paste to get into small crevices. (Don't use toothpaste or other abrasive cleaners, which will scratch.) Wipe with a clean, soft cloth.

Call us today to make an appointment for complimentary jewelry cleaning!

Best wishes,

Victoria Mattar

Is It Time to Sell Your Gold?

The faltering economy is not getting back on its feet as fast as we would all like, but there is a silver (or gold) lining to this continued weakness in the world markets. If you own gold or gold jewelry you no longer want, means money in your pocket, as the price of gold continues to rise.

Through our subsidiary, San Diego Gold Sellers, Rock N Gold Creations wants to buy your unwanted gold items at the best price you can find. We post current precious metals market prices on our website because we are scrupulously honest about what we are paying for gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals at all times. Visit our website www.sandiegogoldselling.com for more information.

What if you need cash but are not ready to give up your jewelry pieces just yet? Rock N Gold is also in a position to offer short-term loans with your jewelry as collateral. You can trust us for reasonable terms. (Loan minimum $2,500.) Ask us about collateral loans today.

Simon Says...

The gold market has reached another all-time high, with a good chance that it will peak another level before the end of the year. With this in mind, it’s a good time to start your holiday season shopping for gold, whether in fine jewelry or in gold coins and bullion.  Gold is a common currency that is traded worldwide, and that’s why in an uncertain economy the only thing that trades up is the gold and precious stones market. Please contact me with any questions you might have about either buying or selling gold. Here at RGC, I can serve you as a licensed dealer for the buying and selling of precious metals and stones, adding another trusted service to serve your needs. 

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Best regards, 

Simon Mattar

Simon Says...

With the gold market poised to break another record, this is a great time to bring in your jewelry and precious items for us to evaluate the treasures your jewelry box holds. We can advise you to either re-design or repair your items, or we will pay you to recycle the ones you no longer wear. Analysts say that even at current levels, investors in gold have already made a profit of approximately 7.92 percent, and that investor desire for gold will remain strong and support higher prices. If you’re in the mood to invest, we have a good assortment of estate pieces at a great value for you or some one you know to enjoy! So Simon Says let’s rock your jewelry box by bringing it into our shop so we can do a free evaluation and cleaning for you!

Simon Says...

Last month I wrote about customer service and how to maintain your jewelry by cleaning at home. Home cleaning is never quite as thorough as what we can provide at Rock’n Gold Creations with our professional equipment, but it helps cut the heavy grime that can get into your pieces. That’s why it’s important to bring your jewels into the store regularly, for us to keep them looking bright, clean, and inspected and make sure they are properly maintained and dazzling when you wear them. Remember, wearing dirty jewelry is like wearing clothes that have not been to the cleaners and properly pressed. So Simon Says you need bring your jewels in at least every three months or more to keep them bright and properly maintained, at no charge to you!

What’s Up, Doc? Carats, Karats, and Carrots

When you’re shopping for jewelry you’ll often hear the words “carat” and “karat” tossed around, and it may seem like they’re interchangeable. But if you pay attention you’ll see that one type of carat – spelled with a C – refers to the weight of diamonds and other gemstones, while the other type – spelled with a K – refers to the purity of gold.

Diamonds and other gemstones are weighed in metric carats: one carat is equal to 0.2 grams, about the same weight as a paperclip. Just as a dollar is divided into 100 pennies, a carat is divided into 100 points. For example, a 50-point diamond weighs 0.50 carats. But two diamonds of equal carat weight can have very different values depending on the other members of the Four C’s: Clarity, Color, and Cut. The majority of diamonds used in fine jewelry weigh one carat or less.

The karat, on the other hand, is a measure of the purity of gold alloys. Karat value of gold (or platinum) is determined using the following formula: the mass of pure gold or platinum in the material divided by the total mass, then multiplied by 24. Therefore 24-karat gold is fine (99.9%), 18-karat gold is 75% gold, 12-karat gold is 50% gold, and so forth. This is why the higher the karat value, the more yellow the gold looks. When you buy a piece gold jewelry, the karat value is usually stamped somewhere on it.

The word “karat” comes from the Greek kerátion, “fruit of the carob,” as carob seeds were originally used as weights on precision scales because they were thought (wrongly) to have a uniform weight. In the past, different countries each had their own karat, roughly equivalent to a carob seed. In the mid-16th century, the karat was adopted as a measure of gold purity.

As for carrots… well, those are probably in your refrigerator right now, and including them in your diet will help ensure you have sharp enough eyes to enjoy the brilliance of your carats and karats!

Victoria's Secrets

Victoria writes:

I hope this finds you having a wonderful day! I'm reaching out to you to let you know Rock'N Gold Creations is offering a very special complimentary service right now. I know this recession has left many of us a little tired and worn down; we truly want to help you re-organize and re-energize! Therefore, we are offering a complimentary one-hour session you will not regret.

During this one-hour session you will have the opportunity to bring in your entire jewelry box, and receive ALL these wonderful services:

- Complimentary professional jewelry cleaning
- Complimentary verbal appraisals on your jewelry pieces. The gold market is still high – you may want to check values.
- We will check your jewelry pieces for loose stones.
- We will help organize your jewelry box the right way, and have jewelry baggies on hand for you.
- Enjoy wine and chocolate!

As always, we are available to discuss any recommendations, repairs, custom designs, and estimates to sell your jewelry. However, there is absolutely no pressure or obligation.

Most importantly, the purpose of this session is to get your jewelry cleaned and ready for spring and to get your jewelry box organized. Call today to book your appointment: 858-571-4560

If you would like to come in with your friends, family members, or co-workers, we can arrange and host a private party for you! Call me at 619-520-8480.

Feel free to share this email with your contacts, so they can enjoy our service too!

We look forward to hearing from you!