Cleaning Copper Jewelry

With the price of precious metals, especially gold, so high, many fashion-conscious people are turning more and more to other metals for jewelry.  Copper and brass are two of the most popular.  But as you probably know, copper tarnishes very quickly and soon takes on a dark appearance.  Here are some tips for cleaning copper using familiar household goods.

1. Cut a lemon in half and add a dash of salt to cut side. Rub the lemon over the jewelry piece. You can also add a dash of salt to some lemon juice (enough juice to coat the piece). Dip the jewelry into the juice and let it sit for a few minutes. Rinse the piece off with water and dry it thoroughly with a polishing cloth.

Copper Disc with Crystals

2. Rub your jewelry with a small amount of ketchup or tomato juice. Rinse well and dry with a polishing cloth.

Jasper and Copper Necklace

3. Combine equal parts of lemon juice and baking soda to form a paste and rub the paste on your jewelry. Rinse and dry.

Green Mosaic Turquoise with Copper Bracelet

4. Sprinkle some Worcestershire sauce on your copper piece. Rinse well and dry thoroughly.

Pearls of Wisdom for June Birthday Buying

I love pearls.  They are such a classic gem, worn for so many different occasions and appropriate for almost any time.  They are ageless, too.  Pearls have been worn for centuries, at least as far back as the Roman Empire.  The only gem that comes from a living sea creature, the pearl is the number one gem choice for the June birthstone.  While natural pearls may be bought at an extremely high price, most pearl jewelry today uses cultured pearls that are created in oyster farms.

Pearl and crystal earrings in my Etsy shop

A very lovely alternate birthstone for June is the moonstone.  If you love to see a play of color in gemstones, then you will enjoy the flashes and glints of silvery blue that moonstones radiate from their milky white surface.  When the stone is moved back and forth, it almost seems as though the silvery blue rays move also.

A necklace in my shop with moonstones

The third birthstone alternative for June is the Alexandrite gemstone.  The Alexandrite is a charming, unusual stone, changing in its colors almost like a chameleon.  In natural daylight it appears bluish green while under artificial light it appears violet in color.  Natural Alexandrite is very rare and expensive, so most Alexandrite birthstones are manmade and it is very difficult to reproduce the color changing ability of the natural stone.

Here is an Alexandrite ring I found in another Etsy shop.

So if you are shopping for that special person with a June birthday, you have several gems to choose from.  A hard choice to make since all three are beautiful in their own way.  Happy shopping!