Care of Wedgwood Jasper jewellery

Care of Wedgwood Jasper jewellery

From my Postbag:

 I have Wedgwood jewelry from the 1970s. How do I clean it and maintain it? I am not having much luck finding the info on the web.

  

My Answer:

With this Wedgwood jasper jewellery we have two different materials to consider – the jasper and the metal it is mounted in. We also need to take a look at how it is mounted to decide how we can clean it.

Firstly – can you see the back of the jasper? If so it has an open mount. If the back is covered by metal then it is a closed mount.

Wedgwood Jewellery

Care of Wedgwood Jewellery with an open mount

Is the metal gold, silver or costume jewellery? Take a close look and you will find it written on it if it is gold or silver – perhaps some hallmarks or perhaps the word ” silver”. If neither of these appear for safety’s sake please assume it is costume jewellery and use only soap and water.

If the mount is silver or gold then your Wedgwood jasper jewellery is safe to clean in an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner with just water and a touch of washing up liquid ( not citrus scented).  If you do not have an ultrasonic cleaner you can use a soft toothbrush instead. 

If the gold or silver is very dirty you can clean that with a little jewellery cleaner appropriate to the metal but use a cotton wool bud and avoid getting the cleaner on the jasper.

Now a quick rinse in clean water and dab dry with a lint free cloth and your Wedgwood Jewellery should be ready to wear.

Care of Wedgwood jasper Jewellery with closed mount

We need to take special care of Wedgwood jasper jewellery with a closed mount as if this gets wet the water may get between the jasper and the metal.  This could lead to the metal rusting ( not silver or gold mount) or the jasper coming unstuck from the mount. With these pieces you need to clean the jasper carefully with water and a little washing up liquid without getting it wet. You can dip an old toothbrush into the water and then partially dry the tooth brush and clean it with that. Dab the jewellery dry with a little lint free cloth.

Similarly you will need to clean the gold or silver separately – perhaps using a cotton wool bud and some jewellery cleaner appropriate to the metal