How to Clean Copper Jewelry

Best Ways of Cleaning Copper Jewelry

How to clean copper jewelry: Copper jewellery is beautiful but can tarnish over time due to oxidation. Proper care and maintenance can keep your copper jewelry shiny and in good condition.  One of the most troublesome problems is how to clean silver and copper jewellery. Choosing the wrong cleaning method or using harsh chemicals can damage or even ruin your most treasured piece of unique handcrafted jewellery. Here are some ideas to keep your handmade copper jewellery looking new.

1. Avoid Exposure to Moisture and Chemicals:
   • Remove your copper jewellery before swimming, showering, or using cleaning products, as water, chlorine, and chemicals can accelerate tarnishing.
   • Avoid contact with perfumes, lotions, and hairsprays, as these can also cause discoloration.
2. Store Properly:
   • When you are not wearing it, keep copper jewelry in a dry, airtight container or a jewelry box with anti-tarnish strips.
   • Do not throw them all in one box. Store each piece separately to prevent scratching.
3. Wear Regularly:
   • Wearing your copper jewellery when you are sweating might harm it. Some people have very high acidity in their sweat, which can even harm jewellery finishes and cause them to change colour.

All silver and copper will tarnish with time due to exposure to air and humidity. Sulphides in the air cause silver and copper to tarnish. The best way to polish silver jewelry is to use a jewelry polishing cloth. You should never use a commercial silver dipping solution. The chemicals in these solutions can do more harm than good to the jewellery. This also goes for copper jewelry. Using a jewellery polishing cloth on copper jewelry will restore the shine if it tarnishes.

Polishing clothes costs only a few dollars, can be purchased at most stores that sell fine jewellery, and are also available at many drug stores. A  jewelry polishing cloth can last for many years, so it is a good investment.

Another great way to clean copper jewelry is to use a solution of lemon or lime juice with a dash of salt. This solution is easy to use, readily available, and will restore the shine to copper jewelry. Rinse the piece thoroughly after dipping, then dry it before storing. Grapefruit juice and vinegar will also work, although lemon juice tends to get the best results. You can use the jewelry polishing cloth to add lustre and keep the piece shiny between cleanings.

Jewellery crafted from metal can also be cleaned using this method. If your handcrafted jewelry, silver jewelry, or copper jewelry contains stones, take special care to ensure the acidic lemon juice does not come into contact with them.

Storing your silver and copper jewellery in plastic re-sealable bags when not worn will help keep the jewellery clean and shiny. Continuous exposure to air and moisture causes oxidation, or tarnish. You might also like to coat your copper jewelry with clear acrylic lacquer to protect it from discoloration.

Copper jewelry can tarnish quickly, but the good news is that it is easy to clean and restore to its original shine. The best ways to clean copper jewellery are with some everyday household items and a little bit of elbow grease. Your silver, copper, and handcrafted jewellery can be as lovely as it was the day you purchased it or made it. So do not throw out that tarnished piece of jewellery; make it look new again!

Copper jewellery we make does not require polishing, as it will not tarnish as long as you take care of it by keeping it away from detergents, hair sprays, and other chemicals. The reason our jewellery does not tarnish is not only because of the three to four layers of acrylic finish, but also because we pay special attention not to touch it with bare hands and to avoid exposing it to dampness and moisture before we apply the finishes.

If copper is not treated right after polishing, and it has already started to tarnish, even though we might not see it right away, you can spray it with lacquer finishes, but it won’t help. In a few weeks, you will start to see tarnish even on your fingerprints beneath the thick layer of finish you sprayed to protect the copper from changing colour.