Guidelines for Maintaining Gold Filled Jewelry
Gold filled pieces consist of a gold layer permanently bonded to a base metal such as silver or brass, or to an alloy. By weight, at least 5 percent must be gold, placing gold filled jewelry just below solid gold in quality.
By Sage Cooper3 steps
The outer layer of gold is soft and prone to scratching and tarnish.
To create gold filled jewelry, a layer of gold is fused onto a base metal -- frequently silver or brass -- or an alloy, forming a permanent bond. Gold must make up at least 5 percent of the item's weight, and gold filled ranks second only to solid gold in quality. Keeping gold filled jewelry in good condition is simple. Ideally, clean every piece once you take it off, and place items in a drawer or jewelry box in a way that keeps them from touching each other, which helps prevent scratches.
Step 1
Once you have finished wearing your jewelry, go over it with a clean, soft cloth. Cloths made for polishing jewelry are inexpensive and will not scratch the surface.
Step 2
Put water in a small bowl along with one drop of ammonia, then moisten a cloth or cotton swab with the mixture. Gently work on the areas of the jewelry that are difficult to reach. Afterward, rinse the piece with water and pat it dry.
Step 3
Stir a teaspoon of non-bleach powdered laundry detergent into a bowl of warm water. Leave particularly soiled gold filled pieces to soak for about a minute, then take them out, rinse with water and pat dry.
