The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-15
CLEANING PASTE JEWELS,
WAYS TO KEEP IMITATION GEMS
BRILLIANT. ..

the Lustre 81 Rhhmestsnes NSS GO NO ~"
stored Dnce n " Lost. he n Can 10
PresePved-rnro OR the settRng %Jcweary.
That Can't 8e w~nsned-Use ~f CJanideG
IL IN we'll know that women who own
valuable Jewels frequently have them duph-.
Gated, imitation stones being substituted
Tor the genuine. This 10 done, Of couTse'
to preserve the originals against loss or
theft. These limitations, most OF whfch
come from Paris, are sometimes 90 skAlfuIy
made thai sven experts cannot without a
CAREFUL examination discover them 70 Do
cSunterfeitH. 49,, IA
> The stones most frequently initiated are
diamonds, some OF which are made q a
specially prepared paste. Others kpo3vn
40 rhinestones are becoming more and mere
popular and ind a place in brooches. ear
rings, barrettes, hair cOmbS and similar
articles of personal adornmenE. g5S
IA common problem among women pho
wear this jawelry 10 now TO clean the etones
In such . name 10 not entirely 70 destroy
their Iustre. Few women know how to
perform this operation successfully, and che
result is that when the stones get sotled
their character 10 very apparent. S[si
The fact OF the matter il that when. rhine
stones nave once lost their hstre and bill
fancy. nothing will restore these. qualities
to them. , But fortunately there arc means
Of preventing loss OF lustre. 80 m
One OF the best ways Of doing this u to
prepare a warm water bath, taking care
that the liquid is perfectly free from any
gritty sediment before immersinG the ar
ticIes OF jewelry. Allow the jewelry TO
remain in the water two minutes, then re-
move and scrub with a stif brush.
Rinse on the soap by plungtng ths PIECES
into a bowl Of clean water and then place
them in a box filed with jewellers sawdust
and allow them to remain there for bali
an hour or until all the water has been abb
sorbed. When dry whisk OF any fine pieces
Of wood which may adhere, by means OF q
soft brush, and rub with a soft cloth,
II the setting Of the stone ID Of silver.
this method ought TO restore the iewelry
to it's former attractive appearances II
there Is some discoloraton in the silver
aftarthis bath. put the jewelry into a bowl
Of cyanide! OF potash. Rubber gloves
should be used in order to prevent the
cyanide from touching the flesh.
The iewelry should be allowed to re-
main in this solution only a moment, q
mere dipping is generally enough. The,
cyanide would entirely destroy the jeweky
IL the immersion were longer. just. a.
soon as the piece is removed from this
solution il must be placed in a bowl Of luke
warm water. so that the cyanide may be-
washed OF.
This treatment is only possible where
! the rhinestones are set in silver. platinum
or gold. When stones are not entirely
surrounded by some metal the only way
to clean them is by softly brushing with
a cancels hair brush.
Many women destroy r~hinostone1 In
their efforts to clean them simply because
they do not understand how these stones
are set. Most imitation stones are simply
pieces OF glass and are really softer and
easier to scratch than the ordinary window
| panes. Their b~riliancy is obtained by
the tips Of lead or the aluminium In which
they are set.
Hence il win be realized that scrubbinR
and liquids, even water itself. will haze
a tendency to loosen these tips and allow
dust and moisture to find entrance bafwean
the stone and the lead foil. Rhinestonea
Of the better quality. which are made Of q
composition, can be cleaned with soap
and water Just the same as diamonds
and may then be dried in jewellers hot
sawdust.
The best plan to follow in cleaning thoss
stones set In silver or any other metal 10
to scrub them with prepared chalk aud
a stin bristled brush. The only SUCCESSFUL
way OF cleaning tipped stones which are
in raised settings is by carefully brushing
with a soft brush, and this should be lone
Immediately after the jeweIry has besn
worn, 30 hat the dust shall not work its
way into the foil or aluminium.