Magnetic Jewelry Clasp

Summer is only a few weeks away! For most people, summer is an active time of year with summer vacations, road trips, and outdoor activities; like swimming, hiking, and sunbathing on the beach. With all of this activity, you need to take special care of the jewelry you wear. So in preparation for the summer, here are some tips to help keep your summer jewelry sparkling and ready to wear.

1. Remove your jewelry before swimming and strenuous activities- While most people like to keep their jewelry on when they swim, hike, or during other outdoor activities, it's a good idea to remove it beforehand. Salt water and chlorine can be damaging especially for sterling silver jewelry. And sweat can make your sterling silver jewelry tarnish quickly. So if you know that you're going to take a dip in the pool or go swimming at the beach, be sure to remove your jewelry and store it in a safe place first.

2. Remove your jewelry before applying substances like sunblock and bug spray- While it's important to protect your skin from sun damage and bug bites, getting this stuff on your jewelry is going to do nothing but make it harder to clean later.

Substances like lotion can get stuck into the little nooks and crevices of chains and gemstone prongs which makes it hard to remove later. And once the lotion gets in those tiny crevices, it can be a magnet for dirt. When you're slathering on the sunblock, remember to remove your rings, bracelets, and chains first.

3. Get loose findings, gemstone prongs, and clasps repaired- It's easy to lose a piece of jewelry or individual gemstones and beads simply because your jewelry is in poor repair. A loose or broken clasp can cause your favorite bracelet, necklace, or anklet to fall off with your notice. You can lose your favorite pair of earrings and or an heirloom brooch or pendent because of a broken jump ring or pin backing.

Before you put your jewelry on, take a few minutes to look for potential problems. If your jewelry has set gemstones, check to make sure they're not loose. Check the jump rings (those tiny little rings that connect things) on your chains, earrings, and pendants to make sure they're not open or broken. If you wear beaded jewelry, check to make sure that there's no fraying on the strings that hold the beads. Just one tug on a weakened string means you'll be scrambling to find missing beads. Wiggle the posts on the backs of earring studs to make sure they're not coming loose. If you find anything that's a cause for concern, put those pieces aside until you can get it fixed.

4. Clean your jewelry regularly- Your own sweat and body oils are one of the things that can dull the shine of your favorite jewelry pieces. And you'll have those in abundance during the summer! Make it a habit to clean your jewelry on a regular basis. Often, all that's needed for metal jewelry is soaking in warm soapy water, rinsing, and drying with a soft towel.

For jewelry pieces that can't be submerged in water, you can wipe them down with a damp cloth. For sterling silver jewelry, you can prevent tarnish with regular cleaning and by applying an anti-tarnish polish to slow down the formation of tarnish. Use a good polishing cloth on metal jewelry to bring back the sparkle after soaking.

Just follow these four simple tips and you'll have your jewelry looking fabulous all summer long!