Simple Cleaning Methods for Handmade, Copper Jewelry.

Last week we provided some suggestions for brightening your handmade African copper jewelry. Today we want to share more simple cleaning methods.

Vinegar and Salt. If copper is tarnished, boil article in a pot of water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar for several hours. Wash with soap in hot water. Rinse and dry.

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply the paste to copper and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water and polish dry.

Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt, rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda. Rub copper with lemon slice and rinse with warm water and dry. Pour vinegar over the surface sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.

How Do I Brighten My Copper Jewelry?

Many folks like the tarnished look of aged copper. There are very attractive pieces that were deliberately aged and polished for highlights giving an antique look. Moisture combined with the oxygen in the air form tarnish. Copper tarnishes much faster when worn against sweaty skin during summer the months. If you find that silver jewelry tarnishes (turns black) very quickly when you wear it, then copper jewelry will tarnish quickly too. Tarnishing can be an individual thing. Copper jewelry tarnishes faster on some individuals but not as fast on others.

Some suggestions for cleaning:

Soaking in tomato juice, soaking in white vinegar, cleaning with lemon juice and salt. (Rinse well after using any of the above methods). One of the best solutions calls for using metal polish or a polishing cloth being careful to avoid any gemstones. This practice is feasible for jewelry made only of copper and not having gemstones. A tumbler works really well and will brighten but not many people have a tumbler so this is not a feasible solution.(The treatments suggested above are feasible to use with copper jewelry having no gemstones. The polishing cloth and metal polish are the safest to use with beaded gemstone jewelry).

In the next blog post we will introduce simple cleaning steps stay tuned!

Does Copper Jewlery have Health Benefits?

Throughout the history of civilization copper has held many health benefits. The human body needs copper to function properly. Scientist have discovered that the body requires a healthy ratio of copper to zinc in the blood stream. However; the body does not need large quantities to obtain the health benefits of copper. In 1983 GR Struthers and DL Scott, two Australian doctors conducted studies on alternative methods for relieving arthritis pain. Their results showed that arthritis sufferers noticed significant improvement in their joint pain after wearing copper pieces. For your own healing go to California Jewelry Importers where we provide beautiful and elegant copper jewelry. Our jewelry in handmade, handcrafted copper imported from South Africa.

Remember, for the beauty and the healing power of copper visit http://www.cajewelryimporters.com/ for the most beautiful handmade, copper jewelry from South Africa!