Life

3 Gentle Liquid Jewelry Cleaners That Will Make Your Favorite Rings, Necklaces, & Earrings Sparkle

by Margeaux Baulch Klein
fotolia/Piman Khrutmuang

Keeping your jewelry clean and looking shiny is as simple as using a liquid jewelry cleaner. Instead of the expense and hassle of dropping off jewelry with a professional cleaner, the best liquid jewelry cleaners remove grime and tarnish in a matter of just minutes from the convenience of your home — and at an affordable price.

When shopping for a liquid jewelry cleaner, make sure to pay attention to which types of metals and stones the cleaner is recommended for. Some cleaners should only be used to clean certain metals, like gold or silver, and could discolor other types of jewelry. Be extra cautious if you're looking to clean pearls; you may not want to use a liquid cleaner at all because of the porous nature of pearls.

Here's how most liquid jewelry cleaners work: You load a few necklaces, earrings, or rings into the included basket and then dip it into the solution. The basket prevents the jewelry from falling out or becoming lost at the bottom of the jar. Then, while the jewelry cleaner works its magic, you'll want to stay close by. Most only require a few seconds or minutes of soaking, and leaving jewelry in longer than recommended may risk tarnishing or damaging the pieces. Some jewelry cleaners also include a soft bristle brush to help you get your jewelry extra clean.

With that said, take a look at the best liquid jewelry cleaners you can buy, below.

1

The Best For Most Jewelry: Brilliant Jewelry Cleaner

For most jewelry, this Brilliant jewelry cleaner offers the best value and results you'll find, and even boasts a 4.2-star rating on Amazon. It's safe to use for gold, platinum, diamonds, emeralds, coral, opals, and turquoise. However, it's not recommended for cleaning silver jewelry or pearls. The cleaner also comes with a small bristle brush that will help you carefully scrub away grime after dipping the jewels into the solution, and reviewers say that it has only a light scent.

What fans say: “Overall, this is a good jewelry cleaner. It got my white gold and diamonds sparkling again in a few minutes and a quick scrub. The smell isn't overpowering or strongly chemical, like other cleaners I've used. I like that the brush fits neatly into the basket handle. It does the job and for the price, I'm satisfied. Arrived quickly and wrapped well, no leaking.”

2

The Best For Silver: Brilliant Silver Jewelry Cleaner

For silver or silver-plated jewelry, this Brilliant silver jewelry cleaner features a stronger potency solution, making it perfect for keeping your silver pieces looking like new. For simple cleaning, you may only need to dip an item in for a few seconds, but you may need to leave it in longer for especially tarnished pieces. If you're treating jewelry that contains both silver and gemstones, it's recommended to quickly dip the jewelry in the cleaning solution, use a soft brush to clean the stone, and then rinse the solution off.

It's not surprising that over 1,000 Amazon reviewers have given it a four-star rating for its effectiveness. However, if you're sensitive to scents, please note that some reviewers have stated that this cleaner has an especially strong chemical smell.

What fans say: “Holy cow — this stuff is magical! When it says a few seconds, they are not kidding. I could not believe the difference in my bracelet. I don't know how this works, but I'm very happy I bought this product. I wear my silver bracelet all the time, even shower with it, and go to the beach. It basically does not come off my body. All I have to do about once every two months is put it in this liquid for a few seconds and I have a brand new bracelet!”

3

The Best Non-Toxic Solution: Simple Shine Gentle Jewelry Cleaner Solution

If you want one product that can tackle most kinds of jewelry without utilizing harsh chemicals or ammonia, this Simple Shine gentle jewelry cleaner solution might be the right choice for you. The manufacturer says it's safe to clean gold, palladium, platinum, stainless steel, titanium, diamonds, cubic zirconium, pearls, beads, porous stones, soft stones, enamel, and treated gemstones. It also comes with an included cleaning brush.

One note: Despite the manufacturer's claim that it works well on silver, some reviewers report they had better luck cleaning their silver jewelry with the non-toxic silver cleaner by the same company. Also, because of its gentleness, you may want to opt for a stronger chemical cleaner if your jewelry has years of build-up and tarnish on it.

What fans say: “I adore this product! I use it literally every day. Drop my engagement ring and wedding band in for two minutes every morning. It’s incredible how much grime and dirt diamonds can pick up only in one day. My rings look brand new every day and I get comments from strangers all the time saying how shiny my stones are. I do not use the little brush that it comes with, I use a toothbrush. The little brush was too flimsy to scrub the underside of the diamond on my engagement ring. But, seriously, this product is awesome. It doesn’t smell bad or offensive at all either.”

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