I do make and sell a lot of brass jewellery. Me and my customers like brass for its warm tone and versatility in design. Well polished brass is a great and budget friendly alternative for gold like looks. But with time brass jewellery gets darker and looses its shine. In some cases, for example where there is deep scratches or very dark areas, you will need to seek for a professional jewellery cleaning and re polishing services.
In first place brass same as silver gets tarnished because of reaction with chemical elements in the air. So first of all try to keep all your jewellery in airtight bags and away from direct sunlight. Second, don't take shower, bath or go into the swimming pool with all your jewellery on. Also take it off when putting a cream or perfume on as some components may cause quick tarnishing of a metal or even discoloration or damage for some stones, like jasper, agate or pearls.
Easiest way is to clean your jewellery with specialized cleaners. In first place you can try to use silver polishing cloth. Silver polishing cloth is suitable for any other metal, not just silver. But there is something you can do at home to refresh your lightly darkened brass jewellery.
Tip 1. Possibly the easiest one. To refresh your brass jewellery and bring back the shine clean it with the toothpaste.Any brand will do. For stubborn stains you can use soft brush. Rise, dry thoroughly and polish with special polishing cloth or any soft natural fiber cloth. I find that wool is working perfectly.
Tip 2. Clean your brass jewellery with ketchup or soak in tomato juice. Rinse, dry thoroughly and polish with special polishing cloth or any other soft natural fiber cloth. Wool is the best for polishing any jewellery. Note. This method is good for plain brass jewellery, like my Bar earrings. If there is pinned beads, like on my Grapes earrings, be careful as ketchup or juice will bet inside bead hole and will stay there.
Tip 3. Cover any glass or ceramic bowl with aluminum foil, place your jewellery, cover all pieces generously with baking soda and add hot water on top. Make sure foil doesn't have any holes and jewellery is fully covered with water. Soak for 20-30 minutes, then rinse, dry thoroughly and polish with special polishing cloth or any soft natural fiber cloth.
Avoid to use any of these cleaning methods if there is any glued parts, as some glues can be dissolved by water.
I have tried all these methods myself and I feel confident to recommend them to my customers.
If there is still some stain remaining after cleaning at home I wold recommend to look for professional re polishing.
Do not hesitate to contact me at innajewellery@gmail.com if you still have questions or want your jewellery to be cleaned professionally.
Hope this was helpful,
Inna xxx
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