Few things are more exciting and exhilarating than shopping for a new ring, bracelet, or necklace. With so many choices, it can be very difficult to identify the best deal, the brightest stone, or the most genuine materials available. Fortunately, this article is filled with useful tips on shopping for new jewels.

Use a gentle dish soap to clean your jewelry. The soap you buy for your kitchen can be great for jewelry too. Just make sure you buy a gentle dish soap. Look for one that is suitable for use on your hands. That way, you can be sure it won’t damage the jewelry.

It is becoming more and more popular to purchase expensive jewelry online. Before you do, however, be sure to check out the business you’ll be purchasing with at the Better Business Bureau. When you’re making a big ticket purchase, such as an expensive piece of jewelry, you need to know that the company you’re purchasing from is reputable. You want to make sure that they will send you a quality product and back it up with customer service too.

When buying vintage jewelry, become familiar with the different time periods associated with each piece. A Victorian era piece may interest you more than one of a different era, so knowing the differences will help you be able to quickly spot the pieces you are most interested in purchasing, rather than spending lots of time browsing.

When you are buying jewelry as a gift for someone else, be sure to figure out what their preferences are. Many people only like gold or silver, not both. Look at the recipients wardrobe choices and current jewelry to find what jewelry type they would be most likely to enjoy and actually wear.

If you’re having a difficult time finding that perfect piece of jewelry, consider buying a stone and visiting with a specialist. A jewelry specialist can design a setting just for you, in exactly the way you are envisioning it to be. Your piece will be unique and possibly more valuable because of it’s one of a kind nature.

Use a cloth dampened with a solution of water and a few drops of dish-washing liquid to clean your pearls. Lightly rub each pearl with the cloth, and allow them to air-dry. Never soak pearls, as doing so can cause massive damage to the integrity of the gem. Keeping your pearls clean ensures a long life for them.

Metal allergies can make wearing any type of jewelry, most especially wrist watches, itchy and painful. A simple way to alleviate the itch that some non-precious metals (common in many watch cases) can cause, change your watch band to one made of leather or cloth and then apply a coat of clear nail polish to the back of your watch. The nail polish, while not permanent, can easily be reapplied when needed and protects your skin from being in direct contact with the metal case of the watch. If the buckle of that new watch band is metal, don’t forget to give it a coating of nail polish as well. Even that tiny bit of metal can cause some serious discomfort to those with sensitivities.

Whether you prefer to shop in stores or strictly online, you have a world of attractive pieces available to you. Wedding rings, pendant necklaces, and tennis bracelets, are only a few of the wonderful types of jewelry that you can choose from. This information will make shopping for jewelry a snap.