Does Platinum Need To Be Polished?

Platinum does need to be polished as any other precious metal does. Platinum can lose its shine pretty easily as it is generally a soft metal. Platinum can also develop patina within the first year of wear.

If you want to continue having shiny jewelry, you will need to polish your Platinum.

Platinum can also fade or tarnish easily when you constantly expose it to the elements, so you must take good care of it. Polishing platinum also requires a fair bit of effort, so some people are opposed to polishing it. However, it doesn’t go through as much wear as other metals do upon polishing.

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How To Clean Platinum Jewelry?

If you’ve just purchased your first piece of platinum jewelry, you likely don’t know how to take care of it. Platinum jewelry requires care just like any other jewelry does. If the article you have bought is something you plan to wear regularly, like a ring, you have to take extra care of it.

Fortunately, there are many ways to preserve Platinum and ensure that it looks as shiny on any given day as the day that you got it. People generally don’t think that Platinum would require much labor from them. However, this isn’t the case. If anything, Platinum requires more effort to clean and take care of because it’s such a strong and unreactive metal.

We have listed some ways you can have your platinum jewelry looking as good as new. Before you polish or use any fancy method, the first thing you have to do is ensure that your jewelry is clean. A few methods of cleaning your jewelry are as follows:

Liquid Cleansers

These occur in small jars, whereby you can dip your jewelry in a liquid cleanser and receive it with ease. Some brands are mostly ammonia-free and have enough detergent that they would clean your jewelry completely.

Many brands for this liquid cleanser may also come with a small brush that would make it easy to get rid of all the grit and dirt; you’ll find it easier to clean platinum jewelry.

Hand Sanitizers

People often think that they can use hand sanitizers to clean their rings, and the answer is yes, they can. You have to be careful that your particular platinum ring doesn’t have a Rhodium plating. Some platinum rings can have that plating, and it can wear down over time to result in Platinum that’s less shiny than the one you started with.

If you also use hand sanitizer a lot, you may harbor some fear of breaking down Platinum. However, Platinum is very unreactive to most acids, so you don’t have to worry about that.

Jewelry Cleaning Foam

Another solution for clean platinum jewelry is jewelry cleaning foam. This cleaning foam is perfect for people who travel often and want a quick solution to their musty rings. For on-the-go cleaning solutions, the jewelry cleaning foam is perfect. In no way does it perform deep, thorough cleaning.

However, it manages to get the work done and have your platinum jewelry look clean and presentable.

Caring For Platinum Jewelry

One of the many ways your platinum jewelry will lose its sheen is if you don’t protect or care for it. If you’re not careful with your jewelry, you will likely need to get it polished more often. Here are some of the ways you can care for platinum jewelry.

1. Remove any precious platinum jewelry before using any harsh chemicals such as bleach or even chemical abrasives. This may cause scratching or damage to gemstones.
2. You should also avoid handling any strong tools when wearing your platinum jewelry.
3. Keep your Platinum away from any other hard metals as they can easily scratch the Platinum and make it lose its shine.
4. You should also ensure that you get your Platinum checked by a professional every six months or if it’s had n impact with something hard, to make sure that you don’t lose any precious gemstones.
5. Whenever you need the platinum ring to be altered, you should ask the jewelry to use platinum stock to perform the work. If they use white gold, the jewelry will have discoloration.

How Often Should I Polish Platinum?

Platinum jewelry that has gemstones is one that you should ask a professional to clean every six months. However, it depends on your preferences too. Some people like it when clean platinum jewelry develops a patina.

Patina gives the platinum article a much softer look, and thus, they don’t need to polish it quite so often. However, if you want a more shiny finished look, you will have to go to the jeweler more often.

Is it Harmful to Polish Platinum?

Polishing platinum jewelry might be necessary if you’re after a certain look. Platinum jewelry can easily remain in your family for a long time. However, you may want to polish it now and then so it can maintain its sheen.

However, unlike gold, polishing platinum often will not cause it to lose as much material. Polishing platinum often is not as harmful or detrimental as polishing other precious metals.

Is Buffing the Same as Polishing?

Buffing only involves using cloth wheels with the application of a compound to have your platinum jewelry look clean and shinier. However, polishing means using abrasive belts, which will remove any dents from the surface and leave you with a smoother finish overall.

Most jewelers have polishing equipment but might not have a buffing station. Thus, you will have to ensure that you go to the right store to get this work done.

Final Thoughts

You can get platinum jewelry polished, and sometimes you need to polish it. It’s easier to polish with clean platinum jewelry. You should first try to ensure that your jewelry is clean, so the loss of shine is not just due to an accrual of dirt and grime.

Once you do this, you can get your jewelry polished. However, it’s necessary that after you polish your jewelry, you take the best care of it so that you don’t have to spend time and effort to polish your platinum jewelry constantly.