Gemstone Care Guide

Beautiful jewelry deserves thoughtful care. This guide answers common questions about ultrasonic cleaners, inclusions, and natural versus lab-created or simulated stones.

Start with your specific piece

This is general guidance, not confirmation that a particular item is safe for a cleaning method. If treatment, stone identity, adhesive use, or construction is unclear, do not use either method. A jeweler can assess the stone and setting in person.

For mixed-stone jewelry, follow the most delicate component's requirements, including beads, thread, coatings and metal finishes. A familiar stone name or a sterling silver setting does not establish cleaning safety.

Can gemstones go in an ultrasonic cleaner?

There is no reliable blanket yes for a gemstone family. Ultrasonic vibration can affect fractures, fillings and settings. Steam adds heat and pressure and is not an interchangeable alternative. Hardness measures scratch resistance, not resistance to breaking, heat or cleaning chemicals. Even a clear-looking stone may have hidden inclusions or treatments.

Our recommendation: do not use a home ultrasonic or steam cleaner on our gemstone jewelry unless the specific piece has been assessed and the method confirmed. Do not experiment with a short cycle as a safety test.

General care by stone family

Turquoise and turquoise-look designs

For turquoise, including pieces described as Kingman, Royston, Mohave, matrix or Aztec Mountain turquoise, avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning. For oyster-copper, spiny-oyster, coral-matrix, Dahlia, Cotton Candy and other trade-name designs, ask us about the individual construction and treatments. A trade name alone does not tell you whether a piece is solid, assembled, stabilized, dyed or simulated. Until confirmed, use only a soft cloth, lightly dampened if appropriate, and do not soak or use chemical dips.

Opal

Pink, white, Ethiopian, dendritic and Owyhee blue opals need gentle handling. Avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning, heat and abrupt temperature changes. For confirmed solid opal, gentle cleaning with lukewarm soapy water is a standard approach; ask us first about soaking, treatments, or assembled stones. For Opalina or other opal-like trade names, confirm the material rather than assuming opal instructions apply.

Pearl, coral and shell

Keep pearls, red coral and shell components out of ultrasonic and steam cleaners. Gently wipe with a soft cloth after wear. Ask before wet cleaning or immersing strung, glued or composite pieces. Keep perfume, cosmetics and cleaning chemicals away from their surfaces.

Feldspar: moonstone, labradorite and amazonite

Our conservative recommendation for moonstone, rainbow moonstone, pink moonstone, labradorite and amazonite is gentle hand care only, with no ultrasonic or steam cleaning. Protect them from knocks and temperature extremes. Use a soft cloth; confirm the piece's construction before using mild soapy water.

Quartz, agate and jasper

This group includes amethyst, ametrine, rose quartz, tourmaline-in-quartz, blue lace agate, plume and banded agate, bloodstone, mookaite, sea jasper and Wild Horse jasper designs. Use gentle hand cleaning, with lukewarm mild soapy water only when the material and construction permit. Do not assume all quartz-family or trade-name stones tolerate the same methods. Inclusions, dyes, fillings, coatings and attached materials can change the advice. Avoid steam and obtain piece-specific confirmation before ultrasonic cleaning. Protect amethyst and ametrine from prolonged strong light and heat.

Tourmaline and peridot

For pink and watermelon tourmaline and peridot, gentle lukewarm soapy-water cleaning is preferred when the setting permits. Ultrasonic and steam cleaning are not recommended. For tourmaline within quartz or bracelets combining peridot, aquamarine and tourmaline, follow the most restrictive component's care.

Beryl: aquamarine and red beryl

Do not transfer cleaning advice from one beryl variety to another. Aquamarine can sometimes tolerate professional ultrasonic or steam cleaning, but fractures, liquid inclusions and fracture filling change that assessment. We recommend gentle hand cleaning instead and checking with us first. For red beryl, ask for specific care instructions; do not assume aquamarine's conditional guidance applies.

Kunzite

Avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning, impacts, heat and prolonged sunlight. Use gentle hand cleaning only when the setting and construction permit. Kunzite can split along cleavage planes and its color can be sensitive to light.

Larimar, chrysocolla, purpurite, thulite and chrome diopside

These are different materials, not one interchangeable care group. Until we confirm instructions for your specific item, our conservative recommendation is a soft cloth only, no soaking, chemical cleaners, ultrasonic or steam cleaning. Ask us before wet cleaning, especially when treatments or composite construction are unknown.

Druzy, glass beads and mixed-material jewelry

“Druzy” describes a crystal-covered appearance and does not by itself identify the material. Glass beads, coated surfaces, glued elements and unidentified mixed beads need construction-specific instructions. For these pieces and items described only as mixed or natural stone, start with a soft cloth and contact us before soaking or machine cleaning.

Do inclusions change how I should care for a stone?

They can. Inclusions are features within a gemstone; they are not all cracks or defects. Their type, location and extent matter. Surface-reaching fractures and liquid inclusions may increase vulnerability to vibration or heat, while oil, resin or glass-like fracture fillings can require special care. Natural patterns alone do not establish that a stone is damaged, and an apparently uniform stone is not proof of cleaning safety.

If you notice a new crack, a loose stone, movement in a setting or damage, stop wearing and cleaning the piece and contact us or a qualified jeweler.

Natural, lab-created and simulated: what changes?

Natural gemstones form in nature. Natural origin does not mean untreated, and treatments may affect care.

Lab-created or synthetic gemstones have essentially the same composition and crystal structure as their natural counterpart. They are not the same as simulants. Lab-created stones can still have inclusions, fractures or treatments; their origin does not make them automatically safe for ultrasonic or steam cleaning.

Simulated stones imitate another gemstone's appearance but may be a different material, such as glass, resin or another gem. Follow the actual material's care needs, not those of the stone it resembles. In particular, a simulated-turquoise description does not establish either natural-turquoise composition or machine-cleaning safety. Ask us if the base material is not specified.

This guide explains terminology; it does not reclassify any product or certify a product's identity or treatment history. The individual product listing remains the starting point.

Everyday habits that help

Store pieces separately in soft compartments to reduce rubbing. Remove jewelry before household cleaning, swimming and activities that could cause hard knocks. Apply cosmetics before putting jewelry on. Avoid household chemicals, abrasive powders and silver dips on gemstone-set pieces unless expressly approved for the entire item.

When wet cleaning is confirmed appropriate, use lukewarm water, a small amount of mild soap and a soft cloth or very soft brush as directed for that piece. Avoid hot-to-cold temperature changes, rinse carefully in a bowl rather than over an open drain, and dry gently. Do not soak pieces with unknown treatments, adhesives, stringing or assembled components.

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