Tired of that mountain high stack of broken costume jewelry? Here are some neat tricks I’ve learned to preserve my precious pieces making them stronger and last longer.

Tip #1

Most costume jewelry is attached to or made from a nickel blended metal which fades very quickly. It will also leave the skin and clothes stained green or black!

To preserve the temporary color longer you can take some clear nail polish and paint the entire piece of metal. This will add a layer of protection over the metal, taking a longer time to wear through. Be sure to let each coating dry properly before adding another. Two coats of the polish should be good enough to ensure your jewelry is well protected.

Tip #2

My favorite idea is to replace the fake metal with real metal such as silver, gold, or steel. You can find these pieces for a good price online, at a jewelry store, or even at your local craft and beading store. All you need is a pair of plyers, a steady hand, and some time to replace the pieces as they wear out.

Tip #3

Save those stones! Ever have a pearl pop off or a stone tumble? You can dismantle a piece of jewelry before you throw it away and use those pieces for another. Or if you’re creative, you can make a whole new piece of jewelry altogether from the scraps you collect. Same goes for metal chains, links, clasps, etc.

Tip #4

Shop smart! Having no skin contact on the jewelry will save the metal from fading. Look for earrings that fall away from the ears or the pieces touching skin are made of plastic.

For necklaces, wearing them on the outside and resting over your clothes will help preserve them. Wearing collared shirts to protect the neckline makes for a cute winter and fall style. During summer, jewelry can be nestled over an elegant sheer shirt.

It’s also best to keep the metal away from water and absolutely take them off before a shower and when washing the face to avoid rusting and damage.

Bonus Tip

This bonus tip is to help find jewelry that will last. Here is a small checklist of things to think about and look for when shopping.

– Plastic that isn’t painted on the surface or won’t chip away easily

– Stones are securely fastened with prongs, not glued in

– The less stones the easier it is to preserve and hide missing ones

– Can easily replace nickel metal pieces with real precious metals

– Can be reused to make other jewelry

– Metal pieces don’t continuously touch the skin

– Is the cost dramatically cheaper than real jewelry?

Even though I enjoy wearing costume jewelry from time to time, I’ve learned that investing in a few good pieces of real jewelry can save hundreds of dollars and makes assembling your wardrobe easy and affordable. With the amount of fake jewelry being disposed around the world it’s not only a hazard to the environment, but the chemicals used to process such items are just as harmful. Not to mention that plastics and man-made materials take several life times to decompose. Let’s help reduce the amount of wasted products by planning our purchases wisely and taking care to extend their usage!

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