Gem Stone Cleaning Guide

Gemstones have different properties and should be cleaned according to their hardness or property.

The following guidelines should help you determine how to safely clean your stones.

To ensure the safety of your stones, always check with a perfessional Jeweler for recommendations on cleaning!

 STONE

 Reaction to Steam

 Reaction to Ultrasonic

 Diamond

 excellent

 excellent

 Ruby
Sapphire

 good

 good

 Cats Eye
Alexandrite

 good

 good

 Spinel

 good

 good

 Topaz

 bad

 fair

 Emerald

 poor

 poor

 Aquamarine

 fair

 fair

 Tourmaline

 poor

 fair

 Garnet
Rhodolite
Tsavorite

 fair

 good

 Amethyst
Citrine
Quartz

 fair

 good

 Peridot
Moonstone

 fair

 fair

 Tanzanite

 poor

 poor

 Kunzite
Spodumene

 poor

 fair

 Zircon

 poor

 fair

 Opal

 bad

 bad

 Turquoise

 fair

 poor

 Lapis

 fair

 fair

I clean most of my stones in jewelry cleaner from the jewelry store and in some cases I use Windex and a tooth brush.

You should always ask your jeweler for their recommendations on how to clean your stones. Not all stones react the same and can be damaged if not cleaned properly.

Ms. Janie's Gem Page is for educational purposes only.
I do not sell Gems nor do I take responsibility for any links that are posted for your purchasing needs.
This section of Ms. Janie's Collector's Studio has required an enormous amount of time and energy and can not be reproduced.
The following sources were used to provide some of the wonderful pictures and information for this section.
(The Gem Collector's Handbook) by John L. Ramsey and Laura J. Ramsey
(Gem Stones) by Cally Hall
(Gems Crystals and Minerals) by Anna S. Sofianides and George E. Harlow from the American Museum of Natural History.
Various information sites and links from the World Wide Web
The personal collection and knowledge of Janie E. Daniels

Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.