How to Care for Plated Metal Beads

LOOSE BEADS

How to Care for Plated Metal Beads

By Rachel Conoley, 

Plated metal beads can be a great economical choice for jewelry makers and customers alike. A thin plating of gold or silver over an inner core of a base metal like brass or steel results in a bead that looks and feels like gold or silver but costs far less. But there is a trade-off--this thin plating is susceptible to scratches and wear, and normal cleaning methods for gold and silver may remove the plating entirely.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cloth-lined container
• Soft cloth

1. Avoid scratching the beads. Loose beads should be stored carefully in an airtight plastic bag. Finished jewelry pieces should be set carefully in a soft cloth or cloth-lined container.
   
2. Wipe beads or jewelry with a soft cloth to clean. Avoid abrasive cloths or cleaning products. If possible, use a cloth that was made for polishing fine metals.
   
3. Keep silver-plated beads away from air, sunlight and paper, as these can all increase tarnishing. Solid sterling silver is easy to polish if it tarnishes--not so for silver plating, which may come off entirely if you use silver polish on it.
   
4. When designing jewelry using plated metal beads, be sure to include spacers between beads or place plated metal beads next to non-abrasive beads to minimize scratching and wear with regular use.
   
5. For beads whose plating is already worn, you may want to consider taking them to a jeweler to have them re-plated.