Cleaning fake jewelry

** On a personal note this week: My sleeping problems

I always say I need to get rid of some of my jewelry because I really have too much of it and then I take it all out ready to declutter and I end up just putting everything back. It has been going in circles for months now.

However, one good thing did come out of it. I found some pieces that really needed cleaning up. Real jewelry I always give to the jewelry guy in the store cause I need that really polished, but the fake ones I clean myself. This was actually the first time I did it so I decided to document it.

I've seen a lot of jewelry cleaning posts and most of them said toothpaste is a way to go. Whitening one is the best. So I took my toothpaste and started scrubbing. For my test, I took a relatively new watch and my grandma's old brooch. My watch used to be rose-gold, but after only wearing it two times, it changed colors. I think it was the sweat and probably some water. I knew it was fake, but it's still really disappointing. On the other hand, my grandma's brooch is at least 40 years old and it's not weird that it changed colors. Here are the results of 5 minute scrubbing.

Brooch actually turned out pretty good. I wish I had a smaller brush to really get into some parts, but the difference is obvious. There's still a bit of yellow in between some rhinestones, but not as visible, and on the back side which I don't care about. Now this brooch is ready to be worn again. My grandma will love it!

For the watch, I hoped I would be able to scrub it all off and have a silver strap. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned. I managed to get some of patchiness off, but it's still in two colors. Still, I like it better now because the transitions between colors are less visible in person, but I still think I'll just throw it under water and hope it all disappears.

Have you ever cleaned your jewelry? What method did you use? Did it work?