How to Polish Gold at Home

Polishing a dirty piece grinds the dirt into the gold. Always wash first.

1. Soak the piece in warm water with a few drops of plain dish soap for 15 minutes.
2. Brush the links or the back of the stones with a soft toothbrush.
3. Rinse in a bowl of clean water, then dry completely with a lint-free cloth.

Chains with tight links, like a Franco Chain 3mm ($3,425) or a Rope Chain 3mm ($2,175), hold the most dirt between links, so give them a longer soak. Our guide on how to clean a gold chain covers every link style.

A jeweler's polishing cloth usually has two layers: an inner layer treated with a fine polishing compound, and a plain outer layer for buffing. The inner layer does the work; the outer layer brings up the shine.

1. Rub the inner layer along the piece with light pressure, following the shape, not in circles.
2. On chains, pull the chain through the folded cloth slowly, a few inches at a time.
3. Buff with the outer layer.
4. Do not wash the cloth. Washing removes the compound. Replace it when it turns black all over.

Avoid toothpaste, baking soda pastes and kitchen scouring pads. They are coarser than jeweler's compounds and leave a hazy, scratched surface.

Problem	Polishing cloth	Professional polish
Dull haze, fingerprints	Yes	Not needed
Fine hairline scratches	Mostly	Yes
Deeper scratches you can feel with a nail	No	Yes, removes some metal
Dents in hollow gold	No	Sometimes, not always
Yellow tint on white gold	No	Needs rhodium re-plating
Dark spots from chlorine or sulfur	Sometimes	Yes

Gold is soft. 14K gold is about 3 on the Mohs scale, so any harder material, from sand to a countertop, will mark it. Scratches on a ring band are normal and come back no matter how often you polish.

A jeweler polishes on a spinning wheel with abrasive compounds, moving from coarse to fine. It works because it takes a thin layer of metal off until the scratch is gone. Each polish makes a ring band, prong or chain link slightly thinner.

• Once every year or two is plenty for a ring you wear daily.
• Prongs should be checked before polishing, since thin prongs get thinner.
• Diamond-cut and textured finishes cannot be polished flat without losing the pattern. Diamond-cut chains like the Diamond Cut Rolo Link Chain 1.7mm ($550) or hoops like the Jumbo Diamond Cut Hoops ($545) have faceted surfaces that a wheel would round off.

• Gold-plated: the gold layer is thin. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth only. A treated polishing cloth can rub through the plating in one session.
• Gold-filled: thicker than plating, but still a layer. Light polishing only.
• White gold: a cloth brightens it but cannot restore rhodium. If it looks warm or yellowish, it needs re-plating. Read white gold and rhodium.
• Rose gold: polishes like yellow gold. Its color comes from copper in the alloy, all the way through.

Not sure which you have? Check the stamp. A karat mark like 10K, 14K or 585 means solid karat gold; marks like GP, GEP or HGE mean plated. Our guide to gold karats lists the common stamps.

• Put jewelry on after lotion, perfume and hairspray, and take it off before cleaning the house.
• Store pieces separately so they do not scratch each other.
• Wipe chains with a soft cloth after a sweaty day.
• Keep pieces out of pools and hot tubs.

Solid 14K gold does not tarnish the way silver does, but it can darken on the surface from sweat and chemicals. Our article on whether 14K gold tarnishes explains why. If gold leaves a mark on your skin, see why jewelry turns skin green and gold for sensitive skin.

Piece	Polishing cloth	Professional polish
Ring worn daily	Every few weeks	Once every year or two
Chain worn daily	Monthly, after a soapy wash	Rarely; chains seldom need it
Earrings	When they look dull	Almost never
Bracelet	Every few weeks	Every couple of years
Pieces with pavé or iced stones	Metal areas only	Only with a stone check first

The goal is to keep shine with the gentlest tool that works. Most of the time a soapy soak and a cloth are all a piece needs. Save the wheel for scratches that really bother you.

A polishing cloth is safe on diamond rings, but keep it on the metal. Rubbing hard across prongs can snag the cloth fibers and, on worn prongs, lift a tip. Never polish around pearls, opals or emeralds with a treated cloth; the compound can dull soft stones. On pavé pieces, polish the plain gold areas only, and clean the stones with a soft brush and soapy water instead.

Each piece wears in its own spots. Rings scratch on the outside of the band and the bottom of the shank, where they hit tables and steering wheels. Chains wear inside the links, where metal rubs on metal, and a cloth cannot reach there, so a soapy soak matters more than polishing. Earring posts and hoops pick up film from skin and hair products but rarely scratch. Polish where the wear is, and leave the rest alone.