Properly maintaining your Cuban link chain would involve keeping the chain clean, shining, and scratch-free. Below are some general tips to keep your Cuban link chain in good shape for a long time.
Cleaning Your Cuban Chain Regularly
As with every piece of jewelry that comes in direct contact with your skin, you must regularly clean your Cuban link chain. The sweat and micro-organisms that come directly from your skin can get stuck between the links of the chain. Also, dirt would surely get on the chain from the environment as you go about your day.
How often you clean your chain depends on how regularly you wear it. If you wear your chain daily, you should clean it at least once weekly. After cleaning your jewelry, give it a regular polish with a Jewelry Polishing Cloth to improve its luster.
Store Your Chain Properly
Gold is a very soft metal that is easy to scratch, so protecting your Cuban link chain from scratch is essential. Some people’s chains get scratched more in storage than when they use them because they do not store them properly.
Firstly, don’t leave your pendant on the chain when you want to store it because it can scratch the chain. Also, do not crumple up your chain when you want to keep it; that can cause it to get tangled or scratched against itself. Finally, do not store multiple chains together roughly in a box; it can cause them to scratch or entangle each other.
Do Not Shower With Your Cuban Link Chain
One advantage of using gold jewelry is that they do not oxidize or corrode. However, the fact that your Cuban link chain does not rust is not a license to wear it in the shower.
It’s not good to shower with your Cuban link chain because the mixture of soap and dirt particles can get stuck between the chain links. Also, the same way soap film residue causes a mirror not to shine after a while, your chain too, would lose its luster.
Note that bathing with your Cuban link chain is not a means of cleaning the chain. Instead, you’ll end up causing it to get dirtier and make its appearance duller.
Don’t Sleep With Your Chain
Many people don’t remember to take off jewelry before they sleep. If you’re one of such people, wearing your Cuban link chain to bed is another terrible idea. Firstly, when you wear your chain to bed, you’re causing unnecessary wear to the chain, which would cause it to age more quickly.
If you sweat a lot in your sleep, that sweat makes the chain get dirty faster. Also, you would likely wake up to see your chain tangled due to your movements when you were asleep. For these reasons, you should only wear your chain when awake.
Wear Your Chain Properly
To wear a Cuban link chain properly is to wear it flat on your body; there should be no twists from one end of the clasp to the other. Wearing your Cuban link chain well would help make it look better on your neck. Also, a properly-worn chain would not tangle as quickly as when you just put it on carelessly.
To wear the chain properly, first, you must ensure there are no tangles at any point. Next, you should hold one end of the chain with your two hands and run one of the fingers across the chain to the second end; this motion would flatten out the chain. Finally, you can wear the flattened-out chain on your neck, being careful not to twist it again as you wear it.
Take Your Chain To A Jeweler
As much as you can clean your jewelry at home at regular intervals, it’s also vital that you take it to the pros once in a while. A professional jeweler would help give your Cuban link chain an excellent polish to improve the luster better than any homemade solutions. The polish would also help to remove the scratch marks that might be on your chain.
Also, if you’re using a 10 or 14-karat Cuban link chain, it won’t have that bright yellow color of pure gold. The jewelers might give your Cuban link chain a quick gold flash to compensate for that.
Depending on how often you use your chain, you should take it to the jeweler every 1 to 2 years. It would be best to take the chain to the jeweler you bought it from or a highly trusted professional. Having the wrong person polish your Cuban link chain can cause more harm than good.
How To Clean Your Cuban Link Chain
The first tip for maintaining your Cuban link chain is to clean it regularly. Below are some methods to keep your chain clean and shining all year.
Method 1 — Using Soap, Toothbrush, and Warm Water
You need some dishwashing liquid or any other mild soap, a soft-bristled toothbrush, and warm water to use this method. The steps to follow are:
Step 1— Mix warm water with the dishwashing liquid and soak your chain in the solution for about 30 minutes.
Step 2— Gently scrub the chain in a circular motion using the toothbrush. Try to allow the bristles to reach into the chain links to remove all the debris.
Step 3— Rinse the chain under running water and pat dry the chain.
Note: While cleaning your chain, ensure that you never use abrasive cleaning products; if not, your chain will get scratched. Also, do not use moisturizing soap as they leave a soap film on the chain.
Method 2 — Ultrasonic cleaner with jewelry cleaning liquid
Ultrasonic cleaners are used by professionals to clean all sorts of jewelry. They usually have bowls where you put some cleaning liquid, and they work by vibrating fast and removing all the dirt stuck in jewelry. Professional ultrasonic cleaners are expensive, but there are portable, pocket-friendly ones like the Magnasonic (MGUC500) and the Greenfrom Ultrasonic Cleaner.
Step 1— Put some Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaning Solution in the cleaner with some water.
Step 2— Place the chain into the cleaner and turn it on. You can adjust the settings to suit your needs.
Step 3— When the cleaning is done, take the chain out and rinse it with running water
How to Untangle A Cuban Link Chain
Sometimes your Cuban link chain can get tangled, either because you didn’t store it properly or it got tangled on your neck. Even having a single link on your chain tangled can make it have an awkward appearance and would make it uncomfortable on your neck.
When your Cuban link chain gets tangled, it’s unproductive to try pulling the chain back into place. Instead, the simple step is to hold on to both sides a few steps away from the tangled link. Next, bring the two sides of the chain you’re holding together, and the twisted link should loosen up.