Gold manufacturers and traders warned against that the exposure of gold jewelry to mercury and chlorine as they make them brittle, fragmented, and easily broken.
Dr. Nagy Farag, head of the Economic Committee in the Gold traders Division of Cairo chamber of commerce, said that exposing gold materials to chlorine and mercury leads to their fragility, and cracking, as a result of water absorption, with the appearance of white spots on their surfaces.
He added that jewelry may be exposed to chlorine when used in disinfection and cleaning, or as a result of its presence in swimming pools, while they are exposed to mercury when the temperature thermometer is broken.
Farag added, that the ‘Royal water’, which consists of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, is the only substance that has the ability to dissolve gold and turn it into a colored substance to paint other minerals.
He said that some consumers use unsafe methods to clean gold, which distort its external appearance or easily break it.
He pointed out to the prevalence of unsafe ways among women to clean gold jewelry, including the use of toothpaste and brush. Farag said that although this method is easy, it exposes the outer surfaces of gold jewelry to be scratched with frequent repetition.
Moreover, he referred to a number of safe methods to clean and polish gold jewelry, including heating gold with “potash” to boiling temperature in a glass or stainless steel container. It is preferable not to use aluminum containers because they interact with “potash” and affect the color of Gold.
Gold can be cleaned with some liquid detergent materials, using cotton.
Farag also underlined the need for consumers to clean and polish gold jewelry in the workshops, to prevent them from being scratched or broken, as they use safe materials and tools.
