Cleaning verdigris from gold?

Hello everyone. I have two brooches, one that I believe is an antique high karat gold etruscan revival brooch with rock crystals, the other an antique amethyst (paste stone?) with seed pearls brooch that might be made of gold, gold gilt or gold plated silver. These both show verdigris and I would like to learn how to remove it safely without damaging the brooches and pearls. I considered going to the jeweller but I had no time for this and I would rather learn their methods if I can replicate them. I might add photos of the brooches if I take some of them... Many thanks for any advice!

 

Try a little vinegar on a Q-tip/cotton bud. Make sure it doesn't touch the pearls.
If the vinegar doesn't work, rub the areas with verdigris with olive oil, again, don't touch the pearls. Leave the olive oil for a while, then try the vinegar on cotton bud again to remove verdigris and oil.
You can repeat this if necessary.
Good luck!

 

I didn't think gold got verdigris, only baser metals so you want to be careful if they're just gold plated that it doesn't come off with the cleaner.

 

Always rinse and dry immediately after using vinegar, I forgot to say that.

 

If it's in gaps and such, I'd start with a wooden toothpick and just scrape it out. Sometimes solder and such had copper in it. For larger areas, what she said.

 

Gold can get verdigris--I just cleaned a 14K shell cameo with greenies at the edges of the bezel. I used mineral oil and a Q-tip but a toothpick would work, too!

 

Hey AJ, thank you for the tips! And sorry for the late reply, I got caught in something and forgot to log in back

I cleaned the brooch with seed pearls and amethyst (paste?...) with vinegar and a Q-tip, being as careful as I could. It removed some of the verdigris but not all. I had more luck with cleaning like 90-95% of the verdigris from the gold rock crystal brooch but the water and soap got behind the foiled rock crystals... did a triple rinse and placed the brooch upside-down on an absorbent kitchen napkin to get the most moisture out.

 

In my experience, it is not uncommon for antique shell cameos to have a brass collar around them, even though the more decorative parts of the mount may be gold.