If you are planning on selling your jewelry or using it as collateral in a deal, you will need to make sure that you take the time to untangle it. You may have inherited a tangle of jewelry that is going to be virtually worthless to you unless you can separate all of the individual chains. Here are some tips for untangling those necklaces so that they become valuable again.
1. Use Baby Oil
The first thing that you want to do is use baby oil to loosen up the various parts of the chain. Baby oil will act as a decent lubricant without causing your chains to rust out or have any other problems. This is especially important if you are trying to make sure that you don't damage the materials so that you can resell them. In order to fully apply baby oil without making the chain too slippery for you to hold to untangle the knot, put a tiny amount of oil on a q-tip. Then, apply that q-tip to the center of the knot. Keep moving outward, applying more oil until you can slip apart the various necklaces with relative ease. If you find that you have added too much oil, use a napkin or other piece of paper to daub off the excess oil. Then, apply a pinch of baby powder to soak up the rest.
2. Use a Pin
Using a straight pin or even a sewing needle with a small piece of string attached to it can help you separate chains that are too difficult or too tightly wound for your larger fingers to deal with. This will allow you to separate the most critical, but most difficult parts of the knot and allow you to eventually loosen the entire thing.
3. Work From the Center Out
Finally, reserve the bulk of your untangling efforts to the center of the knot because this is where all of your problems are stemming from. Loosen various parts of the knot in the center and pull them away from the center. Then, you will be able to see where the various parts of the chains have started to overlap and take steps to resolve the issue.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in buying jewelry or accepting it as collateral. They might be less strict about how knotted the necklace chains can be if you explain your situation. If a chain is damaged while you're trying to untangle your jewelry, contact a company that specializes in jewelry repair for assistance.
