The Ultimate Jewellery Care Guide

It is fantastic to own jewellery. On one level, there is something special about owning beauty. It is also a piece of luxury. More often than not, these items also carry resonance in our life – to a person we loved or loved or to a memorable moment. Caring for your jewellery is, therefore, important on many levels. Yet, the internet is overflowing with almost too much advice. Experts here and there offer wonderful tips and tricks. Our endeavour here is to collate the best of these tips into one place.

Keeping your jewellery clean

Step one in caring for jewellery is keeping it clean. Jewellery can become tarnished and suffer from a build-up of grime. Left unchecked, this dirt can decrease the life of the piece. Obviously, you can buy a jeweller’s cleaning kit or take your piece of jewellery to a specialist. If the jewellery is highly valued, in money or sentiment, this might be a wise choice.

However, there are some do-it-yourself routines that you can do at home that can care for them. For instance, silver and gold will respond well to soapy water, especially if you lather the soap up and make the warm water bubbly. Then, lay your jewellery in this solution for ten minutes or so. Make sure you dry the jewellery thoroughly with a microfibre cloth. Alternatively, place your gold and silver in warm water and add some salt, stirring it so that the salt dissolves. Then, add some aluminium foil strips to saline to encourage a chemical reaction that leaves your metals shining once more.

Gemstones are all a little different in how they liked to be clean. However, some mild detergent in warm water will often do the trick. On the other hand, the resin is not waterproof and does not respond well to chemicals or high temperatures. Using a soft cloth and a polish will bring the resin back to life again.

Remember when cleaning, not to use lemon juice or toothpaste. Lemon juice is surprisingly acidic and abrasive to some porous stones. Toothpaste is equally quite a harsh cleaning tool – and while using a toothbrush to remove the grime in links and chains, avoid the paste.

Store your jewellery appropriately

It is all too easy to walk in and cast our jewellery onto the dresser and not bother to put it away. However, casually tossed jewellery has a habit of breaking or losing bits along the way. Therefore, invest in two or three jewellery boxes. Why more than one? Well, certain metals, when lying together, do not react well. So, you should have separate compartments for different types of jewellery. Ideally, precious stones should be stored in velvet pouches or covered over with material.

It is also important to stop those chains, bracelets and necklaces from becoming tangled. So, purchasing a necklace tree is a great way to keep these items tangle-free and make selected the most appropriate piece simple.

Check for and prevent damage

There are things you can do to stop the damage to your jewellery that you might fear. First, to prevent catastrophic failure, such as the loss of a gem from a ring, check the claws, and if any are missing, take the piece to a jeweller for mending. Equally, take time to review the backs of the earrings to ensure that the fittings are still solid. In short, take time to inspect areas of potential failures – such as the clasp on watches and bracelets.

You can also prevent damage by taking the jewellery off before sleeping, exercising, or showering. You should also apply body lotions, hand creams, and perfumes before you put your jewellery on. By adding it while you are wearing your jewellery, you will accelerate the build-up of dirt and grime, especially in the links, hinges, and connections.

To prevent your jewellery from tarnishing, you should keep it out of damp air. Moisture causes gold and silver to react and go black. By drying jewellery if it gets wet and by using gel silica packets in your jewellery box, gold and silver will keep their shine.

Periodic check by a professional

Depending on the piece’s value, you would be wise to protect your investment by taking it to the jeweller. A specialist will be able to check for the damage and clean it professionally. They will spot a lost hinge or a broken claw and prevent larger disasters from happening. While our everyday jewellery might not need this care, those pieces that carry family memories or are worth ever-increasing amounts deserve this professional care.

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