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Caring For Your Jewellery

Gold does not tarnish, but the things you put on your hands do. Most jewellery that looks tired is simply dirty.

Everyday

  • Put jewellery on last, after moisturiser, perfume and hairspray. Alcohol and oils dull a polished finish and collect under stones.
  • Take rings off before washing up, gardening, or the gym. Soap builds a film beneath a solitaire faster than anything else.
  • Chlorine attacks the alloys in gold. Remove pieces before a swimming pool or hot tub — not for the water, for the chlorine.
  • Store pieces apart. Diamond scratches everything, including other diamonds. A lined box with separate compartments is worth more than it costs.

Cleaning at home

Warm water, a drop of plain washing-up liquid, and a soft toothbrush. Soak for a few minutes, brush gently behind the stones where the dirt actually is, rinse and pat dry with a soft cloth. That is the whole method, and it works on nearly everything.

Do not use toothpaste, bicarbonate of soda, or any proprietary “jewellery dip” on porous or treated stones. Do not put emeralds, opals, pearls or anything glued rather than set into an ultrasonic cleaner.

By material

Gold

Higher purities are softer. 22K marks and bends more readily than 18K or 14K — that is a property of the metal, not a fault. Fine scratching on a well-worn piece is normal and polishes out.

White gold

White gold is yellow gold alloyed pale and then rhodium plated. The plating wears, usually first on the underside of a ring, and a warm tone shows through. Re-plating is routine: we do it for details to follow.

Platinum

Platinum does not wear away when scratched; the metal moves rather than being lost. Over years it develops a soft matte patina. Many people prefer it. If you do not, we can re-polish it back to bright.

Silver

Sterling silver tarnishes in air — that dark film is a sulphur reaction, not dirt. A silver polishing cloth removes it in seconds. Storing pieces in a closed bag with the air pressed out slows it considerably.

What we do for you

Bring anything you have bought from us back to the showroom and we will clean and check it at no charge, for as long as you own it. A check means examining claws under magnification and testing that stones are still tight — five minutes that prevents the loss of a stone.

We also handle resizing details to follow, re-polishing, re-plating and restringing. Insurance valuations are details to follow. Contact details to follow.

Have it checked

Once a year for anything worn daily. Claws wear thin, settings loosen, and a chain gives way at the link nearest the clasp. All of these are cheap to fix and expensive to ignore.