jewellery care

General care of your jewellery

Professional cleaning and checking is encouraged once a year, depending on how often you wear your jewellery.Diamond, sapphire, ruby, topaz, spinel, iolite, tourmaline, garnet and quartz jewellery can be cleaned at home with a solution of dishwashing liquid and ammonia diluted in warm water and applied with a soft toothbrush.

Examine your jewellery regularly to make sure, stones are not loose, clasps and joinings are secure, and stringing is not worn and fraying. Claw settings are particularly vulnerable, if a claw is hit or snagged, they may loosen, risking the loss of a gemstone.

Take care to protect your jewellery from impact against hard surfaces and avoid contact with abrasive surfaces. Even a diamond can chip or break, if hit with the right force on the right angle.

Avoid exposing gold to household bleach, which will cause gold to discolour and disintegrate.

Sterling silver tarnishes when exposed to salt air, to remove tarnish a non abrasive silver polish cloth is recommended.

All jewellery should be stored separately in the box it came in or in a suitably lined box or pouch, as gemstones can scratch each other as well as metal.

Care must be taken with amber, coral, lapis lazuli, malachite, opal and turquoise to avoid sudden temperature change, and exposure to cosmetics, hair spray, and perfume or house hold chemicals.

Caring for your pearl jewellery

Strands need to cleaned and restrung if worn regularly.
Avoid all contact with cosmetics, hairspray, perfume and house hold chemicals.
Rings are not to be worn daily, due to the softness of the pearl.