Jewellery Care

Our jewellery is built to last, but proper care will help it last forever. Getting your jewellery cleaned once a year is a good idea: it keeps it looking its shiniest and gives a trained professional the opportunity to check it for damage that you might not notice. In between annual cleanings, however, you can keep it looking its best at home by following this advice.

Storing your jewellery

Wrap individual pieces in tissue or cloth, or put them in separate compartments in a jewellery box. You need to be especially careful with pearls, which are soft and will scratch more easily than gems and metals. Hang on to boxes, bags and wraps that your jewellery comes in, they’re often the best way to store your jewellery in order to protect pieces from damage and dirt.

Reducing wear and tear

We know you know how to wear jewellery but here are a few bits of advice to help reduce wear and tear:

Put jewellery on after applying makeup, perfume, and hair products.
Handle gems and pearls as little as possible; the natural oils on your skin can dull the stone.
Remove bracelets and rings if you’re doing any manual labour, including housework.
Remove earrings when your hair is being styled, to keep them from getting caught on combs or brushes. And never wear pearl earrings or necklaces when you’re having your hair coloured – the chemicals can damage the pearls’ sheen.

Cleaning the metal

Rubbing alcohol will dissolve some of the stickier grime on metal mountings – but never use it on pearl jewellery. Simple soap and water and a very soft brush also works well.  Dry your jewellery with a soft, lint-free cloth that won’t leave fuzz or threads behind.

Cleaning gemstones

Even clean-looking diamonds are likely to have a sheen of natural oils from your skin. They’ll sparkle much more after you clean them. Use a soft-bristled, non-metallic brush and a solution of dish detergent and water, or mild ammonia and water, and gently scrub them, before rinsing in a wire strainer and patting dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Use a bowl rather than cleaning in the sink as you don’t want your favourite piece to be caught in the drain.
Some gems, especially emeralds, are actually enhanced by oils, so don’t rub them too hard. We can also re-oil them for you if you feel that the colour is fading.

Be careful not to use just any jewellery cleaner; it needs to be non-abrasive. You can purchase a specialist jewellery cleaning solution from our website click here .

Ultrasonic cleaners clean jewellery with sound waves which shake off dirt. However, they can also cause serious damage to gemstones, so we advise avoiding them unless they’ve been supplied by your jeweller.