How to Care for Your Jewellery
925 Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is a gorgeous white metal and an affordable choice for many but unfortunately can tarnish, oxidise and ultimately lose its shine. To make sure you’re looking after your sterling silver jewellery, follow these simple tips:
- Take care when wearing your silver jewellery, a lot of high street pieces will be rhodium plated (like white gold) but unfortunately this is unsustainable for small businesses and not cost-effective for our customers so do take care when wearing your silver pieces. E.g. if you’re travelling then consider keeping your pieces in a travel jewellery box and taking them off whenever doing any heavy lifting or manual work;
- Store silver jewellery separately from other jewellery to prevent it from scratching or rubbing against other metal surfaces, unfortunately it can scuff easily. You can also store silver jewellery in airtight containers, anti-tarnish bags, or with anti-tarnish tabs;
- Clean it regularly with a soft cloth or a jewellery cleaning solution designed specifically for silver. You can also clean your silver jewellery with a mixture of warm water and washing up liquid with a soft toothbrush which is also good for cleaning any nooks and crannies (particularly useful for any of our granulated pieces!);
- Avoid exposing silver to chemicals such as chlorine and ammonia, so no wearing gorgeous jewellery in the swimming pool or when cleaning please! Also remember to put your jewellery on after perfumes, make up and other beauty products;
- Don’t sweat it! Sweat can also tarnish jewellery – I understand the need to look amazing in the gym or on your run etc. but if you (unlike me) look good in the gym then just think how amazing you’ll look outside of the gym, especially in your gorgeous tarnish-free jewellery!;
- Avoid water, make sure you remove your silver jewellery when washing your hands, bathing and cleaning as exposure to water can cause tarnishing. Consider investing in some washing up gloves for doing the dishes or simply get someone else to do it!;
- Polish when needed, if you haven’t followed any of the tips above or time has just taken its toll and it becomes tarnished then you can use a silver polish or a silver polishing cloth to restore its shine and help with any minor scratches. For any big scuffs or scratches that you can’t get out yourself then please do get in touch as I offer a polishing service.
All of our sterling silver pieces sold are finished with a thin, clear coat of Renaissance Wax which helps to protect it from tarnishing and oxidising to help keep your silver pieces tarnish-free for as long as possible!
9kt Gold
Karats (kt) are how gold is measured within the metal, pure gold is 24 out of 24 karats, 9kt gold is 37.5% gold and the rest of the metal is made up of other alloys. 9kt gold is the lowest karat allowed in the UK to be considered and sold as ‘gold’. The higher the karat, the more gold is in the piece but as a naturally soft metal, it also means the higher the karats, the softer it is making 9kt gold a great metal for everyday wear. I wouldn’t recommended wearing above 18kt gold on a daily basis because it is a softer material and can easily damage and be bent out of shape.
Much of its care is the same as silver so please follow the same tips as above, but 9kt gold will keep it’s colour although it can lack it’s lustre over the years so is likely to need a professional polish at some point in its life. It doesn’t scratch as easily (this is why gold and platinum are better choices for wedding jewellery as opposed to silver) but it can still scratch, especially if worn against silver pieces. As with any piece of jewellery do remember to take off your pieces if exercising, washing, doing manual work etc. (and remember to put it back on after, especially if you’re in a public place!!).
I’d encourage anyone to take their jewellery off at night to avoid damage, especially for any stone set pieces as this increases the risk of losing a stone in a place which will be really hard to find it! Consider investing in a nice jewellery holder or box to keep on your bedside or wherever you get ready in the morning to store it and remember to put it on in the morning!
Chains
The above advice will apply to chains but they have a special mention because they tend to be more delicate as they are made up of lots of small links.
Take care when storing your chain because it can get tangled easily, a well made chain will have its links and jump rings (used to connect the chain to a pendant and the clasp) soldered to strengthen it as much as possible but may have one unsoldered ring in case of an emergency, especially for thick chains. Make sure you take the piece off to sleep and in any situations where it could get caught easily to avoid as much damage to yourself and the chain as possible!
Gemstone Care Guide
We’ve put together a simple, quick reference guide to gemstones that we use in our pieces and are a bit more commonly used. Please still do your own research though and the below guide assumes that there are no inclusions or fractures in the stone and that it is not heat treated to start with. If you know of any of these, or are unsure if your stone is affected then please get it checked first before attempting to clean your piece.
Whenever cleaning your pieces, make sure not to move them from cold to hotter water too quickly as some will suffer themal shock which could crack the stone, even if there are no inclusions or fractures already. Also be cautious of exposing any stone to direct sunlight for large amounts of time as a lot of stone’s colours can fade!