| Firstly, always buy the best quality that you can afford - some jewellery may seem to be a bargain, but on inspection may be poorly made. We are proud to state that our jewellery is selected by our expert team, ensuring the quality of the products supplied to you.
Protection
Always protect your jewellery from sharp blows, scratching, chemicals, sunlight and heat/cold. Ideally, store your jewellery in a soft lined box or pouch. Try to keep pieces apart, so that they don't rub together or tangle up.
• Wear jewellery for appropriate tasks, avoid wearing rings when cleaning, gardening or performing sports activities.
• Don't let your jewellery come into contact with nail polish removers, perfume and hairspray.
• Clean your jewellery regularly, use a professional jewellery cleaning product.
• Never go swimming in your jewellery, chlorine in swimming pools can cause damage them.
Gold, Platinum & Silver Tips
Generally, the higher the carat weight of gold, the softer the metal. So that 9ct gold, being alloyed with other metals tends to be less resistant to scratching than say 22ct gold. Because gold is a soft metal and some manufacturers use this feature to "stretch" out the metal to produce a "showy" piece, but don't take into account the need for strength. The unsuspecting buyer thinks that they're buying a great piece of jewellery, only to find it going out of shape on the first wear.
Sterling silver will polish up by rubbing or buffing it with a soft cotton cloth or a Sunshine Cloth. If you store silver in plastic bags with an interlocking seal, it will be less prone to tarnish.
Gold, silver, and platinum score only 2 to 4 on the Moh's scale of hardness, sand is 7 on the Mohs scale, which means your precious metal is softer than sand and can be easily scratched.
Gemstone Tips
Gem stone hardness is based on a standard called the Mohs scale. The higher the Mohs scale number, the harder the stone is. When the Mohs scale was developed, early gemologists tried rubbing one stone against another to see which stone caused scratching on another. Quartz is rated at 7 on the Mohs scale, and that is why any gemstone with a rating of less than 7 is easily scratched.
Common stones that are damaged in sunlight, these include:
• Amethyst: becomes paler
• Ametrine: may change colour
• Aquamarine: becomes paler
• Aventurine: translucent types often lose colour
• Beryl: brown or orange types may change to pale pink
• Citrine: may change colour
• Kunzite: becomes pale or loses colour
• Rose Quartz: becomes paler
• Smoky Quartz: becomes paler
Gemset Jewellery
Check your jewellery to ensure that stones mounted in rings are not loose or rattle - if that's the case, visit your local jeweller before it's too late - it's much cheaper to have the prongs repaired than to replace a gemstone. Don't forget that the prongs of a ring can and do wear down. Prongs are easily "retipped" by most jewellers to keep the stone secure.
Swarovski Crystal Pearls
Store your pearl jewellery in its soft pouch or padded gift box separate from other jewelry to avoid scratches. An occasional buffing with a soft cloth will help maintain its original lustrous finish. Avoid exposing gold or rhodium plated metal parts to chemicals; reserve your jewellery as a finishing touch of your outfit, after using perfume or hair spray.
Swarovski Crystal Beads
We recommend washing Swarovski crystal by hand in lukewarm water to which a few drops of a mild dish detergent has been added. Then rinse under running water and dry with a soft, lint-free cloth to avoid spotting and lint spoiling the shine. Under no circumstances should any abrasive or corrosive detergents be used; glass or window-cleaning fluids should also be avoided, as they often cause streaking.
Beads
If you have beaded necklaces such as gemstone, or pearls, store them flat, preferably in a silk pouch. If the string breaks, let a professional jeweller restring them for you. Don't store pearls in plastic bags, always store in the box or silk pouch that they should be supplied with.
Costume & Fashion Jewellery
Gold or Silver plated items can vary considerably in quality and that can be reflected in their price. To be called Gold Plated, jewellery only needs to be coated in gold up to 1 micron. Better made products are usually coated upto 3 microns. Because precious metals are only coated onto base metal, the care instructions given above are even more relevant. |
