JEWELRY CARE
Learn to care for your precious jewelry to maintain the longevity and brilliance of the piece. Stop in and talk with one of our repair specialists to learn more.
Well maintained and cared for jewelry can last lifetimes and become priceless family heirlooms. It's important to treat your jewelry with special care. It's often easy to overlook everyday things that, over time, contribute greatly to significant damage to your jewelry. Here are a few tips to implement to keep your treasures safe and sparkly for a lifetime!
General Jewelry Care
To properly care and maintain your jewelry, follow our key tips for jewelry care.
Your fine jewelry should always be the very last thing you put on and the very first thing you take off!
Always remove your jewelry before activities such as washing dishes, gardening, and swimming.
Don't forget to remove you jewelry before you sleep!
When storing your jewelry, be sure to store each item individually in either a protective box or plastic bag. It's important to prevent your jewelry from coming in contact with one another to avoid scratching and chipping the metals, gemstones and pearls.
Never soak your jewelry in chemicals - even designated jewelry cleaners. Chemicals can cause irreversible damage to metals and gemstones. When in doubt about how to clean and care for a particular piece of jewelry, give us a buzz to speak with one of our professionals.
Sterling Silver Care
Sterling silver jewelry has a tendency to tarnish but there are a few easy ways to keep your silver jewelry shining.
First and foremost, regular wear will help prevent tarnishing. Did you know that the natural oils in your skin help keep your silver jewelry clean? Proper storage will also help prevent tarnishing. Sterling silver jewelry should be stored individually in airtight zip bags.
We recommend using a polishing cloth or a mild soap and warm water mix to keep your silver jewelry clean.
As always, keep chemicals away from your silver jewelry and remove jewelry while cleaning, swimming, and using lotions, hairsprays, etc..
Pearl and Shell Jewelry
Stranded pearl necklaces - a classic favorite beauty! - are usually strung using fine silk and are individually hand-knotted between each pearl. This tedious technique is done for two primary reasons: to prevent damaging the pearls by rubbing against each other and to prevent the loss of all of the pearls in the event that the necklace breaks.
Not only are the pearls themselves fragile and susceptible to damage, the silk on which they're strung is delicate and must be properly handled to prevent loss or damage.
Remember, your jewelry should be the last thing you put on in the morning and the first thing you remove in the evenings.
Emeralds, Opals, and other soft Gemstones
The hardness and durability of gemstones is rated on a scale from 1-10. This scale is called the Mohs Hardness Scale. All gemstones should be treated with special care but the more soft gemstones such as Opals, Emeralds, and Tanzanites require special treatment.
Use a safe and mild at-home cleaning solution of a drop of mild soap mixed with warm water to gently clean your jewelry with a soft bristled brush.
Never, ever use a chemical cleaner or ultrasonic machine to clean jewelry with soft gemstones.
Avoid drastic temperature changes to prevent your gemstones from cracking. Opals still contain water and exposure to very dry air can cause opals to crack and break.
