Jewellery Care Tips – How to take care of your jewels

Few realise that they can preserve their treasures with a little advanced planning and a bit of forethought. Here are some basic guidelines to consider when wearing jewellery:

Household chores

It’s a good rule to always remove all your jewellery before tackling your chores to prevent damage or exposure to chemicals or cleaning fluids. This includes kitchen work, gardening, cleaning the house and other common tasks.

Swimming pools and spas

Chlorinated water can react with the metals. Silver and gold can change colour and it may even cause structural damage. Remove your jewellery before entering the pool or spa. Sea water can also oxidise and darken your metal jewellery, especially silver. If you do happen to forget, rinse and clean it thoroughly soon after.

Make up and fragrances

Cosmetics, hairspray, perfumes and lotion may contain chemicals that can damage jewellery. Putting jewellery on afterwards will limit their exposure and reduce any potential damage.

Contact sports

Bodily contact during sporting activities can easily damage jewellery and inflict painful injuries. All jewellery should be removed before play begins.

Cleaning

If you wear your jewellery regularly, keeping them clean and looking good does require a bit of effort. But it is worth it.

• Remove jewellery before bathing

Remove all your jewellery before showering or bathing. Bath soap forms a film which will make them appear dull. Remember that old adage that prevention is better than cure – and it reduces the frequency of cleaning.

• Careful cleaning habits

Cleaning your own jewellery can keep it looking good, but be careful. You can purchase a commercial cleaner from a jeweller or you can opt to make your own non-abrasive cleaning solution.

Take care as bleach can destroy jewellery so avoid it at all costs. A really easy way is to soak your jewels for few minutes in a mixture of sunlight liquid and ammonia which is suitable for stones and metal. Dilute this mixture with some warm water. Use a soft toothbrush to remove grime, followed by a gentle blow with your hairdryer.

Please note: Pearls must always only be cleaned with a warm solution of sunlight liquid. Never brush them and no alcohol solution should be used.

• Damaged items of jewellery

Never clean any jewellery that is damaged, cracked or broken. The additional handling is likely to exacerbate the problem. If you find that a piece is damaged, it should be set aside for repair as soon as possible.

We hope these jewellery care tips were useful – But if you are not sure, please contact us before you start your own cleaning. More importantly, you are always welcome to bring in your Scarab jewellery purchases for free cleaning and polishing.