Jewellery Care

Your jewellery requires little care and attention to continually keep its elegance. Dust, pollution and daily wear may cloud the brilliance of a gemstone and dull the surface of your precious metal. Due to this, you should take extra care to protect your jewellery and always store it in a fabric-lined jewellery pouch or box, taking care not to drop, bash or scratch it.

Care tips

Sterling silver jewellery care

Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver and other metals, usually copper. Pure silver is too soft for everyday wear; therefore, copper is generally used to give it strength while at the same time preserving the ductility of the metal and its beauty.

Sterling silver becomes black because of hydrogen sulfide (sulfur), a substance that occurs in the air. When silver comes into contact with it, a chemical reaction takes place and a black layer is formed. Silver oxidizes faster in places with a lot of light and high humidity. Contrary to popular belief, silver jewellery turning black does not indicate that the jewellery is made of less silver content or no silver. Contact with products like cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, deodorant, body lotion, bleach, etc., can speed up the oxidizing process. Besides that, the natural oils that your skin produces can also react to your silver jewelry. The extent to which the silver reacts with these substances from your skin is highly dependent on the type of food you eat, alcohol consumption and whether you are taking medication. These things influence the acidity of your skin, which can cause a reaction. Also sweat (which ammonia occurs in) raises the acidity of the skin and could tarnish the silver. The oxidation of silver jewellery is a sign that the piece of jewellery is silver. Other (noble) metals oxidize differently.

 
Cleaning

Clean your silver jewellery in warm soapy water, ensuring to rinse and dry thoroughly before storing. Alternatively, polish your silver jewellery with a soft cloth or a silver polishing cloth.

Gold jewellery care

Pure gold is the only precious metal that will not tarnish. However, it is still a relatively soft metal that can scratch easily. The higher the gold karat, the softer the metal; for example, 14 Karat gold is more resistant to scratching than 18 Karat gold. We recommend wearing rings of the same karat together, such as an 18-karat wedding ring and an 18-karat engagement ring.

Cleaning
Gold should be cleaned regularly to maintain its beauty. A soft, lint-free cloth or more preferably, a gold polishing cloth is an effective way to keep gold jewellery looking its best.

Platinum jewellery care

Derived from the Spanish term ‘platina del Pinto’ which translates to ‘little silver of the Pinto river’. Platinum has a naturally silvery-white appearance and does not require rhodium plating like white gold. A very dense, malleable and precious metal, platinum is resistant to corrosion and incredibly hard wearing. This makes it more suitable for everyday wear. However, you should still take relevant precautions to prevent avoidable scratches.  

 

Cleaning
You should clean your platinum 
jewellery with a mild soapy water solution and a soft bristle brush. Over time platinum jewellery develops a natural patina but this can be easily polished. 
  

Gemstone jewellery care

A gemstone is a mineral that is highly valued due to its beauty, durability, and rarity. A few non-crystalline organic materials, such as pearl, coral, and amber, are also classified as gemstones. The Mohs scale measures the hardness of gemstones; the higher the number on the scale, the harder the stone. It is important to consider this factor when cleaning, wearing, and storing your gemstone jewellery.

 

Cleaning
The buildup of hand cream, fingerprints, and general grime is typical of your most cherished jewellery, and can easily be cleaned. As a rule of thumb, gemstones at 7 and above on the Mohs scale can be cleaned with warm water, a touch of mild soap and a soft brush. For gemstones less than 7, swap the soft brush for a soft cloth.

MOHS Scale

Devised by the German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs, this scale is a means of grading the relative hardness of minerals. Using ten common minerals, Mohs put them in order of their ‘scratchability’; placing talc at 1 and diamond at 10. Quite simply, each mineral will scratch the ones below it, and be scratched by those above it.

MineralHardness
Talc1
Gypsum2
Calcite3
Fluorite4
Apatite5
Orthoclase6
Quartz7
Topaz8
Corundum9
Diamond10