Jewellery Care Guide

The moment you purchase your Jewellery almost instantly you fall in love with that beautiful possession, it represents who you are and how special that piece of Jewellery makes you feel.  It is obvious you will want to care for it; let’s make your jewellery last a lifetime; here are some valuable tips.

Day-to-Day Care

Wear your Jewellery with pride and treat with love and care as its one of your valuable possession.  Almost all Jewellery should be kept away from chemicals such as perfumes, hairsprays, cosmetics, sunscreen lotions, moisturiser creams, detergents, washing up liquids, etc., you name it anything with chemicals, but please keep away from it. Or even better, always wear your jewellery at last when getting dressed. Take your jewellery off you when you are in the shower, saunas, spas, swimming pools or playing sports, or washing your hands, doing household cleaning, gardening etc. We recommended removing your jewellery when you doing any type of labour-intensive work while you may handle tools or machinery or when you are on the beach. Please note that chlorine may damage your jewellery.

Jewellery with special treatments such as matt, satin or different kind of finishes or plating should be worn occasionally to preserve their beauty. Jewellery is delicate, dropping them or knocking on a hard surface may damage them or chip away.

Clean your Jewellery

To retain the sheen and brilliance of your jewellery it should always be kept clean. With the exceptions of pearls and some semi-precious gemstone jewellery almost all types can be washed with warm soapy water, rinse them carefully in warm clean water and dry them with tissue and jewellery cleaning cloth also let them air dry completely before storage. A soft brush can be used for cleaning stone set jewellery with warm mildly soapy water.

Plain sterling silver jewellery without any surface finishes can be dip cleaned with a silver cleaning liquid.  If the silver dip is used, make sure to rinse them thoroughly with clean water and dry them completely before you wipe them with a silver cleaning cloth. Avoid silver dip on Rhodium plated, Gold plated, Oxidised or Enamelled jewellery as this can damage or discolour the plating or surface finish.

Safe Keeping your Jewellery

Keep your jewellery separately whenever possible, especially diamonds and precious gemstone jewellery. Always try and retain their original storage boxes and use a plastic airtight bag or soft fabric pouch to keep them securely and avoid any unexpected damages.  Before storing chains and necklaces ensure the clasp are fastened and the piece is laid flat, wrap them in tissue paper and keep them in the pouches.

Snake chains have an unusual semi-rigid form, which makes them susceptible to kinking, it is highly recommended that chains should be stored hanging up or carefully coiled to avoid being squashed inside the jewellery box or under any heavier items.

Gold Jewellery

18ct Gold Jewellery is usually the easiest to care from all metal type jewellery, being relatively softer than 14ct or 9ct Gold jewellery it is more vulnerable to scratches and scuffing and therefore recommended to be worn and store with similar carat weight metals to avoid the wearing away.

White Gold naturally has a slight yellow tint and is not as brilliant in colour as Platinum, although it’s a good substitute for Platinum, it is therefore platted with rhodium, a precious hard metal that has white lustrous shine with a non-tarnish quality, however, it does fade away over the years and therefore requires re-coating for your jewellery to look as bright as before.

They simply need cleaning with a soft cloth to take away any fingerprints and dust, store them separately in zip-locked plastic bags to avoid any abrasions. Over time they may need re-polishing depending on the degree of wear and tear.

Silver Jewellery

Sterling silver will naturally react to the atmosphere, so be kind to your jewellery. Silver jewellery has the natural tendency to tarnish when it comes in contact with the air or moisture. The sulphur elements present in the air develops a blacken coloured sulphide layer on your jewellery – which we call tarnish. Store your silver jewellery in airtight sealed bags with some desiccant and store away from sunlight and heat.  To clean the tarnish use the Silver polishing Cloth or by dipping them in Silver Dip followed by soaking them in plain water and wiping out clean and dry, Silver dips are available at Autumn and May. To keep your silver jewellery sparkling, wear them every day and they less likely to get tarnish. Avoid silver dip on Rhodium plated, Gold plated, Oxidised or Enamelled jewellery as this can damage or discolour the plating or surface finish.

Platinum Jewellery

Platinum is one of the rarest and hardest known metal, it has a beautiful white lustrous natural shine. Platinum jewellery is extremely hardwearing and the metal itself has outstanding resistance to corrosion and does not discolour, therefore it requires little or no care, hence most durable material for wedding rings, over the years it develops a natural patina and that can be polished away to make it looks as new as when you purchased it.

Palladium Jewellery

Palladium belongs to the Platinum family and is naturally silver white does not require rhodium plating. It is also considered as hardwearing, strong durable metal. Like Platinum, it develops a natural patina and requires polishing after a few years to make it look like brand new jewellery.

Titanium Jewellery

Titanium is very light yet one of the strongest metal in Jewellery. Titanium is hypoallergenic and kind to your skin.  Titanium jewellery may have a fine brushed finish, treat them with good care to avoid scratching. The anodised Titanium Jewellery with bright colours are great appealing. Restore the colours by washing in warm mild soapy water and drying with a soft tissue paper.

Pearl Jewellery

Looking after your pearl Jewellery does require little attention to detail due to its delicate nature. They can be cleaned with mildly soapy warm water, let it air dry completely before putting them away, Keep them in a moisture-proof area inside silk bags to avoid them getting scratched.

The strung Pearls should never be immersed in water, simply clean them with a soft lint-free cloth. Wear your Pearl jewellery frequently as the natural oils from your skin reacts with the Pearls enhancing their lustrous shine. Always use your creams and perfumes before you wear your pearl jewellery.

Amber Jewellery

Amber is a natural golden resin, soft and only slightly harder than talc and therefore should be treated tenderly. Amber jewellery should be kept away from hard objects, chemicals, perfumes, hair sprays, and detergents. Avoid extreme heat and light.  After use keeps them securely in soft material preferably silk bags. Amber jewellery can be cleaned using mild soap and warm water and then polish dry with a soft cloth. We are more than happy to give a professional cleaning for your Amber Jewellery here at Autumn and May.

Gemstone Jewellery

Precious and semi-precious Gemstones are natural minerals and by nature, they are vulnerable to man-made chemicals such as perfumes, hair sprays and detergents, some of the gemstones also gets damaged by constant exposure to water and sunlight. Keep them in soft bags, wipe them with soft lint-free cloth.  You should always look out for the stone settings and see if the stone appears secure otherwise you can always get it checked by us, Autumn and May provide all kinds of Gemstone Jewellery Repairs.

Snake Chains

Snake Chains are the sleek, fluid, and finest contemporary looking chain. Snake Chains have an unusual semi-rigid form, which can make them vulnerable to kinking. Careful storage is required to preserve the chains original shape. We recommend the snake chains to be stored hanging-up or carefully coiled and to avoid them being squashed in a jewellery box or under heavier items.