Taking Care Of Your Jewellery

Enjoying the sparkle and shine of your perfect piece of jewellery is a lot of fun. But unfortunately almost all jewellery is susceptible to the elements, and can become damaged and dirty over time - so how do you keep your jewellery looking it's best?

Maintaining the sparkle in a piece of jewellery that was first there when you purchased it, is something we all have to make an effort to do. Unfortunately jewellery is not self-cleaning!

Jewellery, especially wedding rings or engagement rings, can be easily damaged or dirtied through every day wear and tear. However, there are many ways to put the sparkle back into your jewellery you once fell in love with, in a few quick and easy steps.

Here's a couple of general tips firstly to prevent wear and tear:

• Take care wearing prong or claw set jewells with loose clothing or delicate items - these can easily get caught, damaging your clothing and gathering fibres in the jewellery itself.
• Try to protect your jewellery as much as possible from every day scratches, heavy knocks and chemicals during everyday wear.
• Remove your jewellery during household work such as DIY, gardening, cleaning or similar activities where it could become damaged.
• This includes wearing jewellery when washing up, or in the shower, bath, hot tub or whilst swimming. Chemicals such as chlorine can especially damage stones and even precious metals.
• Be careful not to spray anything on your jewellery such as hairspray or perfume - this can stick to your jewellery and cause it to lose both it's smoothness and shine.
• You should also store your jewellery pieces separately where possible, as this helps to prevent scratches.

No matter how much care you take to keep your rings clean, unfortunately they will inevitably attract dirt from your skin and general environment. There are however, numerous quick and easy ways to keep your jewellery clean.

Firstly when cleaning jewellery, care should always be taken to ensure you are cleaning your jewellery in a safe place. So stay away from sinks or anywhere you can lose it!

How you do clean your jewellery is of course dependent on metal, stone and design.

Cleaning your jewellery...

Grime and dirt can accumulate quickly on jewellery through daily wear, resulting in your diamond or precious stone losing a bit of it's signature sparkle. To give it a quick clean you should use a thick, soft cloth to give it a gentle scrub which should restore some of its shine. You should never ever use any harsh material such as scouring pads! This will badly scratch most soft metals which includes silver and gold.

If you want a deeper clean, it is also worth giving your jewellery a longer clean at home. There are many ways to do this which are simple and do not take much time at all. You may decide to buy a specialist cleaning item, but you should always make sure that you read the label very carefully to ensure that you are using the right product for your metal and/or stone.

If you do not want to buy a commercial product, you can easily clean your jewellery with everyday products. Using Fairy Liquid is an easy way! To clean silver, gold or diamond jewellery, fill a bowl (remember to avoid any open plugholes!) with warm water (not boiling), add a pinch of Fairy Liquid and leave your item to soak for 30-40 minutes. Then take a clean, soft bristle toothbrush or soft cloth to clean around the piece of jewellery. Dry the piece with a soft, dry cloth and you should be left with a nice sparkle.

Stay clear of using anything else to clean your jewellery i.e. vodka or vinegar, as some of these can (despite popular belief) damage gemstones or erode metals.

It is also a good idea to have a professional jeweller take a look at your jewellery once in a while. They will be able to clean your jewellery professionally, whilst also inspecting it to make sure nothing needs adjusting or replacing.