Your jewelry collection is something that you want to last for years to come. Each and every piece is a precious reflection of yourself and your experiences, so you want to be able to keep them in the very best condition possible. Regardless of how well you keep your collection, every piece needs a little bit of care every now and then. Hauling all your jewelry to a professional cleaner or jeweler is a costly and time-consuming endeavor, so knowing how to properly maintain and care for your jewelry is a must:
Occasional Cleaning
This is a very simple measure to take. Sometimes, dull or worn looking metal wear just needs a quick wash! Run your jewelry under lukewarm water and if needed use a gentle, natural soap. To really remove any grime, use a soft natural toothbrush or a soft cloth to get in all the crevices. Be wary not to leave your jewelry wet or damp, dry it immediately to avoid any sort of erosion or damage to your beautiful items.
Be Mindful When You’re Wearing
Jewelry suffers the most wear-and-tear when it’s being worn. Minimize the damage to your collection by putting on your pieces last. This will avoid any chemicals from perfume, products or SPF making direct contact with your items. Extra measures you can take include putting on your earrings after your hair is styled, to avoid any serums or hairbrushes damaging them, and putting on jewelry after dressing. This will stop any tugging on materials, caring for all elements of your outfit!
Always remove your jewelry in the shower or bath, forgetting to do this will cause it to tarnish faster.
Store Separately
Storing your jewelry properly is essential to keeping it in good condition. Too often, expensive metals and stones are thrown all together in jewelry boxes or cotton bags, forgotten about until the next occasion. This is undoubtedly tempting to do after a long day or night, but leaving your collection like this will ultimately harm every single item in there.
Different metals and stones have different density and hardness. This means that they can scratch one another, and your softer metals can experience a lot of damage. Softer items involve high karat gold, and harder ones are your gemstones and diamonds. Store your jewelry in separate areas, a box with ring separators, lots of pull out drawers and good quality, soft felt interiors should keep everything safe.
Remember that sunlight and dust are bad for your collection, by tucking them away they’ll stay in pristine condition!
Remove Tarnish
Metal can tarnish as the years go by, but this doesn’t mean that you need to give up on a treasured piece just yet! Use a microfibre soft cloth or a very fine wire cloth to gently buff away any tarnishing that might have occurred. If you really want to shine up your metal, you can find a specific cleaner that will help to bring it back to life. Avoid any product that contains harsh chemicals, this will do more harm than good!
Check your Jewelry Regularly
Have a good check of your collection once or twice a year to stay on top of its condition.
Be sure to invest in gorgeous, high-quality jewelry, Australia sourced, designed and made pieces will never let you down!
