It’s inevitable that there will be some wear and tear with jewellery, but sometimes items can become damaged because of avoidable mistakes.
It can be devastating if you cause unnecessary scratches to your necklaces because you haven’t stored them correctly, or you break a bracelet because you wore it playing sport, or you lose a stone because you’ve cleaned a ring too vigorously.
Here are some easy steps to follow to prevent causing damage to your precious items.
Store your jewellery properly
It’s vital to store your jewellery carefully if you want your pieces to look their best. If you have several items of jewellery thrown together in the same box or bag, the pieces can rub together and create micro scratches. It’s a good idea to keep each item in its own mini pouch, otherwise you can wrap them in pieces of tissue or fabric.
Long necklaces can be difficult to store as they can get tangled and can be damaged if the necklace is rubbing against itself. To avoid these issues, wrap a long necklace in fabric such as a silk scarf or a piece of tissue. Lay the necklace down on the fabric and roll it up in the cloth - then you can fold the necklace over to store it, which ensures the necklace is not going to scratch. It also means the necklace is much easier to put on when you take it out, as you don’t have to battle with a tangled mess.
At Orsini we can recommend beautiful jewellery boxes, which are available for purchase. These can be ordered in a multitude of sizes and colours, in soft leather or embroidered.
Don’t wear your jewellery for physical activity
This may seem like common sense, but it’s so easy to forget to remove your jewellery in situations where it could get damaged, like when you’re at the gym. It’s particularly important to remove your rings if you’re doing physical activity which involves holding onto equipment, such as lifting weights. If you’d rather not remove your jewellery, consider wearing gloves to avoid causing friction with your rings.
Clean your jewellery correctly
You’ve probably seen ultrasonic jewellery cleaners advertised but don’t be tempted to buy one - they are notorious for cleaning jewellery too vigorously to the point where stones can loosen and fall out.
At Orsini, we use a gentle bubble ionic cleaner, which cleans diamond jewellery beautifully and is safe enough to even use for pearls. We are happy to clean a piece of your jewellery in our ionic cleaner if you bring it in store, or you can purchase your own kit. We recommend the Speedbrite ionic jewellery cleaner, which is available to buy online. It’s particularly useful for restoring gold jewellery which has oxidised and turned a darker orange-yellow colour.
Another simple trick for cleaning jewellery such as engagement rings is to use a soft-bristled baby’s toothbrush to gently scrub your jewellery with warm water and detergent. With engagement rings, most of the dirt usually accumulates beneath the diamond, so this technique is a good way to remove that grime from hard-to-reach areas.
Have your white gold jewellery re-plated with rhodium
White gold rings are plated with a thin coating of rhodium to give them their bright, pure white appearance. If your white gold rings have lost their lustre and are looking a little yellow, it might be time to have your jewellery rhodium plated again. This is a service we offer at Orsini.
