Jewellery Cleaning & Care Guide
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on jewellery care, where we share expert tips to keep your precious pieces sparkling for generations. Proper maintenance ensures your jewellery remains as stunning as the day you acquired it. From daily wear to special occasions, understanding how to clean, store, and protect your jewellery is paramount. Learn about common mistakes to avoid and suggestions to maintain brilliance and longevity in your pieces. Elevate your jewellery care routine and preserve the beauty and value of your cherished pieces with our insightful advice.
General Care:
- Store your jewellery safely when you’re not wearing it by keeping it in a fabric-lined jewellery box or within an airtight container in a cool and dry place.
- We would suggest a light cleaning after every use and keeping your jewels in a sealed bag or airtight container when not being worn. Gentle and regular cleaning with a soft, lint-free cloth will keep your jewellery looking its best and help with any natural tarnishing.
- We recommend removing your jewellery before showering, bathing or swimming as contact with water can cause damage. If it gets wet, wipe jewellery dry and buff it to a polished finish using a soft, non-abrasive cloth such as a microfibre cloth.
- Certain chemicals contained in regular household cleaners can cause damage to any stones and discolouration to the metal. You shouldn’t use these to clean your jewellery. Avoid wearing your jewellery when using household cleaners or bleach.
- We would heavily suggest removing your jewellery when going swimming because chemicals such as chlorine can weaken the structure of the piece and lead to premature breakage.
- Skin and hair products such as perfumes, lotions or sun creams should be applied and allowed to dry before putting jewellery on, as moisture can cause tarnishing and discolouration.
- Keep jewellery away from extreme temperatures, humidity and direct sunlight as these can all cause discolouration and increase tarnishing.
- Handle delicate pieces with care to prevent tangling or scratching while wearing and cleaning.
- Remove your jewellery before partaking in any practical activities or any type of exercise.
- Do not subject your jewellery to any excess stress or pressure.
- We do not recommend sleeping in any jewellery:
- Chains and bracelets can tangle, causing damage to the links.
- Earrings can get caught and cause damage to the earring and your ear lobe.
- Ring settings can catch on bed clothes and bedding which can weaken/lift claws meaning you may lose a gemstone.
Our Cleaning Cloths
Our cleaning cloths are specially treated to have your jewellery gleaming in no time! The combination of the treatment and the fabric of the cloth not only removes signs of tarnishing, but also will help prevent tarnishing in the future. See instant results with either of our jewel cloth or our silver cloth. Just pick the cloth that suits your jewellery best: our silver cloth is perfect for silver and silver-plated jewellery, whereas our jewel cloth works wonders on metals like platinum and gold that contain diamonds, rubies and sapphires.
Shop our range of cleaning cloths by clicking here.
Caring For Different Metals
White Gold
White gold is not a naturally occurring metal, white gold items are plated with rhodium to give its signature cool toned colour. Over time this rhodium plating wears away and you may notice a champagne hue coming through underneath. Don’t worry though, our trained jewellers will be able to re-rhodium plate your white gold jewellery to bring back that brilliant white sparkle! You can also use our Jewel Cleaning Cloth to clean your white gold jewellery at home.
Gold
Gold has always been a popular choice for jewellery. Fortunately, by taking proper care of your gold jewellery, you can ensure that it lasts a lifetime. Because gold is a soft metal, it can scratch or dent easily. Frequent cleans with our Jewel Cleaning Cloth will help maintain the lustre of your gold jewellery for years to come.
Silver
Sterling silver jewellery naturally tarnishes over time, however regular gentle cleaning will keep it looking fresh for years to come. After gold, silver is the most malleable and ductile metal known. Silver is a soft metal, so can be easily shaped and can be stretched in to wire to make chains but this does mean it’s also susceptible to scratching. Our Silver Cleaning Cloth can be used to remove and prevent tarnishing on your silver jewellery.
Does your jewellery need a little extra TLC?
Whilst taking care of your jewellery at home helps to maintain its shine, it is a good idea to have your jewellery professionally cleaned annually (maybe as an anniversary gift). Here at William May, our jewellers are able to offer this service. Our skilled experts will inspect your item, clean it up, and then return it to you gleaming and revitalised. During this time, they will also assess its overall condition and suggest any necessary maintenance to prolong its lifespan.
To schedule a clean and polish for your jewellery, simply fill in the form below and a member of our team will get back to you with an initial quote.
