CARING FOR & CLEANING 925 STERLING SILVER JEWELLERY

Refrain from wearing jewellery when doing housework, cleaning, swimming, gym or washing. If you bump a silver ring against various surfaces you’ll come into contact with it may leave a scratch, It’s best to take the ring off to perform tasks that require excessive use of your hands.

If you are planning on using any chemicals we advise your remove your silver jewellery. Don’t allow it to come into contact with any harsh chemicals, or even perfumes and oils. 

You shouldn’t subject sterling silver jewellery to high temperatures or grease. The high temperatures will make you sweat, which may lead to tarnishing. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The copper in the alloy reacts to the sulphur compounds in the air (Sulphur Dioxide is a major component of air pollution) by tarnishing (oxidizing).

We believe cleaning silver jewellery should be reserved for those times when there really is no other way to make the piece wearable. We like to think of a commercial silver cleaning solution that removes tarnish the way you would think of bleach. Bleach helps to remove stains ... but takes the colour from the fabric along with the stain. We use solutions like this rarely - basically as a last resort to remove stubborn tarnish.

In the first instance for cleaning light dirt and restoring shine we would recommend using a Jewellers rouge cloth to polish your jewellery, this type of cloth is safe for use on jewellery containing organic and soft gems. First rub the jewellery with the rouge cloth. Then give it a sparkling polish with the yellow cloth. This will remove the tarnish but leave that nice patina, and make your silver jewellery shine. Wash your silver jewellery after cleaning or polishing to remove all traces of polish and cleaner.

For a delicate clean to remove light tarnishing and moderate dirt we recommend using kitchen cupboard staple Tomato Ketchup. Use a grape sized amount of ketchup and a tooth brush to gently polish your jewellery for about 2 minutes, The aciditity in the ketchup will remove and dirt and grime as well as tackling any light tarnishing, to finish simply rinse the jewellery with some washing up liquid and warm water, to achieve a nearly new shine use the above mentioned polishing cloth to finish. 

If you need to clean a deeply tarnished piece of jewellery, a commercially available solution will work well, but is not recommended regulary. If you do this, remember  - your silver needs to be washed well and polished after cleaning. These solutions generally will clean gemstones, also ... but only the harder, non porous stones - quartz, including citrine and amethyst, natural topaz, ruby and sapphire, and diamond. Don't use these solutions on emeralds or "mystic" topaz. Do not use these solutions on pieces that contain soft or organic gems, including - but not limited to - turquoise, malachite, opals, ammonite, shell, coral or pearls.

CARING FOR & CLEANING GOLD PLATED JEWELLERY

Refrain from wearing jewellery when doing housework, cleaning, swimming, gym or washing. If you bump a plated ring against various surfaces you’ll come into contact with it may leave a scratch, It’s best to take the ring off to perform tasks that require excessive use of your hands.

If you are planning on using any chemicals we advise your remove your plated jewellery. Don’t allow it to come into contact with any harsh chemicals, or even perfumes and oils. 

You shouldn’t subject gold plated jewellery to high temperatures or grease. The high temperatures will make you sweat, which leads to the wear of the plating. 

Don’t use traditional jewellery cleaners on your plated jewellery, or any other chemical-filled solution. Instead, rely on a soft cotton cloth and warm water, for a deeper clean you can also use a miniscule amount of liquid soap, but you should only do this when absolutely necessary. 

We recommend your keep your plated jewellery in a purpose made jewellery box, avoid storing your plated jewellery in something made of oak, or cardboard, these materials are often treated with sulfur, which over time will release fumes that will cause your jewellery to tarnish and become damaged.