Caring for your Jewellery

Caring for your Jewellery

Please find advise from some of our suppliers about how to look after your jewellery pieces to prolong its life, so that you can enjoy it as much as possible. 

 

GEMMA J JEWELLERY

Caring for Gemma J Jewellery

It is important to properly care for Sterling Silver jewellery to keep it looking as beautiful as the first day you received it. To care for your silver jewellery, it is important to be conscious of how you store, wear, and clean your jewellery.
Tarnishing, also known as oxidation, is caused when oxygen or sulphur comes in contact with sterling silver. It gives it a darker colour. The oxygen in the air will tarnish sterling silver so storing your jewellery correctly will minimize this. Here are a couple of tips on how to care for your silver;
  • Store jewellery pieces individually in an airtight container or bag.
  • Place in an area of low humidity
What to avoid whilst wearing your jewellery
Wearing your silver jewellery regularly can actually help prevent tarnishing since the oils from your body have a cleaning effect. Some activities however can have a damaging effect on the silver. Please remove your jewellery before doing any of the following activities;
  • Using household cleaning supplies.
  • Sunbathing
  • Swimming
  • Spraying hairspray or perfumes.
  • Putting on Lotion and Makeup
    How to keep your jewellery clean
    The most effective way to clean your silver or gold vermeil jewellery is to use a silver polishing cloth. Avoid using silver dip on any jewellery that is gold plated or has any stones, engraving, or oxidized parts.
     Gold Vermeil 
    Gold vermeil is simply a layer of gold on top of sterling silver. The gold vermeil we use for our jewellery is 14ct and has a thickness of 3 microns.  To preserve the gold layer on your jewellery it is best to avoid immersing your jewellery in water ie.whilst bathing or washing up.  For care of gold vermeil please follow the same rules as for sterling silver.
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    REEVES & REEVES 
    Caring for your Reeves & Reeves Jewellery

    Most of our Jewellery is sterling silver and silver does tarnish over time. The surface of the silver reacts with oxygen to create silver oxide which is grey/black in colour. To prevent this, or slow down the process, pop all your Jewellery into airtight plastic bags. Plastic isn’t always the enemy! This also stops your Jewellery from being scratched, killing two birds with one stone. You can then stack your Jewellery neatly in a dry box or cabinet.
    To clean tarnished silver or gold, a soft “silver cloth” would be your first step. With a little bit of “huff” and elbow grease you should find that your jewellery returns to its original high shine. If there are more stubborn stains you may need to use some silver dip or other similar cleaners but DO make sure you follow the instructions. Do not soak, do not use hot water, and any cloths that you use make sure they are clean otherwise little specks of dirt on the cloth may scratch the surface of your jewellery.
    For Jewellery with set stones or pearls then a silver cloth really should be all you use, stones and pearls should not be put into any cleaning solution. Taking a little time with the cloth to get into those hard to reach corners will pay off.
    Remember that silver will react to different chemicals such as chlorine, moisturisers, perfumes and even salt. You should remove your Jewellery for swimming, exercise, showering and sleeping as all these activities can increase the risk of tarnishing and discolouration. The discolouration caused by some of these chemicals can be irreversible so do treat your Jewellery with the care it deserves, it is precious after all!
    Some of our rings have an adjustable feature to fit most fingers sizes. They are able to be gently pulled to adjust. Forceful pulling can cause the band to wear and doing this repetitively can cause the band to break, so please do so with care!
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    SEAGEMS

    Caring for your Seagems Jewellery 

    Jewellery Care Guide

    To keep your sterling silver looking beautiful, learn what to avoid and how to care for your precious metals, and natural gemstones with the care instructions below

    • Clean silver regularly using a high-quality silver cloth. We do not recommend the use of silver dips.
    • To bring back the sparkle to faceted gemstones, use warm soapy water and a soft brush, and rinse with clean water.
    • Clean textured finishes using warm soapy water and a soft brush, and rinse in clean water.
    • Textured finishes and jewellery with rose and gold plate detailing we recommend for occasional wear only.
    • We recommend when wearing silver jewellery, avoid contact with any cosmetics, such as make-up, hairspray, perfume and deodorant.
    • We recommend you store silver jewellery in a cool, dry place and in an airtight zip bag or soft pouch and place a small packet of desiccant crystals in the packaging if you live in a humid climate.
    • Ideally store your pieces of jewellery separately, so that they don't rub together or become tangled.
    • To help protect the durability and high-quality of your jewellery, remove your jewellery when you shower, bathe or engage in heavy exercise, particularly when swimming in the sea or a chlorinated swimming pool.
    • Keep your jewellery away from extreme temperatures, humidity or sunlight.
    • Avoid wearing your jewellery when using bleach, cleaning products and other chemicals.
    • To keep your jewellery looking radiant and to remove the build-up of dirt and premature tarnish we recommend using a polishing cloth. Rub the piece in one direction rather than circular motions. Do not use tissue paper or paper towels to clean metal as they can cause scratching.

    Cleaning Gemstones

    • All of our gemstones are natural and therefore can be vulnerable to absorbing dirt and to chipping. Settings may also become loose over-time.
    • Since many natural gemstones can be quite delicate, hot water, harsh chemicals and cleaners should be avoided at all times.
    • Clean your gemstones with a clean, soft, damp cloth after wearing.
    • Very porous stones such as Turquoise, should be cleaned using an untreated, dry, soft cloth only.
    • Do not use tissue paper or paper towels to clean gemstones as they can cause scratching.

    How to Prevent Tarnishing

    • All our Sterling Silver product is protected with an anti-tarnish solution to help prevent tarnish, but this may eventually wear with time.
    • Silver tarnishes rapidly when exposed to certain substances in our everyday lives so we recommend caring for, wearing and storing your jewellery as mentioned above.

    Plated jewellery, such as gold and rhodium, continues looking beautiful when you: clean regularly using a non-abrasive jewellery cloth. Using a specialist cloth ensures the plating stays looking fresh, longer.

    Just like sterling silver, we recommend keeping plated sterling silver away from everyday chemicals, such as perfume.

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    JOMA JEWELLERY

    Caring for your Joma Jewellery

    Plated jewellery will tarnish over time, to avoid it tarnishing faster than it should, keep it from coming into contact with materials such as: detergents, bleaches, ammonia, chlorine, perfumes, body-creams and hairspray.
    To clean your jewellery, use a dry soft clean cloth and wipe gently. Do not use silver cleaner or silver dip and try to avoid overcleaning.
    After removing jewellery, keep it stored in a cool, dry place, avoiding other pieces of jewellery so they don’t rub and scratch.
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    Christin Ranger Jewellery

    Caring for your Christin Ranger Jewellery

    Sterling silver, like other precious metal alloys, can oxidise with time. But properly maintained silver jewellery improves with age and develops a lush patina.

     • The simplest way to clean your silver is to rub it using a specialized silver cloth. You can also use a silver dip (we use Hagerty Silver Dip) , taking care not to leave it in the solution too long (10 seconds maximum), rinsing in cold water afterwards and drying it with a soft cloth.

    • Do not rub silver with anything other than a polishing cloth. Tissue paper or paper towels can cause scratches because of the fibres in these products. 

    • Store your silver in a cool, dry place, preferably in a tarnish-preventive bag or wrapped in a soft piece of felt or cloth. Make sure your silver is not exposed to air and light during storage as this can cause silver to tarnish. 

    • Store pieces individually so that they don't knock together and scratch. 

    • Don't wear sterling silver in chlorinated water or when working with household chemicals. Be careful with perfume and creams.

     Treat your silver well, care for it properly and it will reward you with a long life and a lustrous look. 

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