KEEP YOUR BLING LOOKING ITS VERY BEST

If you, like us, have been glamming it up at home during the mandatory Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa, you may have noticed that your favourite jewellery pieces are starting to look a little worse for wear. Yes, constant hand-washing and sanitising are definitely recommended for preventing the spread of the virus and other germs, but it can also wreak havoc on your jewels, since water, soap and hand cream are notorious for sticking to stones and tiny grooves.

We’d love nothing more than to help you restore your jewellery to its former glory, but unfortunately we can only offer your when our store opens again… Fortunately, however, for most of us lockdown does mean some more free time on our hands, so we thought we’d share are a few simple things that you can do at home to keep those metals and stones shinier for longer. So, if you’re not making notes, now’s the time to bookmark this page for future reference!

But before we get into the how of at-home jewellery care, let’s have a quick look at the why. It’s actually quite simple: the better you care for your jewels, the longer you’ll get to wear (and enjoy!) them. And when it comes to caring for your gold and silver jewellery at home, the two most important things you need to remember are RESPECT and RESET.                                         

RESPECT

Like most metals and other materials, gold and silver will start to show signs of wear after a while, including small scratches, little dents and tarnish. This is inevitable, but there are some things you can do to prevent unnecessary damage. Since gold is a very soft metal that will dent and damage quickly, and silver should best be kept away from moisture to prevent oxidation,    always remember to:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

• Remove your gold or jewellery (especially) when you go to the gym; and
• Avoid strenuous exercise or outdoor activities such as hiking and swimming while wearing gold or silver jewellery.

RESET

No, of course we’re not suggesting you actually reset the stones in your pieces – we’re simply referring to the fact that you can press the proverbial “rest button” on your jewels a with something as simple as a proper clean. If you don’t have a professional jewellery cloth for cleaning your gold or silver at home, simply use a soft spectacle cloth to your pieces a proper wipe and polish until their former fantastic shine reappears.

Fine jewellery is an investment, but unlike the investments you have to keep in the bank or stashed away in a safe, your jewels can give you joy on a daily basis. So, while we wait for this lockdown to pass and life to slowly return to what many are calling “the new normal”, take the time to give your precious pieces a decent clean and continue to wear them with pride!

*This is the first in a series of 3 posts on home jewellery care. For more useful tips, follow us on Facebook and join our live jewellery care sessions on Fridays.