How to Care For & Clean Your Jewellery

Purchasing designer jewellery is an investment. However, unlike real estate or stocks or bonds, this is a kind of investment that you have the privilege of wearing to dinner or a grand occasion. Because of this, many jewellery items are passed down for generations as family heirlooms, or are currently stored in museums around the world. However, to last the test of time, fashion jewellery especially must be well cared for. Here are a few tips to keep your Lore jewellery collection looking brand new.

Avoid Exposure to Water & Chemicals The Gemmological Institute of America states that chemicals can cause damage to some coloured gems, silver jewellery and gold jewellery. Some everyday items around the house that can cause permanent damage to your cherished jewellery items include the following:

  • Perfume
  • Lotion
  • Hairspray
  • Bleach

Often simply contact with water can tarnish gold & silver plated jewellery. So we would always advise you to remove any jewellery before you take a shower and rings should be taken off before you wash your hands. Although this may seem like a bit of a pain to remember to do, it really will help your bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings maintain their shine. Likewise any jewellery that contains crystal, precious or semi-precious stone elements will also sparkle for alot longer if these simple steps are taken.

Dress for Jewellery Dressing for your jewellery in terms of fashion is always a great idea. However, in this instance, we mean you should follow the principle of putting your jewellery on last when dressing, and taking it off first, when undressing. This helps to minimize damage to the jewellery and likewise helps prevent any elements catching on and damaging your clothes.

Take Them Off Before bed and When Exercising One easy way to damage jewellery is by sleeping in it. You may lose gems or bend precious metals. Jewellery can also irritate your skin when slept in. Once again when talking about fashion jewellery, storing it individually in a pouch or box at night will always help it stand the test of time and maintain its shine for longer. Likewise sweat can cause metals to tarnish, so it's also always sensible to remove your jewellery before doing any exercise and especially swimming!

Store Separately There are two main reasons you should store your jewellery separately. The first is that untangling necklaces and bracelets is a time-consuming process. The second is that you are less likely to cause damage to the pieces when they are stored separately, especially because you don’t need to pull and twist them to untangle them. Very often jewellery that has embedded stone work needs to be treated with great care, as stones can easily be knocked out of position or loosened. Each Apache Rose jewellery piece comes in its own dedicated box or pouch and we would always recommend this is how it's stored when not in use.

Use Simple Cleaning Methods Many people spend a fortune on special cleaning services and cleaning solutions for their collection. However, the GIA recommends that the easiest cleaning methods are also the safest ones. Here are two simple cleaning methods you can try.

  • Use warm water and mild dish soap to clean precious gems, silver and gold with a soft brush. When rinsing, be sure to rinse in a cup or bowl, just in case you accidentally drop the item, as they may go down the drain.
  • For soft gems, such as pearls, use warm, soapy water and a clean makeup brush to clean them, gently. Rinse thoroughly, set down a towel and place the gems there to dry.
  • To add extra shine you can always gently polish with a gold or silver polishing cloth.
  • To clean brass jewellery squeeze half a lemon into one cup of warm water and add a teaspoon of salt. Submerge brass jewellery item and leave until looking clean. You can also scrub gently with a soft bristle brush. Rinse clean and dry thoroughly 

Caring for designer jewellery is not always easy, but it’s worth the effort. If you successfully manage to keep your collection clean and polished, it could become even more valuable for generations to come.

 

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LORE noun [U]
Time-honoured knowledge, wisdom and stories passed down through the ages; transcending space and time to connect hearts, minds and generations.