Caring for your jewellery is essential to ensuring its beauty and longevity. Gemstones and metals may appear sturdy, but they are still susceptible to scratches, dents, and tarnishing.

We discourage using commercial dips or liquid polish on your jewellery, as these can sometimes be too abrasive and, when used too liberally, can also remove any deliberate oxidisation detail. Safeguard your jewellery from sharp impacts, abrasions and chemicals.

You may find the jewellery will benefit from an occasional professional clean as well as your own care. Our workshop will be happy to provide this service – please contact us for details.

It’s advisable to refrain from wearing your jewellery while swimming or engaging in sports, as chlorine and saltwater can lead to deterioration and gradual erosion of metals. Likewise, when washing hands, cleaning or gardening, always remove
rings.

Try to remember to remove rings, particularly those with stones before applying hand cream, moisturizer etc as these can leave residue and dirt on the surfaces of the jewellery which will dull the finish.

Try not to expose your jewellery to household chemicals, perfume or hairspray, as these can cause precious stones and metals to tarnish and discolour.

Some silver pieces have blackened recess/areas. This finish is used to accentuated the sculptural nature of a piece. Any silver dip or ultrasonic will remove this effect, so should be avoided. If you need the blackened are restored, our workshop will be
happy to restore this for you – please contact us for details.

All jewellery will need cleaning from time to time. There are several methods that can be used:

Mild soap and water for gold jewellery

You can do this yourself using warm water with a mild soap and a soft brush, then dry well with soft towel or tissue.

Silver cloth for silver jewellery

Gently wipe the polished metal areas of your jewellery with gentle pressure to help prevent/remove any tarnish, as well as to cleanse the metal of perfume, food or other "outside" particles. Polishing cloths are made of soft cotton and impregnated with a specific cleaning solution that will restore a polished surface.

Organic method for silver with no deliberately blackened areas and no gemstones

This is a non-toxic, simple and efficient method you can do at home; no rubbing or scrubbing is involved.

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
boiling water
glass or ceramic container
aluminium foil

Line the glass or ceramic container with a sheet of aluminium foil. Place the silver object in the container, for the electro-chemical reaction to occur each individual piece of silver must touch the aluminium. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the object. Pour over the boiling water until the entire piece is covered. Leave for 3-5 minutes. Wash the object in warm water with a mild soap, rinse well, then dry thoroughly with a soft cloth or tissue, and if necessary, a hair dryer. You may immerse several pieces at once taking care they do not rub and scratch each other. Depending on the amount of water, additional baking soda & salt may be required.

Not advisable for any jewellery that has been intentionally blackened as this will remove all the blackness. Equally not suitable for gemstones.

To protect your jewellery, pieces should be stored in a pouch or within a soft lined box, placed individually to stop them being scratched or tangled. Ideally store your jewellery in a dark, cool and dry place. Don’t store multiple pieces in the same box without some kind of protection between them, for example by wrapping individually in tissue paper. Necklaces and earrings with moving parts should be stored flat, ensuring any fine chain is untangled to prevent knotting or breakages.

It is worth regularly checking that the butterfly is tightly gripping the earring post. If it seems loose this can easily be rectified by lightly pinching the two rolls of the scroll together with pliers or between two fingers.

Do not wear earrings if the butterflies are at all lose. If you need the butterflies tightened and you are unable to do this, our workshop will be happy help – please contact us for details.

It is good practice to check the security of the gemstones in your jewellery. Claw settings, over years, can wear down or get caught on things and loosen the setting.

As an example, here is how we check a ring setting. Hold the ring shank between your thumb and middle finger. Hold it up close to your ear. Now tap the ring with your index finger. If you hear a tinkling, that means the stone is loose, and this need to be fixed. Do not wear the ring again until it is secured.