Wearing Jewellery
Preserve your special treasures and mementoes by using some simple advanced planning and care. Here are some basic guidelines to consider when wearing jewellery:
- Remove Jewellery During Tasks
When performing certain physical tasks, remove your jewellery to prevent physical damage or exposure to chemicals or cleaning fluids. Avoid contact with harsh chemicals and hard surfaces.
- Put Jewellery On After Applying Makeup
Cosmetics, hairspray, perfumes and creams can contain chemicals that can damage jewellery.
- Don’t Wear Jewellery In Swimming Pools and Spas
Chlorinated water can react with the metals found in jewellery causing colour changes and even structural damage.
- Contact Sports and Jewellery Don’t Mix
Hard blows during sports can damage jewellery not to mention the people involved. All jewellery should be removed before play begins.
Storing Jewellery
Consider these handy tips when storing your precious jewellery to last for generations to come:
- Keep Your Jewellery Secure
Store your jewellery in a container and prevent pieces from moving around or getting tangled. While fabric-lined jewellery boxes are ideal, this can be as simple as using a shoebox and pieces of fabric. Try to keep your jewellery pieces separate from each other.
- Prevent Your Jewellery from Tarnishing
Maintain the lustre of your jewellery, place silver anti-tarnish strips in your storage container to absorb the oxidants that discolour and tarnish jewellery. Invest in a polishing cloth and jewellery cleaner. Avoid contact with chemicals or body products.
- When Travelling with Jewellery, Use a Case
Use a travel case to protect your favourite pieces. Traditionally made of fabric or leather, a jewellery travel case can carry jewellery of all types and easily rolls up to a size that can be easily stored in most forms of luggage.
Cleaning Jewellery – Maintain The Sparkle
For those who enjoy wearing their jewellery regularly, keeping their jewellery clean and looking good requires regular effort. Here are some general guidelines that may help:
- Remove Your Jewellery Before Bathing
Soaps or body products used whilst showering or cleaning can cause a film to form, making your jewellery appear dull.
- Use Jewellery Polishing Cloths for Best Results
Polish silver or Gold with a jewellery polishing cloth for best results. Professional cloths are the best as some cloths, tissue or paper towels can cause scratches because of the fibres in these products.
- Clean Your Jewellery with Care
Be careful when cleaning your own jewellery and use the appropriate products. You can either purchase commercial cleaners from Aegean Collection or make a simple cleaning solution yourself. The wrong chemicals can damage your jewellery for good so seek advice before you begin.
- Use Warm Water to Clean Jewellery
Warm water is fantastic for cleaning numerous pieces of jewellery. But be aware that water can cause reactions with some cleaning fluids resulting in discolouration. Sterling Silver is especially susceptible to this problem. Should this occur, this problem can be remedied by buffing and using tarnish remover.
- Avoid Cleaning Damaged Jewellery
Never clean any jewellery that is damaged, cracked or broken, since the additional handling is likely to worsen the problem. If you find that a piece of jewellery is damaged, it should be set aside for repair as soon as possible.