A Guide To Looking After Your Jewellery & Avoid Costly Repairs

As a fine jeweller, who handles jewellery on a daily basis, it has become second nature to me when it comes to looking after jewellery. In this blog I am going to teach you a few hidden tricks of the trade to help you avoid costly repairs and how to add years of life to your jewellery.

As every piece of jewellery is often different or unique to the next there is no set rule for all pieces of jewellery other than to "be careful" which is very vague and not very helpful at all, so I must break it down for you and elaborate; some of what I will share with you may seem obvious to you or you may already have this knowledge but it is all still important and therefore important to mention so lets get started.

Handling Jewellery

First thing I will say when it comes to handling, moving or putting on your jewellery is to handle it in the position it is normally worn. The reason for this is to distribute the natural weight of the piece in a way that won't cause unnecessary stress and wear, especially if its a heavy piece.

Take for example, a pair of drop earrings, you must hold them at the top of the hooks and not at the main earring section. Again, this may be obvious to some of you and you may already do this but you would be surprised by how we sometimes use our hands or operate at certain times or circumstances causing damage to jewellery.

It's logical for us to 'go for' or handle the largest part of something as its often the first thing we see or notice, we view it to be stronger than the thinner or smaller part of the earring (the hook wire).

So by handling, in this case, the larger section of the earring it leads to stress being applied to the hook wire being in an unnatural weighted position; of course once or twice won't necessarily "hurt" the earring but if this is happening regularly you may see the hook wire become twisted or even stretch over time.

The same applies to stud earrings, handle by the butterfly or post when picking up and putting down the earrings. On a side note, a real pet hate of mine is seeing a pair of earrings being taken off and then held together in one hand so both will rub and wear into each other before being put down.

Imagine this to be your earrings here in this scenario and every time you take them off you hold them together, albeit briefly, in one hand before putting them away or putting them down.

Imagine the wear over time of your earrings, eventually you will notice scratches, dinks and dents which of course spoils the appearance of your earrings and will inevitably lead to them needing repair sooner. Sounds silly but it does happen!

Another example are necklaces and pendants. Take a large necklace for example where most of its weight is situated at the bottom, if you were to pick the necklace up from the bottom of the necklace alone then this would lead to the rest of the upper necklace section to buckle over causing unnecessary stress on the piece which can lead it to become misshaped, twisted and possibly, if there are stones in the design, lead to stones coming out of their setting.

It is best to use two hands when handling a necklace like so, lift from the top section (where the clasp or fasten is at the point of the necklace that would sit on the back of the neck) and use the other hand to rest under the larger section of the necklace. The same applies to pendants with chains, lift from the clasp of the chain and support the pendant with the other hand. This way you minimise the stress on the piece, reduce friction and wear.

Buying Advice

As I have said, every piece of jewellery is different to the last, which means in some cases that every piece will "operate" differently. You may be familiar to certain clasps or features as you may already own pieces that have such clasps or fittings.

However, sometimes you may come across a mechanism, hinge, safety clasp or clasp alone that you are unfamiliar with so before purchasing a piece of jewellery, make sure you ask who you are buying it from on how best to look after, avoid damage and how to use it correctly.

I have seen in my experience many instances where pieces have come in to me for repair because they haven't been handled correctly so make sure you are shown every piece of jewellery's features and design aspects so you best understand and allow you to have as much usable wear of the piece and avoid costly repairs.

Pearls

Pearls are one of natures true beauties and have been used in jewellery since the dawn of man. Although pearls have been a staple in jewellery for millennia they are not the most durable of stones. Modern perfumes will eat away into the lacre of the pearl and affect its lustre and colour which is then beyond repair as it causes permanent damage. 

Pearls will also crack over time, as is their nature by releasing and absorbing moisture, and you will also find the need to restring your pearls every few years or so depending on how long you wear them.

Wear & Usage

All pieces of jewellery will wear through use and need repair or restoration at some point; I am afraid it is unavoidable. So the important thing is to better understand your piece of jewellery thus allowing you to maintain its longevity and recognise the signs of it needing repair.

Rings for example are the most worn and damaged pieces of jewellery I handle and see. Why is this the case? It is due to that fact that we use our hands a lot in comparison to other body parts where there is jewellery.

You won't even notice it but any and all rings on your hands will make contact through simple day to day activities like cleaning, opening doors, holding hand rails walking up and downstairs, cooking, writing, driving and anything you can think of! Your jewellery on your fingers takes impact and leads to wear.

As I have said, its unavoidable but this doesn't mean that you cannot wear your jewellery. As a jeweller I am a strong advocate that jewellery should be worn as much as possible but its all about finding the balance between maintaining your jewellery and also enjoying wearing it.

I have included a list of tips below for you to follow to help you best 

Tips:

1. Wear your jewellery less - sounds silly I know and a shame but think about it this way, the more you wear it the more wear that happens. Ask yourself, do I wear my jewellery to bed or in the shower? When you wear your jewellery to bed, you may not think of it, but you are technically wearing it more than you need to which leads to additional wear! So take it off and put it in a safe or bedside jewellery box
2. Wear your engagement ring less - again, same rhetoric as above but the reason I say this is is the logic that is your wedding band. Your wedding band, usually plain with no diamonds, was invented to be worn every day as its practical and still show the world that you are indeed married. If it was normal practice to wear your engagement ring every day then why indeed should a wedding band exist? Practicality wins every time! So please, take off your engagement ring and wear it less, you'll thank me one day
3. Storage - Invest in a safe for the jewellery to be worn on special occasions and purchase a jewellery box. Jewellery boxes are great and specifically designed to maintain and preserve your jewellery with its allowed compartments and sections.
4. Perfume and pearls - apply your perfume, wait ten minutes then put on your pearls
5. Check your jewellery - don't wait until its too late, run your fingers over the claws, the metal that holds the stones in place, and feel if they are sharp along with checking to see if any stones are loose. Look for cracks in the metal, and chips and cracks on the stones.
6. Clean your jewellery regularly - dirt and grime can build up causing, not only your jewellery to not look at its best but, it can hide potential damage which would other wise be seen if clean. Get some warm water, washing up liquid and toothpaste along with an old toothbrush. Leave the jewellery to soak in the warm water and washing up liquid for 5-10 minutes, then use the toothbrush to get into the setting and remove some loose dirt. Apply toothpaste, as toothpaste is abrasive enough to remove dirt but not abrasive enough to damage your jewellery, scrub the toothpaste into and onto the jewellery, rinse and repeat! * useful particularly for diamond engagement rings and diamond jewellery, avoid for opals, pearls and emeralds*
7. Have a jeweller check your jewellery - very important to do as we know what we are looking for and can further advise you on your jewellery and its condition.

All in all jewellery is made to be worn and appreciated by the wearer and the observer. We are drawn to its design and how it makes us feel. I do hope that this blog has been helpful to you in giving you some guidance and insight into handling and looking after your jewellery in the future.

 

If you have any questions about your jewellery or this blog or simply wish to know more please do contact us