I get asked many questions in relation to the care of jewellery and how to keep it looking good. Here are the top three questions that I get asked the most, and my answers, which will help you take optimum care of your jewellery:

1. How Do I Store My Jewellery?

Most importantly, keep it nice and dry. That means not storing it in the bathroom, not leaving it by the edge of the pool, and, generally speaking, not bathing with it on. Having said that, I never take off my engagement and wedding rings,or my little blue evil eye necklace.

These instructions refer more to jewellery that is made of sterling silver, or plated brass. Keep that kind of jewellery in a drawer, a box, an old (clean) sock, and so on. Just keep it nice and dry. In Singapore’s humid weather this is especially important, as silver and plated jewellery does tend to tarnish. Please, do not store your jewellery in zip-lock bags, or the plastic bags that it originally came in,unlessyou plan to put silver anti-tarnishinto each bag. Storing jewellery in plastic, in Asia’s humidity, just means that you are effectively trapping the moisture inside the bag … which just makes it tarnish that much faster.

2. How Should I Clean It? (Especially Silver)

Silver is a very versatile metal, with a gorgeous soft lustre, that makes for beautiful jewellery. Unfortunately, it is also pretty fragile, and can quickly develop tarnish, stains and scratches. However, it is possible to clean this yourself. Go to a DIY or hardware store, and buy yourself a couple of silver polishing cloths. Give your jewellery a good wipe and you are ready to go.

If it is much more than the cloth can handle, or if your jewellery is very intricately carved, you might want to follow these steps:

Take a small bowland line it with aluminium foil. Add a tablespoon of salt, and baking soda, a couple of drops of dish detergent, and a cup of hot water. Watch the magical fizz, and drop your jewellery in it. Let it sit for 10 minutes while you stare at the dog. Or paint your toenails.Take it out, rinse it clean, wipe it dry, and TA-DA! I do this with all my jewellery, including aforementioned engagement ring. Always works.

If your silver jewellery has scratches and pits in it, and you absolutely cannot live with that, you will have to take it to a professional jeweller to have it buffed, polished and perhaps plated again. This is where you have to weigh the cost benefits, and what that piece is actually worth to you.

3. Will The Gold Plating Wear Off?

Yes, of course it will. But, and there’s an important BUT -gold-plated jewellery does not fade. Instead, the very thin layer of gold that is plated over another metal wears off, exposing the underlying metal. The amount of time it takes for the gold plate to wear off is dependant on a number of factors. First, the thickness of the plating will affect the length of time the layer of gold plate will wear off and expose the silver. This is where it’s important to know if the pieces are flash gold plated, or coated with a specific thickness measured in microns. Microns are measured in numbers, generally starting from 0.5. The higher the number, the thicker the gold plating and, therefore, the more expensive the piece to manufacture and buy.

The type of jewellery and how and where it is worn is also a consideration. A gold-plated ring will lose its plating far quicker than a pendant. A piece of jewellery worn against bare skin will wear off sooner than one worn over clothing. For obvious reasons, certain pieces of jewellery simply take more punishment and are exposed to more chemicals, both from the wearer’s body and agents from the environment. All of this will cause the plating to wear off faster.

If you are ever buying a piece of gold-plated jewellery from a store, or jeweller, that says that the plating will never wear off, RUN. Don’t walk; don’t be polite, just RUN. Because that’s simply not the truth.

If you can keep these three things in mind, all your jewellery, fine or fun, will stay looking good for ages. And, as always, remember jewellery should be the last thing on, and first thing off.

Visit Anaita Thakkar’s page to find out more about her work.

_{This post was first published on Lustre Jewellry blog and has been reposted on Executive Lifestyle with the permission of the author.}
^{Edited by Nedda Chaplin
Image credit: Lustre Jewellery}

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