Believe it or not Women age 40 typically have a jewellery collection worth £6,000! What’s more just 33 percent of this jewellery is regularly worn which means the remaining two-thirds is often left in a jewellery box.
So how do you look after all that valuable jewellery? Here are our top ten tips;
- When you take off your jewellery gently wipe each piece clean of make up and skin oils with a 100% cotton cloth
- Remove jewellery when doing household tasks such as gardening, cleaning, household repairs or other strenuous activities.
- Make-up and hair spray contain chemicals that may affect your jewellery so make sure you apply make-up and hair spray before putting on your jewellery.
- Store jewellery away from sunlight ideally in a jewellery box. The sun may fade some gemstones.
- Don’t store your jewellery next to a radiator or on a window sill.
- Don’t wear jewellery while swimming in a pool. The chlorine in the water can damage various gemstones and metal including gold. Salt water can also damage jewellery.
- Clean your jewellery frequently to maintain its true beauty.
- Take your jewellery off when you are showering as soaps and other personal products can take their toll on fine jewellery.
- Wipe your jewellery regularly with a soft cloth to keep it clean.
- Protect all jewellery from scratches, sharp blows, chemicals, extreme temperatures, and sunlight.
Different metals and gems require different care here’s how to look after your silver and gold jewellery –
Caring for sterling silver
Silver is a very soft metal and you can easily scratch it if you aren’t careful. Clean your silver jewellery with a soft 100% cotton cloth and gently run off any makeup. You can also use a special sterling silver cleaning cloth or a very soft bristle brush such as a baby tooth brush. Other materials will scratch the surface of your silver jewellery.
Store your jewellery in a closed jewellery box as silver tarnishes when exposed to air and try to avoid using silver dips for removing oxidation as these leave microscopic pits which cause it to darken faster.
Caring for gold
Gold doesn’t tarnish, but it can be dirtied or dulled by the oils in your skin, body lotion, makeup or other substances. There are lots of products out there that promise to clean gold, but you can do it easily with mild washing up liquid and a soft cloth.
Mix a squeeze of mild washing up liquid with warm water in a bowl. Put the gold item into the soap mixture and let sit for a few minutes. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub the jewellery. Remove item from soapy water, rinse it and dry thoroughly with a soft polishing cloth.