Jun,1 2024
Care for metals
Care for a daily piece is mostly storage and a cloth, not a ritual.
Take jewellery off before sleep, sport, and the sink. That single habit prevents more damage than any polish. Chains tangle in a pocket. Rings knock a stone when they meet a counter. Studs are happier in their box than loose in a bag.
When you do clean, use the cloth that came with the piece, or any soft cotton that will not snag. Wipe the front, the back, and the clasp. If the piece was in the sea or a pool, rinse with plain water first, then dry it before it goes away.
Water left in a clasp dulls a finish faster than a year of wear.
Rinse only if you must, then dry at once with a soft cloth, including the hinge and the inside of a ring. Perfume, cream, and salt water are the other three things to keep off the metal.
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Wipe the piece dry. Almost every other step can wait.
Polish is a last step, not a weekly one.
A dry cloth lifts the dull film. Paste and dips remove a little metal every time, and they are wrong for pearls, porous stones, and a soft clasp.
Separate metals in the box. A harder chain will mark a softer one if they travel together. Pearls should not share a compartment with a clasp that can scratch them.
Check the clasp once a season. A hinge that feels loose, or a post that will not sit straight, is a repair, not a cleaning job. Send a note with a photograph if you cannot bring it in.
Heat and sunlight fade some finishes and dry a pearl. A drawer is better than a windowsill.
A repair note is not a paid service. An inquiry tells us what the piece is and what changed. We reply with what to do next.
Gentle wear, a dry cloth, and a box that is not a jumble. That is the care the metals in this edit were finished for.