Jewelry Care

JEWELRY CARE

DIAMONDS

Tips for general care - Even though you may wear your diamond engagement ring 24 hours a day, you should still give thought to its care. DON'T wear it when you are doing rough work. Even though a diamond is durable, a hard blow can chip it. DON'T let your diamond come in contact with a chlorine bleach when you are doing household chores. It can damage and discolor the mounting.

DO see your jewelers at least once in six months and have them check your ring and other precious pieces for loose prongs and wear of mounting. He'll usually give them a professional shine-up too.

At home, you can clean your diamond jewelry using one part ammonia and six parts water. Use gentle scrubbing with a soft brush to gently loosen any dirt. We recommend storing your diamond jewelry in individual soft-cloth pouches to prevent jewelry pieces from scratching each other.

GOLD & GEM STONES

Take care of your jewelry and it will shine for years. Each piece of jewelry is individual, but as a general guide the National Association of Goldsmiths advises:

• Gently rub gold and silver jewelry with a soft, clean cloth to maximize the shine.
• Jewelry set with gems can be brought to life by careful cleaning with a soft brush and soapy water, or with a proprietary jewelry cleaning solution. Try not to get threaded pearl or bead jewelry wet and only wet antique jewelry after specialist advise - you could ruin it.
• Wipe pearls with a soft damp cloth after wearing to remove perfume, hair spray and anything else likely to damage them.
• Don't use abrasive cleaners on jewelry.
• You can use silver 'dip' type cleaners on most silver jewelry - but rinse and dry them thoroughly.
• Don't use silver 'dip' type cleaning solutions on gold jewelry, only special jewelry cleaners.
• Keep jewelry carefully stored and separated - not jumbled together in a drawer.
• Keep chains fastened so that they don't get tangled up.
• A professional should check jewelry for damage or wear, on a regular basis.
• Make sure you have a detailed insurance valuation for your jewelry. As a rough guide, the description in a professional jewelry valuation will be detailed enough that a jeweler could use it to draw a pretty accurate sketch of the item.
• If in any doubt about the care, repair or valuation of your jewelry ask the advice of a professional.

WATCHES

Ideally a watch needs to be serviced every year or two (ask your jeweler about your particular brand and model). Some watches will keep going OK for years without needing repair, but don't risk it, there could be problems of wear building up that will make eventual overhaul more difficult or impracticable.

Unless the degree of water resistance is clearly defined or marked on your watch face or back cover or in the product manual, don't risk wearing it in the shower or pool. 'Water resistant' is not the same as 'Waterproof'.

No matter how handy you are, don't attempt any 'do-it-yourself' watch repairs or even take a peek inside. Only an expert watchmaker should be trusted to put your watch back into perfection.