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When you have something you treasure, you want to make sure it always looks as good as new. Maintaining the finish and value of your gold and silver jewellery is quite easy. Simply follow these simple steps...
Take off your jewellery especially rings when doing household chores, gardening or DIY. They could become damaged by knocking out stones or coming into contact with abrasive materials which discolour metal. Remove your jewellery when taking a shower or bath, swimming or washing-up. Soap, detergents, salt water and chlorine can tarnish jewellery. Always allow perfume, aftershave, hairspray or medication to dry before wearing your jewellery. Spraying onto your jewellery, however small, can tarnish gold and silver and make pearls turn yellow. Remove your rings before applying nail polish remover. Settings can get clogged up with soap and hand cream. Remove gem-set jewellery before washing hands and using cream.
Keep your jewellery items separate in a compartmentalised jewellery box to avoid scratches. Diamonds scratch other jewellery items so keep them wrapped up or separate. Please store your Clogau items in an anti-tarnish environment. Our presentation boxes that come supplied with our jewellery are not designed for long-term storage. Always store pearls in a lined box or silk/cloth pouch not in plastic bags.
Silver can go black when exposed to acidic perspiration and/or the atmosphere. Gold is not as reactive to air and skin but still needs to be checked. A soft jewellery polishing cloth with tarnish preventative will help keep your gold and silver pieces lustrous and shining. Take care not to polish too enthusiastically. Jewellery set with gems can be brought to life by careful cleaning with a soft brush and soapy water. Dry thoroughly with a lint-free cloth. Wipe pearls with a soft damp cloth after wearing to remove perfume, hairspray and anything else likely to damage them. If an item of jewellery is really dirty then professional cleaning will be necessary using an ultrasonic cleaner with cleaning solutions and/or special buffing wheels. Please contact us for further advice if you are unsure about cleaning.
White gold has become a popular metal of choice and keeping white gold rings, pendants, earrings and other items in good condition can be tricky. Before we start, let’s have a look at what white gold actually is.
White gold rings are of course not pure gold, but are an alloy of gold and more often than not, nickel, palladium or silver. Whatever combination the alloy is, it still remains a yellowy colour. To get the clear whiter colour, they are plated with rhodium. Rhodium is highly reflective, extremely durable and does not tarnish easily. Over the years however, natural erosion can occur. The main concern is with the rhodium wearing off. Thankfully, re-plating your beautiful jewellery with rhodium once more is relatively easy and cheap.
In between these times, there are a few things you can do to extend the rhodium’s life. White gold wedding rings for example can be cleaned using a solution of equal parts ammonia and water, although if your wedding rings have any pearls or gems, please ask your local jewellers for advice. If you have concerns about using ammonia solutions, you could use an ultrasonic machine which uses water and vibrations to clean intricate jewellery pieces. Perhaps the best way of keeping your jewellery at show room standard, is to store it in a cloth box. Although this is not easily done as we of course want to wear our jewellery! However, a quick wipe down with a dust cloth and storing in a box when not in use, or at times when you know you will be handling chemicals or are likely to do be taking part in activities that may risk your items, will help. If you would like any advice on how to care for your white gold rings, or perhaps other items such as gold wedding rings and silver eternity rings, please contact us here at Clogau. We are very proud of each piece of Clogau jewellery and are more than happy to advise where required.
Unlike gold and silver, tungsten rings are tarnish-resistant and don't develop scratches easily. With a little care, a tungsten ring should always look shiny and should likely never develop blemishes or scratches. Silver and gold are much softer metals, whereas tungsten is hard and durable, making it an ideal low-maintenance jewellery metal. However, tungsten can react poorly with some cleaning products and chemicals such as ammonia, bleach, chlorine and pre-packaged jewellery cleaning solutions - so it's important to know how to clean it. It is also recommended that you avoid using an ultrasonic jewellery cleaner. To create a cleaning solution, simply mix warm water with a few drops of mild soap. Be mindful to use only hand soap and mild dish detergent and stay away from any other types of cleaning solutions or products. Once you've created your solution, create a lather and clean the outside of your tungsten ring with a cotton cloth. Clean until the dirt is removed. Then rinse it under warm water and dry with a clean cotton cloth. When storing your tungsten ring, keep it away from jewellery that has been cleaned with any chemicals as the residue remaining on these pieces may cause negative reactions. Also, we advise you to keep your tungsten ring away from diamonds since these are one of the few substances that can scratch tungsten carbide.
Pearls are the most delicate item in your jewellery box. A pearl has a soft porous surface made up of many layers of nacre. As pearls are alkaline it is easy for them to become affected by acids (perfumes, soaps, chemicals), and frequent wear (sweat is acidic) which will cause discolouring or flaking. Do not use soap or ordinary jewellery cleaner when washing pearls. Only use products designed for pearls.
Discolouring of gold or silver jewellery usually occurs when the metal has been exposed to a chemical. For example, swimming in a pool will cause silver to discolour due to the chlorine content in the water. Even being in the same room as a swimming pool can cause tarnishing. Generally as a rule if you can smell chlorine your silver jewellery is already being affected. Silver is particularly affected by sulphides. When a car or lawn mower burns gasoline, or an electric plant burns coal, it generates air pollution such as sulphur dioxide. This goes into the air and circulates everywhere. As soon as you notice your silver jewellery tarnishing it should be cleaned using a silver cleaning solution. If left, the tarnish can penetrate the jewellery so deeply that it is permanently damaged. All Clogau silver jewellery is rhodium plated to minimise tarnishing but care should still be taken.
The beauty of our jewellery is that each piece is designed to the finest detail to really capture the essence of the story behind it; as a result the wear ability of certain pieces is different. For example a wedding ring is designed to be worn every day and can cope with hard wear and tear, on the other hand a delicate filigree ring will not fare well if subjected to the same wear as a wedding ring. For the more delicate jewellery the design can be more creative and stylish as they are designed most for occasional wear, however for the hard wearing pieces the design is slightly simpler for the purpose of wearing on a daily basis. Therefore more care must be taken when wearing one of our more delicate pieces. It is also important to remember that harsh chemicals will affect all jewellery if regularly exposed to it.
This is quite subjective. As long as an earring back doesn’t fall off on its own or is so tight you can’t get it on or off this would fall within the acceptable range.
Cold enamel is very sensitive to tarnishing. Fake tan, perfumes and moisturisers can all cause it to discolour. If you notice your jewellery discolouring it should be removed, cleaned and stored correctly until its next wear.
Clogau use VS1 and SI diamonds. This means the stones are very slightly included or slightly included. It will be very hard to see inclusions with the naked eye and is likely your diamond just needs a good clean. It is extremely unlikely your diamond has cracked as they are one of the hardest minerals on the earth. We offer a clean and polish service as do many high street jewellers.