Jewellery Care

Jewellery Care FAQs

Avoid chemicals and remove before physical activities

Store seperately and clean periodically

Take off before sleep

Watches

Wedding rings

How to care for white gold rings

When you own a piece of Clogau jewellery, you want to make sure it looks as good as possible, for as long as possible. Luckily, maintaining the finish and value of your Clogau jewellery is quite easy if you follow a few simple guidelines. Please note that damage to your jewellery incurred whilst engaging in any of the activities below will not be covered within our two-year warranty and will incur a repair charge if it can be repaired.

The key thing to remember is that most jewellery isn't suitable to be worn throughout the day and needs to be removed before certain activities to prevent tarnishing, discolouration and damage.

Always remove your jewellery before you apply any make-up, perfumes or do any cleaning. The harsh chemicals found in cleaning products, chlorine, perfumes, hairspray, beauty products, sea water, soaps and shower gel can all cause discolouration.

Also, always remove your jewellery before engaging in activities in which there is a risk of physically damaging your jewellery such as garderning, DIY, sports, and swimming.

Precious jewellery should be the last thing you put on, and the first thing you take off.

We highly recommend you store your jewellery seperately in a clean, anti-tarnish, compartmentalised box to avoid scratches (the presentation boxes that come supplied with our jewellery are not designed for long-term storage).

Since diamond is harder than any metal, it can scratch other jewellery so always keep it wrapped up or seperate from other jewellery.

When it comes to pearls, wipe them with a soft damp cloth after wearing them to remove perfume, hairspray and anything else likely to damage them. Clean periodically with a soft polishing cloth with tarnish preventative and dry thoroughly with a lint-free cloth.

Jewellery set with gemstones can be brought to life by careful cleaning with a soft brush and soapy water.

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.

Don't wear your jewellery whilst sleeping as chains can pose a choking hazard and motifs can be dislodged, broken or cause injury if they become lodged between your person and the mattress. Dislodged or broken parts can also pose a choking hazard to children or pets.

The only exception to this rule is our wedding rings, which are safe to wear whilst sleeping - providing your ring fits securely but not too tight, and not loose enough to fall off.

Please use the table below to ascertain what your watch is suitable for. Your watches ATM rating can be found on the product page under measurements, specification.

Our wedding rings are designed to withstand more wear and tear than an average ring. Providing your rings fits securely but not too tight, and not loose enough to fall off they can be worn when asleep if you choose.

They can also be worn when showering or washing but we advise you to clean your ring afterwards and thoroughly dry the skin underneath.

We do not recommend you wear your wedding ring for any sporting activities. Not only is there is risk of damage to the ring but should you injure your finger whilst wearing it the presence of the ring could cause complications.

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. 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.

Perspiration

Washing hands

Shower / Bath / Rain

Swimming

Snorkelling

Diving

Why has my pearl discoloured/flaked?

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.

I have had a reaction to my jewellery

All Clogau jewellery is made to the appropriate EU standards and should not cause a reaction.

Some people have particular sensitivities to gold and silver and if this is the case you may find that Clogau jewellery also causes a reaction.

Sometimes a reaction can happen if your jewellery is too tight.

Also, if air cannot circulate around the item and onto your skin, a red sore spot can appear.

This is not a reaction to the jewellery and is caused by your jewellery being too tight.

If your jewellery is too tight you can experience a build-up of soap, washing up liquid etc. underneath the item that isn’t being rinsed away by hand washing and this can also cause a reaction.

This is quite common with wedding rings that are never taken off.

My piece of jewellery is discoloured

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.

My diamonds look cracked / dirty

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.

My piece of jewellery is damaged

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.

My earring backs are too loose or too tight

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.

My enamel piece of jewellery is discoloured

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.