Easy care solutions for silver, gold and diamond jewellery

Our jewellery is an investment, as well as having sentimental value.  Therefore, it’s important that we look after our jewellery properly. Remember that your local independent jeweller will always help you to restore a tarnished or broken piece of jewellery to its former glory, but it’s also important that we look after our jewellery at home too.  Here are some easy care solutions for silver, gold and diamond pieces to help you to keep your jewellery looking tip top:

Silver jewellery

Silver jewellery is prone to tarnishing as, as a natural metal, it reacts with the environment it’s in.  To prevent silver from tarnishing, it can be cleaned using a phosphate-free detergent or non-abrasive jewellery cleaning cloth. Similarly, wearing your silver jewellery often actually prevents it from tarnishing, providing that you keep it free from, among other things, household chemicals, perfumes, hair products, cosmetics and chlorinated water. 

If you have mildly tarnished silver jewellery, you can clean it using a silver dip, but you must be careful, as these dips can remove the colour and polish from gemstones; it may be best to have any jewellery which features stones professionally cleaned by your local jeweller.  Similarly, if the tarnish starts to turn from yellowy brown to black, it’s time to take it to your local jewellery shop to be cleaned rather than attempting an amateur clean at home.

Gold jewellery

Gold is the softest of the precious metals, and therefore it should always be stored separately from other types of metal jewellery, and should only be cleaned using warm water and cotton wool. 

White gold jewellery is coated with a thin layer of Rhodium to enhance its ‘whiteness’.  With time, this Rhodium coating will wear thin and expose the gold alloy underneath, and therefore you will need to take your white gold jewellery to your local jeweller to have the rhodium coating reapplied.

Diamond jewellery

One of the most important aspects of looking after diamond jewellery is to be vigilant towards loose settings, particularly for pieces such as engagement rings with just two claws holding your diamond in place. If you notice a loose setting, stop wearing the piece and take it along to your local independent jeweller as soon as possible, storing it in a safe place until that time – they will be able to either tighten the setting or reset the stone completely.  It is also recommended that you have your local jeweller check the setting regularly, preferably once a year. 

Like other jewellery, diamonds become soiled, smudged and dusty over time through the use of lotions, soaps and the natural oils in your skin.  You can clean them using a warm soapy detergent solution and a soft brush, but be sure to use a cleaner which is chlorine-free. Pat your jewellery dry afterwards with a soft, lint free cloth. Your local independent jeweller will also be able to clean your diamond jewellery using an ultrasonic cleaner, and will have your pieces back to their sparkling self in no time!

Medal Winning Jewellery: Gold, Silver and Bronze Jewellery

With a summer of sport ahead of us, have you ever fancied winning a medal for your sporting prowess?  Well, for most of us, that’s just a pipe dream.  But it doesn’t mean that you can’t have the next best thing - some medal inspired pieces of jewellery!  Whether you’re after a gold, silver or bronze piece of the jewellery this sporting summer, your local independent jeweller will be able to produce unique jewellery which is fit for a winner!

Gold

Our love affair with gold medallion jewellery has fallen by the wayside to some extent in recent years, but gold medallions can still be fashionable and trendy.  There’s a certain amount of sentimentality to medallion jewellery – if you have a jet-set friend or know of someone who’s off on their travels, why not ask your local jeweller about a gold St. Christopher’s medallion, traditionally bought to keep travellers safe?  Similarly, an antique gold locket from a local jewellery shop makes a lovely birthday present, particularly for milestone birthdays.  Furthermore, gold roman-style coins and intricate circular pendants on long chains continue to be fashionable, so why not bedeck your neckline with a glittering gold medal from a local independent jeweller?

Silver

Silver medallions have become rather trendy of late.  As the boho look has become more and more fashionable, there has been a trend towards small silver medallion pendants stamped with inspirational mottos and sayings.  Why not ask your local jeweller to produce a bespoke piece for you with a favourite motto stamped on it in a retro font – something like, “Live, Laugh, Love”, or “Cute as a button”, or even the names of your children?!  In men’s jewellery trends, retro dog tags continue to be fashionable, and again can be stamped with any motto of your choosing – just ask your local independent jeweller for advice.

Bronze

If you’re after something a little different, then bronze jewellery from your local jewellery shop may just be the thing for you!  You can really go back to basics with bronze jewellery and pull off some primitive, almost stone-age pieces such as large bronze cuffs and dangling hammered textured medallion earrings.  Bronze really lends itself to the hammered look – and it doesn’t just have to be circular medallions; how about heart shaped, for example?  Your local jeweller will be able to produce a really unusual piece from bronze to leave you looking like a medal winner this summer!

New jewellery trends: Steampunk Jewellery

You may not have heard the word ‘steampunk’ before now, but it’s guaranteed that now that you have, you will spot steampunk everywhere!  If you’re wondering, steampunk is an eclectic mix of Victorian science fiction – think flying machines and H. G. Wells and driving goggles and cogs - all of which are inspiring fashion and jewellery. 

It’s not strictly a new trend, with the genre having originated during the 1980s and early 1990s, but steampunk seems to have enjoyed a sudden resurgence in popularity – so why not get ahead of the trend on the jewellery front before steampunk becomes mainstream?  Your local independent jeweller will be in their element creating custom pieces from bits and bobs, cogs and bolts, clock dials and filigree metals – the only limit is your imagination!

Victorian femininity

When it comes to steampunk jewellery, there is a lot of talk about cogs and bolts, keys and clock faces and other manly things, but it’s also about the intricate designs of bygone eras, with particular reference to the Victorian era.  With pearls being back in fashion, your local jeweller will be able to easily create something feminine, and yet still in keeping with the steampunk genre.  Also check your local jewellery shop for cameos, as these are very much the feel that you’ll be after when it comes to feminine Victorian steampunk jewellery.  Ask your local independent jeweller to mount a cameo on to a wide bronze cuff with intricate detailing carved into it, for example, or commission a pearl chocker made from dark coloured pearls: extremely feminine, most definitely classy and exceptionally steampunk!

Pendants of forgotten treasures

One of the joys of steampunk jewellery is the old saying that ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’; it’s common with steampunk jewellery to see old keys, watch faces, cogs and other pendants such as glass beads strung on long necklace chains.  If you’ve got some loose pearls of different colours rolling around in your jewellery box, and an old watch face which isn’t doing anything useful, why not ask your local independent jeweller to create a unique pendant for you?  The trick is to suspend the different components separately, so the pearls should be on a slightly different part of the chain from the watch dial, and then maybe an old key could be hung from another part of the chain; your local jeweller will be able to advise on the best way of doing this and come up with a design to suit your steampunk look.

Gentlemanly looks from a bygone era

And don’t forget that men can get involved with steampunk too – in fact, it’s a great look for the modern fashionable gent!  For a special birthday, ask your local independent jeweller about pocket watches or cufflinks – the cufflinks could be made from old watch pieces for example, and why not ask your local jewellery shop to engrave the pocket watch?  The sky really is the limit when it comes to bespoke steampunk pieces from your local independent jeweller, so fire up your imagination (and your flying machine!)!