Jewellery Care
Silver
Prevention is better than cure with sterling silver! It will tarnish over time if not treated right. Tarnishing is natural process which is a result of the copper within the silver oxidising on contact with the air.
The best way to prevent this is by regularly wearing your jewellery - easy! It's also best to avoid swimming or showering in your jewellery and to avoid contact with perfumes or body lotions. So put your jewellery on last of all. After use, gently clean with some warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush, rinse well and dry with a soft cloth. Store in an airtight bag.
Well, that's all in an ideal world...In the real world you may well find your silver needs a bit of brightening up. In which case you can try the following:
1 - Give your jewellery a quick, gentle scrub as above.
2 - Line a small bowl with tinfoil and cover with freshly boiled water.
3 - Place your jewellery in the water and add several generous teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda.
4 - Leave to soak for 5-10 minutes. If it needs more cleaning add some more hot water and some more bicarbonate of soda and leave for a few more minutes.
5 - Rinse and give another quick wash with some soapy water and an old toothbrush. Dry with a soft cloth, rubbing carefully to remove any dull residue.
Hopefully your silver will look much brighter!
Gold
Gold doesn't contain oxides so will not tarnish, but should still be treated with care. Ideally avoid contact with perfumes and lotions and also avoid swimming or bathing in your gold jewellery. The purer the gold, the softer it is so 22 carat gold will get a lot more bashed about than 9 carat. However, this can also be a part of its beauty. Cleaning gold regularly will maintain its beauty and patina. Warm soapy water and a soft cloth is ideal.
Gemstones
Some gemstones such as diamonds and sapphires are naturally very hard and can withstand most of what life throws at them.
However, as a general rule you should treat gems with very great care and do not wash or swim in them or allow to come into contact with harsh chemicals or cleaners.
Opals are particularly soft and should be treated gently. Pearls are an organic material and can scratch particularly easily.
Store all gemstones carefully and clean gently with warm soapy water. Dry with a soft lint free cloth.