Maintenance

Your jewellery will give you many years of pleasure if you look after it well.
Here are a few guidelines on how to do that.

Mohs scale
An important factor to consider when caring for your jewellery is the hardness of the gem stones in the items to be cleaned. This hardness is measured on a Mohs Scale (from1-10), 10 being the hardest known substance to man. Here are the ratings for some of the more popular gemstones and metals:

Caratage System
Any caratage value lower than 24 is a measure of how much gold there is in the jewellery gold alloy. Pure gold is 24cts and so theoretically 100% gold, in reality there is a 1% tolerance allowed. The following show the % of gold in the most commonly used alloys in jewellery in Australasia.

Platinum in Australasia is usually 95% pure with some alloys to increase hardness.

General Care and Cleaning

One of the best comparison to make is, would you pay $3,000 for a Chanel jacket, and then Domestos the bathroom in it? Your jewellery reflects the way you wear and store it more than you can imagine. A professional jeweller will be able to tell if you wear it all the time, and if you throw it in a box with everything else.

Care
In day-to-day wear a diamond, 10 on the Mohs Scale, will not scratch BUT diamonds will chip on the girdle where they are most vulnerable. So, generally speaking they should not be worn when doing household chores and definitely not when doing the gardening!

So then, as diamond are the hardest known substance to man and should be worn whilst doing household chores then it goes without saying that all other gemstones and metals that are softer than diamonds should not be worn either. This then includes ALL other gems and metals!

Cleaning
Always clean your jewellery with the plug in the sink! The following list of gems and metals below, are cleaned easily and effectively with warm water in a bowl with a small squeeze of washing up detergent and tiny amount of ammonia, OR a little bit of Handy Andy and a soft toothbrush. Soak the jewellery in this solution for a short time, longer if it's really dirty. Scrub with the toothbrush then swirl back in the solution. Put into a strainer (plastic) and rinse with clean water, make sure the temperature of the rinse water is the same as the solution, so as not to "shock" the gems. Then dab dry with a cloth.

• Gold
• Diamonds
• Sapphire
• Sapphire
• Ruby
• Topaz
• Platinum

The following items below are more sensitive and should only be cleaned by wiping over with a soft damp cloth.

• Pearls
• Opal
• Emerald
• Jade

Additionally, pearls should be restrung yearly as the build up of oils and grim on the silk will cause damage to the pearls.

Silver may require cleaning with a specialist silver dip or a cloth but if stored correctly and worn with care it should not become excessively discoloured. NEVER wear silver in salt or chlorinated water.

As all gems and metals have different hardness levels, this then means that they should always be kept separate in your jewellery box. Diamonds will scratch other items and things such as pearls or opal are quite soft and should be not stored where other items can scratch and damage them. Always keep jewellery in a compartmentalized jewel box or alternatively wrapped individually.

Your jewellery should always be the LAST thing you add to your outfit before you walk out the door. Cosmetics, hairspray and perfume are just a few of the enemies to your jewellery. Oil and debris attracts dust and grit and they coat the back of your stones and inside setting. Chemical in hairsprays and perfume can cause irreversible damage to pearls and opals and chlorine will discolour and damage the settings in your jewellery.

All jewellery should be checked by a professional every year. You must have the claws or bezel checked to make sure that your stones are secure. The shank must be checked to make sure that it is not wearing thin. If you find that you have a piece that is suddenly "catching" on your clothing, this would indicate that perhaps a claw is lifting off the stone. If your stone "rattles" in the bezel this could indicate that the edge may be wearing thin and lifting off the stone. As we are as jewellers are trained to see these things and will be able to give you advice on the best course of action. Remember, maintenance is less expensive than replacement.