When you invest in something as unique as handmade jewellery, you want to make sure it gives you decades upon decades of memories. The best way to do that is by lavishing your items with the love and attention they deserve.
Jewellery is very easy to care for but you need to ensure you are doing it correctly from day one. Putting it away at night, cleaning it on a regular basis and following simple practices in your daily routine will ensure the longevity of everything from your funky new gold stacking rings to your pristine pearl necklace.
Without further ado, here is our complete guide on how to care for handmade jewellery. We’re going to tell you how to protect, clean, and store your gorgeous accessories.
How to Protect Your Handmade Jewellery?
Following the below everyday tips will ensure that your pieces remain shipshape for longer.
- Remove all jewellery, even small gold earrings, whilst you exercise. You may damage your pieces, or even yourself, if not.
- Always put your jewellery on last. If you put it on before your clothes, you risk catching it on your clothes and damaging it (or your clothes for that matter!)
- If you wear beauty products such as lotions, make-up and perfume, apply it prior to putting on your jewellery. Otherwise, it will coat jewellery such as your gold stacking rings and result in a loss of sheen.
- Give your handmade jewellery a quick wipe after taking it off at night if you do wear beauty products.
- Remove your jewellery before you wash your dishes, take a shower or bath or go swimming. Prolonged exposure to moisture will weaken your pieces and make them more likely to tarnish.
- Always take off your jewellery before you go to sleep and store it within a jewellery box.
In general, you should check your pieces after each wear for any telltale signs of damage. If you see that a gemstone is loose or that a clasp appears weaker it is best to act quickly. A repair is cheaper the earlier it is dealt with. Besides, if something breaks whilst you’re wearing it, you’re more likely to misplace one of the parts!
How to Store your Handmade Jewellery?
You should store your accessories inside a jewellery box when you aren’t wearing them. Leaving them on your dressing table or hanging them on a jewellery rack exposes them to the risk of tarnish.
A compartmentalised box is best so that you can separate your pieces. This prevents them from tarnishing and tangling your gold pendant necklace with your bracelets and gold earrings. Softer pieces of jewellery may be chipped or marked when stored with harder pieces, such as sterling silver.
If you don’t have this type of box then you can wrap each piece of jewellery in an individual cotton cloth or store it in its original box.
How to Clean your Handmade Jewellery?
Keeping your jewellery clean doesn’t need to be a chore and nor do you need to splash out on pricey solutions. All that you need to clean your jewellery is:
- Soft cotton cloth
- Soft toothbrush
- Baking soda
- Gentle dish soap mixed with tepid water
This is how you can clean your gold jewellery in 5 steps:
- Pour some lukewarm water and a few drops of washing up liquid into a bowl
- Drop in the item of jewellery and leave to soak for a few minutes
- Remove the gold jewellery and place it on a soft cloth
- Gently scrub the piece with a soft toothbrush or nail brush
- Rinse and pat dry with a cotton cloth
It is just as easy to clean your sterling silver jewellery:
- Mix a sprinkle of baking soda and a dash of washing up liquid in some warm water
- Apply this paste gently to your sterling silver jewellery
- Briefly swish the sterling silver jewellery in clean water to rinse it
- Dab the jewellery to draw out any water trapped between the jewels or crevices
- Pat dry with a soft cotton cloth and leave the pieces to air dry
Whether gold or silver, you should store them securely as soon as they are entirely dry. Always be gentle when cleaning your pieces, even your most robust gold pendant necklace is vulnerable to damage if you are heavy-handed.