Jewellery Care Guide

With a little care, your pieces will remain beautiful for a lifetime. Here's a more in-depth look at daily care, cleaning, gold purity and gemstone-specific care.

Daily Care

To keep your pieces looking their best, we recommend removing your jewellery before showering, swimming, or bathing — prolonged exposure to water, soap and steam can dull the surface of both metals and gemstones over time. It is also advisable to remove your pieces before doing household chores, applying perfume, lotions or hairspray, and before exercising. A good rule of thumb is to put your jewellery on last and take it off first.

Cleaning

A gentle wipe with a soft cloth after wearing is often all that is needed for day to day maintenance. For a deeper clean, mild soapy water using a small amount of gentle dish soap or hand soap, and a soft brush works beautifully for most gemstones and gold. Simply soak briefly, brush gently, rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a soft cloth. Always dry your pieces fully before putting them away, as leftover moisture can dull the surface over time.

The one exception is emerald — emeralds are typically treated with oils or resins to enhance their clarity, and soaking them in water or using soap can strip this treatment over time. For emeralds, a dry soft cloth wipe is the safest approach.

Gold Purity

Gold is measured in karats, which tells you how much pure gold is in the piece — pure gold is 24 karat. The rest is made up of other metals, which give the piece its strength and colour. We work with 9k, 10k, 14k and 18k gold, and each behaves a little differently.

9k gold contains the least pure gold, which makes it the most hardwearing and resistant to scratching, but also the most likely to tarnish slightly over time. A regular gentle clean with soapy water keeps it looking bright.

10k gold is similar to 9k in character, with slightly more pure gold content, giving it a touch more resistance to tarnish while still being durable for everyday wear.

14k gold strikes a nice balance — it holds up well to daily wear and tarnishes less than 9k or 10k, while still being sturdy. A wipe after wearing and an occasional soapy water clean is usually all it needs.

18k gold has the richest colour and the highest gold content, which makes it naturally more resistant to tarnish. It is also the softest of the four, so it is best cared for gently and stored away from harder gemstones or metals to avoid surface marks.

As a general rule, the higher the karat, the richer the colour but the softer the metal, and the lower the karat, the more hardwearing but slightly more prone to tarnishing. Whichever karat you own, drying your gold thoroughly after cleaning goes a long way.

Gemstone Care

Different gemstones call for slightly different care.

Diamond is one of the hardest natural materials, so it's safe to clean with soapy water and a soft brush. Diamonds do attract grease and oil, which can dull their sparkle, so a regular gentle clean helps keep them bright.

Sapphire and ruby are very hard and durable, and clean well with soapy water and a soft brush. It's best to avoid sudden extreme temperature changes, like moving from a hot shower straight to cold water.

Spinel is a hard, durable gemstone that cleans well with mild soapy water and a soft brush, much like sapphire.

Chrysoberyl, including cat's eye and alexandrite, is a hard and durable gemstone that cleans well with mild soapy water and a soft brush.

Tourmaline varies in hardness depending on the variety, but is generally durable enough for most jewellery types with appropriate care. It can be cleaned with mild soapy water and a soft brush, rinsed thoroughly and patted dry. It is best to avoid sudden extreme temperature changes and ultrasonic cleaners, as some tourmalines can be sensitive to both. Store separately from harder stones to avoid surface scratches.

Garnet is generally durable and can be cleaned the same gentle way — soapy water, a soft brush, and a thorough rinse to keep its deep colour looking its best.

Emerald, as above, should never be soaked. Emeralds are typically treated with oils or resins to enhance their clarity, and water or soap can strip this over time. This also means emeralds should never go in an ultrasonic cleaner, as the vibrations and cleaning solution can damage the treatment and even cause fractures. A dry soft cloth is the safest way to keep them clean, and it's best to avoid perfume, lotion and hairspray coming into contact with them too.

Aquamarine is part of the beryl family, the same as emerald, but far more durable. It can be cleaned with mild soapy water and a soft brush without the same concerns as emerald, though it's still best to avoid hard knocks.

Zircon is naturally hard but can be a little brittle around its edges, so it's best cleaned gently with soapy water and a soft brush, and stored away from harder stones to avoid any knocks. It's best to avoid ultrasonic cleaners too, as the vibrations can be too much for its brittle edges.

Rainbow moonstone is softer and a little more delicate than the other stones here, so a soft, slightly damp cloth is the gentler option rather than soaking. It's best kept away from harsh chemicals, sudden temperature changes and ultrasonic cleaners, and stored separately from harder gemstones.

Storage

When not wearing your pieces, store them individually in a soft pouch, a trinket dish or a lined box to prevent scratching — just one important note is keeping harder stones away from softer ones, such as diamonds or sapphires resting against emerald, rainbow moonstone or softer gold.

With a little care, your pieces will remain beautiful for a lifetime.

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