Are you a silver girl or a gold girl? Perhaps a diamond or a pearl girl? Whatever your day-to-day jewellery of choice may be, the dazzling sparkle from these trinkets can make anyone’s heart smitten. The only downside of them is their tendency to tarnish and become more dull over time. Jewellery often carries special memories, like a gift from loved ones or a family keepsake. Follow our guide to find out how to keep your gems in the best shape to last you a lifetime.
Proper storage
To keep your jewellery from tarnishing, it starts from the most mundane care, which is proper jewellery storage. Make sure you store precious accessories in a cool, dry, and tidy place. This helps prevent moisture that can damage the metals and stones. Also keep in mind to place your jewellery box away from sunlight, because heat can cause your jewellery to tarnish faster.
Organise jewellery collection
Use a jewellery box to keep your trinkets in order. Whether you prefer one with multiple compartments, stackable jewellery boxes, a necklace tree, pegboards, fancy automatic storage like in the Princess Diaries – the choice is yours. If you are planning to stack them, especially for travel, it’s ideal to keep them individually in soft cloth bags to prevent scratching.
Avoid mixing different types of metals or stones
Harder gemstones like diamonds may scratch softer gemstones like opal. The same rule applies to metals – gold metals are harder than silver metals, and they may scratch if stored together. A jewellery box with multiple compartments can help to avoid this problem. Plus, it will also be easier for you to search for a specific type when getting ready!
Be mindful while wearing
Jewellery is most exposed to moisture, scratch, and tarnish risks while it’s worn. To avoid this from happening, make sure it does not get in contact with your hair or body products, like lotions or hair oils. Make sure to take them off while doing harsh physical activities like sports or gardening too.
Clean your jewellery
Ideally, you should clean your jewellery at home once a week. Don’t worry, doing it might be easier than you think – just mix three parts of lukewarm water with one part of fragrance-free liquid soap and soak it for five minutes. Then just gently brush, rinse, and dry! Cleaning your jewellery helps prevent dirt and oil buildups that make them dull. Other than that, you can send your precious accessories for professional cleaning once or twice a year.
Invest in high quality jewellery
In the era of fast fashion, costume jewellery tends to be made with cheap materials that do not just tarnish after a short time, but also rust. Wearing rusted jewellery increases risks of skin reaction and irritation. Make sure to invest in higher quality jewellery made from stainless steel to make your money’s worth.
Read more about jewelleries here.