Jewelry Care
Keep Your Jewelry Shiny and Happy!
Know When to Remove Your Jewelry
No matter what materials are involved, jewelry is delicate. You should always remove your jewelry when working with your hands or engaging in activities that involve chemicals or abrasives. Take off your jewelry before any of the following:
- Swimming in water that has been treated with chlorine
- Cleaning your home
- Working in the garden
- Playing sports, especially contact sports
Put Your Jewelry on Last
It's tempting to put your jewelry on as you get dressed in the morning or prepare for a night out. However, it's better to wait until you're completely ready before donning your jewels. Whether you're wearing diamonds or rhinestones, the chemicals from make-up, hair products, and perfume can damage your pieces. It's best to think of jewelry as the finishing touch for your look.
Don't Wear Lotion with Jewelry
Although occasional exposure to hand and body lotion won't damage most fine jewelry, it can destroy the finish on costume pieces. In addition, build-up of lotion products can lead to more frequent cleaning of your valuable items. It's best to put lotion on your hands or body after you've taken your jewelry off at night.
Store Your Pieces Separately
No matter how careful you are when wearing your jewelry, it can also sustain damage during storage. Often, this comes from pieces knocking together or getting tangled. Particularly vulnerable materials include pearls, wood, plastic, precious metals, and some gemstones. The best way to solve this problem is to store your items so they can't touch one another.