Care of Your Kate Wainwright Jewels

Jewellery Care

If your recycled silver or gold jewellery is lacking lustre or beginning to tarnish you can clean your jewellery with a polishing cloth or a dip solution. Please avoid using hard brushes or abrasives as they may scratch the surface of the metal and be cautious if your jewellery contains gemstones. To avoid tarnishing please store your jewellery in an appropriate container.

It is not recommended to wear your jewellery when bathing or swimming and wearing whilst applying perfume or wearing perfumed lotions may cause the metals to tarnish.

Silver and Gold are both beautiful metals to wear and when cared for properly they will retain their lustre and shine, but for silver, as it is a relatively soft metal it is also prone to little scratches and if not cared for properly, tarnishing. 

(Warning, sciency bit ahead!) Over time silver jewellery can develop a dark grey tinge to it, this is silver sulphide which develops through a process called oxidation. Wearing your silver jewellery frequently will prevent tarnishing as the oils from your skin 'clean' the metal and help maintain the shine. Always put you jewellery on last! Contact with perfumes, sprays, cleaning products and other household chemicals or substances which contain sulphur will cause your jewellery to tarnish. Take your jewellery off when sunbathing or swimming as chlorine, suncream and sunlight can tarnish silver.

Different finishes require slightly different attention when cleaning so the overall finish (ie satin or high shine) is not compromised. Read on for recommendations on cleaning different finishes below;

High Shine Pieces 

Clean with a good quality silver cloth. If the tarnishing is significant polishing alone may not do the job in which case you may need to use a chemical dipping solution.

Satin Finished Silver

Pieces with a satin finish are best cleaned in a silver dipping solution rather than with a cloth as you don't want to end up turning the satin finish into a shiny finish! Make sure you follow the instructions on the packet and don't leave your piece sitting in the solution for longer than recommended.

Oxidised Jewellery

This is jewellery that has been tarnished on purpose. This is often done to highlight specific details of a piece. Oxidised jewellery generally needs less cleaning but if it does require sprucing up it should be cleaned carefully so the patina is not removed. Completely avoid immersing in any chemical cleaners and simply wash in warm soapy water or really gently with a soft brush. To brighten up any areas that don't have the patina use a good quality silver cloth. 

Jewellery With Gemstones

Use a mild soapy solution to clean your jewellery and clean around the gemstones with a soft brush such as an old toothbrush. Rinse with clean water and dry with a soft lint free cloth. 

Storage. 

Storage of your jewellery plays a big part in keeping it in pristine condition. Store your jewels out of sunlight and away from heat sources to prevent tarnish and sun bleaching of stones. Don’t leave your jewels out where they can be exposed to household chemicals. Store in an airtight bag or in a box with acid-free tissue paper. Store in a dry place as damp can cause tarnishing. Store pieces separately to avoid scratches and tangled chains. I advise taking your jewellery off at night especially if worn layered with other jewels to prevent tangling and scratches.