A Guide to Cleaning and Caring for Your Jewellery

At Hatton Jewellers, we know how important your precious pieces of jewellery can be to you. They’re beautiful, often a significant investment or carrying great emotional value., so, it stands to reason that you would want to maintain these pieces carefully. 

In this guide, we’ll cover the care and cleaning tips you’ll need to keep your jewellery immaculate.  

How To Protect Jewellery From Damage

The top priority of jewellery care is protecting your pieces from damage. This can include scratches, chips, stones being knocked out, or metal and gemstones being dulled by chemicals.

Jewellery worn around the hands, such as rings and bracelets, should be removed before any manual tasks such as gardening, cleaning or working with machinery, as the metal may be scratched during these activities or stones could be knocked out of place.

All jewellery should be removed before contact sports or physical activities to prevent jostling. It’s recommended to also avoid wearing jewellery while swimming as both chlorine and salt water can be damaging.

Before applying hand lotion, it's best to take off rings and bracelets to avoid creating a filmy layer over them. Similarly, when using hairspray or other hair products containing chemicals, it's recommended to remove jewellery worn near or around the head, such as necklaces and earrings, to prevent dulling of the metal and jewels. You should also remove your jewellery before showering if using strong soaps or shampoos.

How Should I Store My Jewellery When I’m Not Wearing It? 

When not wearing your jewellery, keep it safe in the box it came in or a soft, lint-free cloth pouch. This stops dirt or lint from gathering on the jewellery, as well as keeping it from being scratched or chipped. 

You can also keep your jewellery in a jewellery box with soft, lint-free lining. Make sure to keep each piece of jewellery from touching each other in the jewellery box to prevent scratching or chains tangling with one another. This also prevents tarnishing from one piece of jewellery transferring to another. Wrap individual pieces of jewellery in cloth to protect them further when in the jewellery box. 

How Often Should My Jewellery Be Cleaned?

We recommend having your jewellery professionally cleaned every six months to a year. Not only does this process renew your jewellery's sparkle, but it also allows a professional jeweller to carefully inspect your piece for any damage you may have overlooked. A specialised magnifying glass known as a loupe, commonly used to authenticate diamonds, is used for this purpose.

You can bring your jewellery for specialised cleaning to our Chelmsford Showroom.

How to Clean Jewellery at Home

Mix a mild detergent with lukewarm, not hot, water. Make sure the detergent is mild and free from ammonia, as harsh chemicals will make your jewellery dull. Soak your jewellery in this solution for about ten minutes, then brush the piece of jewellery all over with a soft-bristled toothbrush. 

Ensure that you use a toothbrush labelled soft-bristled as hard or medium bristles may scratch metals or softer gemstones. After washing, rinse your jewellery under clear running water and gently pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.

How to Clean Gemstone Jewellery

With gemstone jewellery, cleaning can sometimes be tricky, depending on how the gem is set. For example, with many gemstone rings, the setting means that the lower part of the stone called the pavilion, is harder to reach. This is particularly common with a prong setting, where thin metal arms are tapered against the diamond’s facets, creating small gaps between the band and stone where dirt can become trapped. 

To clean in between the prongs of your diamond’s setting, a fine artist’s brush is recommended. 

How to Clean Lab-Grown Diamond Jewellery

A new and exciting development in the jewellery industry, lab-grown diamonds offer all the beauty and traditional qualities of a diamond without needing to be mined. This makes them cheaper to buy and lower emissions.

If you have chosen a piece of lab-grown diamond jewellery, this can be cleaned in the same way as any other piece of diamond jewellery as it contains the same properties. If you’d like to learn more about lab-grown diamonds, see our guide. 

Can My Damaged Jewellery be Repaired?

If your jewellery has sustained damage, Hatton Jewellers is happy to help. We offer a jewellery restoration service at our Chelmsford Showroom, where we’ll happily replace missing or broken parts of your piece. 

How Else Can I Protect My Jewellery?

On top of caring for and cleaning your jewellery, you should also protect your pieces through insurance.

At Hatton Jewellers, we’ll give you a full insurance valuation for any piece of jewellery you purchase from us and our guide on how to insure your jewellery can help you through the process. 

Buy your beautiful jewellery from Hatton Jewellers today, and discover more about caring for your jewellery through the expert articles on our blog, like our gold care guide and jewellery spring cleaning hacks.