Jewellery has a unique meaning to us all, some pieces being passed down through generations or given as special gifts, and others being cherished for their design and beauty. No matter the meaning, we all want our jewellery to last a lifetime, so it's important to store your fine jewellery correctly to prevent tarnishing and scratching. Here's our top tips for keeping your most precious pieces safe.
INVENTORY
It’s a great idea before you start organising your jewellery to put together an inventory list. This is a great way of keeping track of things, but also really helpful for insurance purposes in the event of lost or theft. It's also a good idea to keep a photo of any jewellery receipts, especially if they're of high value. This may also be a great time to review your insurance policies to be sure your jewellery is covered!
CLEAN YOUR JEWELLERY
It’s a good idea to clean all of your jewellery before storing, and ensure there is no tarnishing. Storing a piece of tarnished jewellery with untarnished jewellery can cause both to tarnish faster. We recommend the following method as a way to gently clean your jewellery.
- In a ceramic dish, mix a few drops of mild soap free detergent and lukewarm water.
- Place your jewellery in the solution for up to 30 seconds. If you are placing multiple items in the dish make sure they don’t overlap.
- Use a soft bristled toothbrush (baby’s tooth brushes are great) to gently buff away any dirt on your jewellery.
- Rinse the jewellery and pat dry with a soft lint free cloth. Make sure your jewellery is completely dry.
- Use a polishing cloth to remove any tarnishing and bring back to a beautiful lustre.
Make sure all jewellery is clean and dry before storing as moisture can cause your jewellery to tarnish very quickly.
TEMPERATURE
Jewellery is best stored in a dry, cool room. Moisture tarnishes jewellery rapidly so avoid storing your jewellery in a humid environment. Excess heat can also damage jewellery, and precious gemstones, so never store jewellery in direct sunlight.
WHERE TO STORE
Jewellery boxes with a lid are a great option to prevent dust collecting in your jewellery storage, and they are also easy to move around if required, but you can also use a drawer to keep it in a dark place out of direct sunlight.
HOW TO STORE
Silver, gold and other precious metals are expensive and delicate. To avoid scratching it's best to to store pieces in separate compartments, not touching one another. Jewellery boxes with a lid are the best option as they are generally lined with a soft material and split into sections for different jewellery types - they also prevent dust collecting on your jewellery. If you're storing your jewellery in a drawer or somewhere that separating the pieces isn't possible, try wrapping each piece in tissue. You can also use felt to line anywhere you are storaging jewellery to absorb excess moisture and prevent scratching an oxidisation.
#jewellerycarehack - if you ever receive silica packets in shoe boxes – keep these and place them near your stored jewellery to pull and collect moisture!
ONGOING CARE
To keep your jewellery beautiful and shiny it’s best to polish it a few times a year, or drop it into our Ponsonby Bohtique and we can clean it for you. All Boh Runga silver jewellery is rhodium plated. For specific care of rhodium plated silver see our product care page.
Where possible you should avoid wearing you jewellery in water, specifically pools and spas as the chlorine can damage the metal and cause it to turn black. We also recommend avoiding contact with perfumes, shampoos and deodorants.
We know that wearing your jewellery is the best part about having it, so if it goes on and never has time to make it into jewellery box, that's ok too! The ultimate thing you can do for your jewellery is to love it.
xx
