Yes, Your Fine Jewelry Could Use a Little TLC

Cleaning: Jewelry you wear everyday gets exposed to skin oils, household cleaners and even abrasives. Often-worn items should be cleaned thoroughly every few months to keep them sparkling. To clean jewelry at home, you can use either warm soapy water applied with a soft toothbrush, or one of the many jewelry cleaning solutions on the market.

All your fine jewelry should be professionally cleaned and checked by your jeweler at least once a year. We will make sure the prongs around gemstones and the catches on necklaces or bracelets are tight and secure. We also can remove small surface scratches from the precious metals.

Storage: Both women’s and men’s jewelry should be stored neatly, and separated from other pieces. Diamonds and other hard gems can scratch gold or silver and softer gemstones if your jewelry is heaped together. Most jewelry boxes have areas for organizing rings, bracelets and necklaces so they won’t get tangled. Use soft jewelry rolls for travel to keep the pieces separate. If you like to show off your jewelry, get stands, cubes and display units that can fit on your dresser and keep your jewels organized.

Wearing Advice: Diamonds, rubies and sapphires are hard and tough enough to stand up to daily wear with no problems. However, there are some softer stones, such as opal, lapis lazuli, coral, turquoise and onyx, that require a bit more care. Make sure the setting around those gems protects them fully. Gallery setting, flush mounting and bezel setting are a good choice for protecting soft stones from being scratched or chipped.