This is how you keep your jewelry beautiful

Do you also always wonder how you can keep your jewelry beautiful or even new for as long as possible?

In this blog we would like to tell you how you can take good care of your jewelry, so that you can enjoy it for a long time. Not only convenient for you but also sustainable! Let's get straight to the point:

Can you shower with jewelry on?

We get this question most often. Although it seems logical to give jewelry a nice shower every now and then, we do not recommend cleaning it this way. Jewelry that already has some signs of wear is especially vulnerable if there are residues of care products on it and/or remain on it.

Why? Basically, anything left on jewelry can eventually have an undesirable effect on your darling’s appearance.
Gloss can become dull, colour fade and spots can suddenly appear on the surface over time. This is called oxidation and it is a normal process in which metal reacts when it comes into contact and/or remains with "corrosive" substances.
Corrosive substances are substances that have an intolerable acidity for the metal. This differs per metal. This can mean that if you do not wear your jewelry for a long time and store it neatly but unknowingly "dirty", this can eventually lead to small spots due to local oxidation.

In general, an average piece of jewelry is exposed to water, sweat, chlorine, salt, perfumes and creams. As daily and normal as this is, unfortunately jewelry made of (precious) metals absolutely do not like this.

Therefore, give your jewelry some attention after wearing and preferably a good polish. We are happy to tell you how to best approach this.

Adjust cleaning to the type of precious metal

First of all, it is important to look at what your jewelry is made of exactly, in order to then adjust the correct care accordingly. For each precious metal, this polishing looks slightly different. Below you can read per type of precious metal what the correct care is and other possible special features to take into account.

Cleaning aluminum jewelry

Most of the jewelry in our collection is made of virtually problem-free aluminum. Aluminum does not rust or discolor, which actually avoids the most common jewelry ailments.

However, it may be wise to do your best to prevent possible corrosion. Corrosion in aluminium manifests itself in dullness and roughness of the surface.

To prevent this, clean the aluminum jewelry with some water on a microfiber cloth. Clean the jewelry thoroughly by taking it off several times, each time with a clean side of the cloth.

Has your aluminum jewelry become duller or has it acquired more scratches than “really beautiful” allows due to frequent wear? Then contact us. We can restore the jewelry with our matting machine/gloss machine so that you can enjoy it for a long time again!

Cleaning stainless steel jewelry

In principle, stainless steel jewelry is also rust-free as long as you keep it clean. Salt in particular can corrode the top layer of the steel, which manifests itself in (rust) spots and discoloration. Ideal for cleaning stainless steel perfectly is pure alcohol and a soft microfiber cloth. This will also remove any greasy creams etc. in which possible culprits are hidden.

Cleaning gold plated jewelry

Gold-plated jewelry consists of silver with a layer of gold on the outside. By keeping the jewelry clean and sanding and polishing as little as possible, this layer will remain beautiful for a long time. Here too, we recommend water and a microfiber cloth. Do you want to tackle it more thoroughly? Then a lukewarm water solution with a little green soap is recommended instead of water.

Cleaning silver jewelry

Silver jewelry can darken and this is also a normal reaction of the metal to its environment. You can easily remove the dark color by making a solution of lukewarm water and baking soda. By putting a little of this solution on a microfiber cloth, you can wipe the dark color off.

Conclusion

If your jewelry is precious to you, it deserves the best care to prevent discoloration, oxidation or rust and corrosion. Prevention is always better than cure. So, for example, only put them on when you have finished with your hairspray, make-up and perfume. Finally, it is better to take them off when you are going to cook, shower or swim. And the icing on the cake: just clean them after use! Then they will stay beautiful for a lifetime.