Caring For Your Jewellery: Keeping Your Opals, Pearls And Pink Diamonds Like New

After all this time, you’ve finally invested in the perfect piece of jewellery. However, if you want your jewellery to look as new as the day you bought it, it’s important to follow certain care instructions. When you buy your new ring, necklace or earrings, your jeweller should supply you with proper care instructions. Don’t worry if you’ve forgotten though – we’ve put together this easy checklist of how to care for your opals, pearls and pink diamonds.

Opals

Opals are a gorgeous stone but they can be fairly “soft”. Any hard knocks or sharp particles can scratch your opal, or cause it to crack, so we generally recommend taking off your opal jewellery when playing sport or gardening. If you’re worried about damaging your opal through everyday use, the setting you choose can also help. Bezel settings tend to protect the opal’s edges more (as they are completely surrounded) while claw settings will show off the stone but be less secure.

How to Store Opals

It’s generally safe to store opals for a long period of time if you need to. When storing them, make sure to keep them in a dry and sealed container. It’s also important that you do not put your opal under hot lights for long periods of time (like in a display case) as this may crack the stone.

How to Clean Opals

• Solid Australian opals can be cleaned using a soft toothbrush or cloth dipped in detergent mixed with warm water
• Ethiopian opals are hydrophane in nature so you should avoid getting them wet.
• Use a jewellery cloth to keep all types of opals bright and colourful.

Pearls

These little wonders of nature are incredibly shock-resistant, but they can still be scratched by sharp objects, so make sure to take care if wearing a pearl ring. Aside from this, it’s perfectly safe to wear your pearls while at the beach or swimming (after all, they came from the sea) as long as you make sure not to lose it in the surf!

How to Store Pearls

Pearls require a little bit more care in storage than other jewels because they usually come as a string. Make sure to keep them in a cool, dark and dry place and all prongs and clasps before putting on your jewellery. Pearl strings can often stretch and loosen even when rarely worn, so we recommend restringing your pearls every few years.

How to Clean Pearls

• Avoid wearing pearls in hot settings like saunas
• Never use ultrasonic cleaners, steam cleaners, detergent, bleach, baking soda, toothpaste, or other abrasive materials on your pearls
• Pearls can be cleaned using a soft microfibre cloth

Pink Diamonds

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and pink diamonds are some of our favourites. This incredibly hard and strong stone is the perfect choice for rings and jewellery as it can survive a lot of daily knocks. That said, if you intend on doing any hard work or sports, it’s best to take off your diamond as it could be chipped or fall from its setting.

How to Store Diamonds

These gorgeous jewels aren’t just beautiful, they’re also incredibly robust and strong. This means that your diamond can be safely stored for years. Just make sure to keep it in a separate pouch or compartment so it does not scratch your other jewellery. You should also take your diamond to the jewellery once a year to check for any loose settings.

How to Clean Diamonds

• Brush gently with a toothbrush using a bowl of warm water with detergent
• Clean with a soft, micro-fibre clothes
• Use specialised diamond liquid jewellery cleane
• Use an ultrasonic jewellery cleaning machine

If you’re unsure how to clean your jewellery or would like it looked at by a professional, get in touch with the expert jewellers at Volle today.