A Guide to Keeping Your Jewelry Looking its Best


There are simple things you can do every day to make sure your pieces stay brilliant. And you may have never thought about them.

1. Don’t sleep in your jewelry.

Pressure, tossing and turning can weaken and pull links and settings.

2. Water is not your jewelry’s friend.

Showering, washing dishes or your hands, or wearing it in a pool or spa isn’t ideal. Water pressure can loosen stone settings, residue from soap and conditioner can build up and cloud your stone’s brilliance. And chlorine can ruin pearls and isn’t good for silver or precious gold.

3. Rings off. Then hand cream on.

It cakes onto settings and gets under stones leaving a film.

4. Don’t clean it with harsh chemicals.

Fine jewelry should be cleaned by professionals or with polishing cloths or soft toothbrushes with liquid soap.

5. Keep it separate.

Jewelry pieces can scratch one another when kept in loose jewelry boxes. So keep each piece in separate compartments in your jewelry box.

6. Jewelry doesn’t like gardening. Or working out. Or cooking.

Precious metals can be scratched from rocks and dirt. Sweat creates a film that can cloud stones. And food prep that requires you immerse your hands (i.e. breads, etc.) allows oils to get beneath stones, which is hard to remove.

7. Size matters.

Make sure your rings fit right and are sized correctly by a professional. It could cut circulation if it’s too tight or be lost if too loose. Keep in mind that your finger size may vary depending on the time of day or weather.