How to clean gold jewellery – the 6 rules to protect necklaces, bracelets and rings
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Gold jewellery demands a good care routine, otherwise, it will become tangled, damaged, discoloured and may even break. So how do you look after gold jewellery? Express.co.uk chatted to the experts at William May to find out everything you need to know about cleaning and caring for gold jewellery.
Storage
How you store your jewellery is as important as how you treat it when it’s on your body.
The experts at William May recommend storing your jewellery in a soft lined box.
They said: “This will prevent it from being scratched by other pieces and will also stop the gold jewellery from becoming tangled with other accessories.
“Keeping the box away from hot radiators will also stop your gold from being exposed to extreme temperature changes.”
Cleaning
Cleaning is one of the most important parts of a care routine for gold jewellery.
William May’s team recommend cleaning your gold jewellery relative to the amount that you wear it.
For example, if it is an occasional item then it might be best to clean it after each use.
They explained: “You can easily clean gold jewellery at home by using washing-up liquid and warm water.
“If you soak the chain for a few minutes in the soapy water the dirt will come away easily with a soft cloth or a toothbrush.
“We would recommend not cleaning jewellery with toothpaste or other strong abrasive chemicals. Once dry you can use a gold polishing cloth to buff the chain.”
If your jewellery requires a more thorough clean, the experts say you can use an ultrasonic cleaner while the jewellery is in water.
This device emits high-frequency sound waves that will agitate any dirt so that it easily comes away from the metal.
Best practise
There are certain dos and don’ts when it comes to taking your gold jewellery on and off.
For starters, never wear your jewellery in the shower or when you go swimming.
The experts warned: “Getting any plated jewellery wet can remove the plating so we would always advise removing any plated jewellery before showering.”
On top of that, you should put your jewellery on after you’ve got dressed and applied any products.
William May’s team said: “Almost all gold jewellery will have alloys mixed in.
“Gold and these other alloys will not rust, however, these alloys can sometimes react with things such as perfumes that may be in sprays and other beauty products as well as your regular perfume, which can cause discolouration.”
Be gentle
Treat your gold jewellery with extreme care, as it can be quite fragile.
Any gold jewellery piece can break if it has been tugged too hard or weakened from stretching, the experts explained.
They added: “Keeping your gold jewellery clean will help reduce any risk of chemicals causing damage.
“Making sure you remove any chains carefully will reduce the chances of necklaces or chains being pulled at during the night or being caught on your clothes.”
Reparations
As soon as you spot any faults or breakages in the gold jewellery, get it fixed.
William May’s experts commented: “Gold jewellery can be easily repaired by jewellery specialists so that you’ll have them back like new in no time.”
Some of the most common repairs for gold chains are:
• chain-link soldering to fix broken links or a snapped chain
• replacing the clasp if the spring has failed or the clasp has become bent out of shape
• shortening a gold chain
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