When the lighter, brighter days of spring arrive, most of us finally get round to cleaning the house properly after a long, dark winter. Your jewellery box rarely makes that list. It's easy to dust around a jewellery collection without ever really looking at what's sitting inside it, and pieces that go unworn for months can lose their lustre, small settings are exactly the kind of nooks and crannies dust likes to collect in. A little attention now goes a long way toward getting your pieces sparkling again in the sun.
Clean Your Jewellery At Home
Jewellery is delicate, and it's worth knowing what you're working with before you clean it. Some gemstones handle water well. Diamonds, for instance, are easy to clean at home. Others don't. Emeralds, opals, pearls and jet are all considered "soft" gems, and I'd keep these out of water altogether, since they can develop cracks and fissures over time. If you're ever unsure what a piece can take, get in touch and I'm happy to advise.
For everything else, cleaning at home is genuinely simple. All you need is a little time, warm water, a small amount of washing-up liquid, and a soft toothbrush, a baby's toothbrush works particularly well. Leave your jewellery in the warm water and washing-up liquid for around half an hour to loosen any dirt caught in the setting or the links, then use the toothbrush to gently work it free. Rinse under clean water, pat dry with a soft cloth, and buff with a jewellery cloth once it's fully dry.
Check Your Settings
While you're at it, this is a good moment to actually look closely at your pieces, not just clean them. Fine jewellery can be far more intricate than it looks, even when the setting holds one large stone. Check that the claws are still holding the stone firmly. Make sure any clasps close fully rather than sticking half-shut. Look closely at every stone to check nothing has come loose, and check your chains for dents, since a weak link is often where a chain eventually breaks.
Reimagine Your Pieces
Some jewellery sits in the box for a different reason. It's not damaged, you've just fallen out of love with it, or it belongs to a different chapter of your life. I see this a lot with pieces passed down in a family too, the sentiment means everything, but the setting or style is no longer you. Rather than leaving it in a drawer, I'd always suggest talking to me about a redesign. I can often keep what actually matters about the piece, the stone, the history, the meaning, and rebuild it into something you'd genuinely wear again, whether that means a completely new setting or adding fresh gemstones to what's already there.
Book a private consultation and let's talk through what's possible. If you enjoy this blog post, drop me a hello & forward it to your jewellery-loving friends!
