Jewellery care

• Last on, first off. Perfume, hairspray, sunscreen, lotion and hand sanitiser are harder on jewellery than anything else in a normal day. Let them dry before you put a piece on, and take it off before you reach for them again.
• Take it off before water. Showering, swimming, hot springs, washing up and cleaning products all shorten the life of silver, plating, pearls and strung bracelets.

Also worth doing: take pieces off before sleeping and before exercise. Most breakages happen while a piece is being pulled, snagged or slept on, not while it is being worn normally.

925 sterling silver darkens over time. That is tarnish, not damage — it is the metal reacting with the air, and it comes off. Pieces that are worn often tarnish more slowly than pieces left in a drawer.

• Wipe with a soft, dry cloth after wearing.
• For heavier tarnish, use a silver polishing cloth, working gently along the surface.
• Store in a closed pouch or box, away from damp air.

Do not use a silver polishing cloth on plated parts, on pearls, or on natural stones. Polishing works by removing a very thin layer — on plating that means removing the plating itself.

Freshwater pearls, natural pearls, shell pearls and mother-of-pearl are organic and soft. Their surface is the part you can see and the part that is easiest to lose.

• Wipe with a soft, barely damp cloth after wearing, then dry immediately.
• Keep away from perfume, hairspray, cosmetics, vinegar, citrus and any acidic liquid — these dull the surface permanently.
• Never soak, never use ultrasonic or steam cleaning, and never use silver polish or any abrasive.
• Store separately from harder pieces. Pearls scratch against stones and metal.

Every natural stone is different, and the softer ones need more care than the hard ones. If you are unsure which stone you have, the product page lists it.

Harder and more forgiving

Clear quartz, golden inclusion quartz, green rutilated quartz, white agate, tiger eye and aquamarine tolerate everyday wear well. Wipe with a soft cloth; avoid knocks against hard surfaces and keep them away from household chemicals.

Softer — handle gently

Green fluorite and white moonstone are noticeably softer and can chip or split from a single knock. Take these pieces off before anything physical, and store them where they cannot press against other jewellery.

Malachite — keep it dry

Malachite is porous and softer than it looks. Do not soak it, do not clean it with soapy water, and keep it away from heat and anything acidic. A dry soft cloth is all it needs. This is the one stone on this page where the usual warm-water advice does not apply.

Cubic zirconia is hard and keeps its brightness, but what usually goes wrong is the setting rather than the stone. Dust and skin oil collect underneath and dull the sparkle.

• Wipe around the setting with a soft dry cloth.
• Check occasionally that stones still feel firm. If one moves, stop wearing the piece and contact us.
• Avoid catching set pieces on knitwear — that is how prongs bend.

Plated components — including gold-tone and silver-tone spacer beads — carry a thin surface layer. It wears with friction and with chemicals, and it cannot be polished back.

• Wipe with a soft dry cloth only. No polishing cloths, no abrasives.
• Keep plated pieces away from perfume, hand sanitiser and chlorinated water.
• Rotate what you wear. Plating on a piece worn daily wears fastest at the points of contact.

Plating wearing thin over time is normal wear, not a fault. If a new piece arrives with plating already damaged, that is a different matter — see Returns & refunds.

• Ease a beaded bracelet on and off rather than pulling it — stretching is what breaks the thread, not wearing it.
• Do not soak a strung bracelet. Water weakens the cord long before it affects the beads.
• If a bracelet starts to feel loose or the beads shift more than they used to, contact us before it breaks.

Engraving is a cut into the surface, so the lettering will hold a little more tarnish than the polished areas around it. That contrast is normal and, on silver, it is often what makes the engraving readable.

Clean gently around lettering with a soft dry cloth. Do not scrub inside the engraving.

• Give each piece its own pouch or compartment. Silver is soft and scratches against stones; pearls scratch against almost everything.
• Store dry, closed and out of direct sunlight. Prolonged sunlight and heat can dry out pearls and fade the colour of some natural stones.
• Lay necklaces flat or hang them. Chains left in a pile knot themselves.

Silver tarnishing, plating thinning at points of contact and natural stones varying in colour are normal — they are not faults. A clasp that fails, a stone that falls from its setting or a piece that does not match the design you approved is a different thing entirely.

Write to us with a photograph and we will work it out with you. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are set out in Returns & refunds and are not limited by anything on this page.