Care & cleaning

Cleaning

Warm water, a drop of dish soap, a soft toothbrush behind the stone where the film builds up, then dry with the cloth in your box. Every few weeks is plenty. The stone itself does not change — what dulls a piece is skin oil and hairspray sitting under the setting.

What to keep it away from

Perfume, hairspray and self-tanner go on first, jewelry second. Take rings off for swimming pools and for cleaning: chlorine and bleach attack the rhodium plate, not the stone. Sea water is fine but rinse it afterwards.

Sleeping and the gym

Studs with screw backs can stay in. Rings and bracelets are better off — not because they will break, but because a bracelet clasp under a duvet is how bracelets get lost.

Storing it

In the box it came in, one piece per compartment. Sterling silver tarnishes in damp air; a closed box slows that down considerably, and the rhodium plate does the rest.

Re-plating

Rhodium is a plate, and on a ring worn daily it will thin after a few years. That is normal wear rather than a fault, and any local jeweler will re-plate a silver ring inexpensively.

Your certificate

If your piece came with a GRA card, keep it with the box. The code on the card matches the laser inscription on the girdle of the stone, and you will want both if you ever insure or resell the piece.