Jewellery clean and check important
When was the last time you had your rings and other jewellery items professionally cleaned or inspected? If you wear your jewellery every day, it can be exposed to accidental bumps that can damage it, and this wear and tear is just a fact of life.
Getting it regularly checked should be part of your annual routine, just like having your car serviced and visiting the dentist, says Tania Hill jewellery store manager and GIA: Diamonds Graduate.
‘‘It’s very important to have jewellery cleaned and checked; it not only gives you a chance to pick up on any repairs needed, it also makes them sparkle!’’
Even if you are fanatical about keeping jewellery clean, it needs professional cleaning to keep its dazzle.
If any rings have a fragile setting (often the case with vintage rings), it’s particularly advisable to seek help from the professionals.
At an inspection, the jeweller will check the integrity of the setting. That means looking for problems such as worn, bent or broken claws. The stones will be examined too, to see if they are held firmly in the setting.
Tania says jewellery regularly comes through the door needing repairs, and it may have been annually checked and cleaned.
‘‘It makes no difference if you wear it every day or once a month, if you knock it, catch it on clothing or similar, you can damage or break a claw.’’
She says people can also be surprised at just how much dirt can be collected on a piece of jewellery they wear every day.
‘‘People only notice when their item has been cleaned and say ‘oh it really did need a clean, it looks so different’.’’
Maintaining jewellery is also helpful when it comes to your insurance policy, particularly if you have several heirloom pieces, and certainly if a stone is lost or an item lost or stolen, says Tania.
‘‘It all depends on the insurer and what the fine print says. It certainly helps, if you have had a stone come out, to say ‘I had this checked six months ago’, because then you can be confident it’s not wear that caused the stone to come out. Sometimes people will say very proudly, ‘no I have never needed anything done, I wear it all the time’, but that isn’t the best way because you know that it has had a lot of wear and has never been checked.’’
Tania suggests having rings checked every six to 12 months depending on the design.
‘‘Sometimes if a ring has a more open setting or the claws are a little more vulnerable for catching, you should check it more regularly. Particularly anything that has multiple claws or very few claws, or a setting that is very high.’’
Generally, a jeweller will check the item before they clean it, says Tania.
‘‘This is to make sure the stones are able to be cleaned or if a different cleaning method needs to be used as some stones can be more fragile than others, and that there are no broken claws or damage done to the item first.
‘‘Then we polish the band to remove any scratches, etc, it then goes into the ultrasonic jewellery cleaner and this is where really loose stones can come out as the dirt is no longer holding them in. The good thing about this is they are in the bottom of the container and not lost.
‘‘After the ultrasonic, the item is then steam cleaned to remove any liquid cleaner or cleaning residue and leaves them with a very beautiful sparkle!’’
A diamond engagement ring symbolises long-lasting love and commitment, so you may want to wear it most of the time.
While it is recommended to remove rings when washing hands or doing physical activities, they still come into contact with day-to-day dirt and oils that dull the sparkle over time. And rings sometimes get knocked or bumped, even when you’re careful. So it’s vital to take precious jewellery along to your local jeweller annually for a clean and check.