Fine jewelry care

A piece of fine jewelry is an investment in craftsmanship and design. In my studio I create jewelry, designed to follow you through life – and to be passed on from one generation to the next.

I hope that you will make a special effort to take care of your jewelry. Cautious care will contribute to preserving the original gloss and elegance and may prohibit any future repair and restoration of your fine jewelry.

USE AND SAFEKEEPING

I recommend that you put on your jewelry in the morning and take it off at night before bedtime. Physically demanding exercises may cause unnecessary wear to a piece of jewelry. I recommend that you always make sure to take off your jewelry before house and garden work, cooking, swimming, bathing and sports activities.

In order to avoid blows to and marks on handcrafted surfaces fine jewelry must be worn with caution. It must not be directly exposed to hard and rough objects that may cause damage to the precious metal – among these other pieces of (gold) jewelry, door knobs, garden tools, tools and stoneware and clay pottery.

Keep your fine jewelry in a secure location, preferably in the original box/bag that came with the item. Do not put heavy objects on top of jewelry items or next to them as this may cause damage to your jewelry or wring them out of shape. Colliers and chains must be closed and put in a flat position, hung or wrought around a soft element to avoid them from tangling and to remain ready for use.

Fine jewelry adorned with brilliant cut diamonds, precious stones or pearls should be examined once a year depending on how frequently the jewelry is worn. It might be difficult to spot with the naked eye, but a piece of jewelry can have been exposed to light blows or wear that may constitute a risk of stones or pearls becoming loose or even lost.

GOLD

Clean your gold jewelry without precious stones frequently using jewelry care products without abrasives. This is the way to go about cleaning fine jewelry without any risk of damage.

All gold and silver jewelry is 100 % nickel-free.

HANDCRAFTED SURFACES ON GOLD AND SILVER

Gold and silver are mouldable precious materials, soft enough to be processed and shaped. A patina of age and use on handcrafted surfaces is part of the natural beauty of a piece of gold or silver jewelry.

Please note that rings are more exposed than other pieces of jewelry. In the course of a day the human hands are in close contact with a number of hard objects. Consequently, the part of the ring that faces the palm of the hand will be particularly exposed to wear.

SATINISED SURFACES

Satinising of a gold or silver surface means finely carving delicate grooves in the precious metal hereby adding a silky matte look to the surface. Daily use will cause wear to a satinised surface, making it smoother and brighter in exposed areas. 

HAMMERED

On a forged gold or silver surface tiny dents are hammered in a random pattern hereby creating a less smooth surface. Daily use will cause wear to a hammered gold or silver surface making it smoother and brighter in exposed areas. 

WHITE AND BLACK RHODIUM PLATED

Rhodium plating is a terminating treatment of the gold surface. Numerous layers of rhodium make the gold surface appear white or black – creating white gold or entirely black gold. In the course of time, depending on how frequently the jewelry is used, the delicate rhodium plating will wear off naturally. White gold will get a yellowish look, but can at any time have new rhodium plating restoring the white appearance of the gold. 

PRECIOUS STONES AND PEARLS

I only use natural precious stones carefully selected by professional gemmologists according to severe quality control. Every single stone is carefully examined for inclusions, sheen, tone, colour and sizes. Customary to the fine jewelry industry precious stones are treated during the cutting process. As is the case with other natural materials – for instance leather – washing, polishing, colouring, heat- or wax-treatment can optimise the appearance and durability of precious stones.

Precious stones are natural products from mother earth. Impurities and variations to individual stones may occur. This is by no means a fault to the stone, but an exceptional characteristic of a natural product. Two stones may share colour tone and shape, but they will never be entirely identical. Hence every precious stone is entirely unique.

Coloured gemstones and pearls are fragile and do not possess the durability of diamonds. Wear to bracelet charms in particular must be expected. In order to avoid fractured diamonds as well as scratched, bruised or chipped precious stones and pearls the jewelery must be worn with care and is advisedly not to be knocked against hard surfaces or objects. Pearls and precious stones risk losing their shine when exposed to oils, lotions, perfume, detergents etc. Precious stones are fragile natural materials and are easily scratched and affected by chemicals. For this reason precious stone jewelry should be gently cleaned using only a soft toothbrush and water.

Genuine pearls are tiny natural miracles – grown from living organisms. Mother-of-pearl in a vast number of layers has formed over time, making a pearl something very special, but also a fragile natural product. Any kind of blow or contact with hard surfaces should be avoided in order not to scratch or knock off one or several layers of mother-of-pearl. Pearls should not be exposed to oils, lotions, perfume, detergents etc. Frequent exposure to sunlight or heat will also put the pearl at risk of losing its natural shine.

RINGS

Please note that contact with hard surfaces, such as doorknobs and bannisters, or pressure from heavy bags may expand the size of the ring and should therefore be avoided. For a fee the size of a ring can be altered. 

I hope that you find these recommendations for fine jewelry care useful – and that you will make good use of them.