Caring for gold and silver
What actually damages a piece, how to clean gold and silver at home, and when to bring something in instead.
Most damage to jewellery is not dramatic. It is a slow accumulation of small things — perfume, chlorine, sleeping in a chain, a ring in a gym bag. Nearly all of it is avoidable.
The habit that protects a piece most
Put jewellery on last and take it off first. On after perfume, lotion and hairspray; off before cleaning, swimming, exercising or sleeping. That single ordering prevents most of the wear we see across a counter.
What to keep gold away from
- Chlorine. The most damaging thing in ordinary life. It attacks the alloy metals in gold and can leave a piece brittle enough to crack. Take rings off before a pool or a hot tub — and before cleaning with bleach.
- Abrasives. Toothpaste, baking soda and scouring cream are all harder than gold. They will polish a piece by removing metal, and they leave a haze of fine scratches.
- Knocks against hard surfaces. Higher-karat gold is soft; a 21K or 24K ring dents more easily than most people expect.
- Sleeping in chains. A fine chain that is fine under a shirt all day will kink and snap under a shoulder overnight.
Why silver goes dark, and what to do
Sterling silver tarnishes — that dark film is silver reacting with sulphur in the air, not dirt, and not a fault in the metal. Humidity and contact with rubber, wool and some foods speed it up.
A silver polishing cloth removes it in a minute and is the right tool. Store silver in a closed box or a zip bag with the air pressed out; a piece worn regularly tarnishes far more slowly than one left in an open dish.
Cleaning at home
For gold, and for silver that is not heavily tarnished: warm water, a drop of plain washing-up liquid, a soft toothbrush, a few minutes' soak, a rinse, and dry with a soft cloth. That is the whole method and it handles most of what dulls a piece.
What not to do: no bleach, no ammonia on stone-set pieces, no abrasive powders, and no ultrasonic cleaner at home on anything with soft or treated stones — opal, pearl, emerald and turquoise can all be damaged by it.
Stones and settings
Run a thumbnail gently over the claws of a set piece every few months. If a stone rattles or a claw catches, stop wearing it and bring it in — a loose stone is cheap to re-tighten and expensive to replace.
Mother-of-pearl, opal and pearl are porous. Keep them away from perfume and solvents, and clean them with a damp cloth only, never a soak.
White gold and plated finishes
White gold is finished with rhodium, and rose or gold-toned finishes on silver are plating. Both wear at the points that rub most — the underside of a ring, the inside of a bangle. This is normal wear, not a defect, and it can be redone.
When to bring it in
Bring a piece in when a stone moves, a clasp no longer springs shut, a chain kinks, a ring turns on the finger, or the shine has gone flat in a way a cloth will not fix. We clean, polish and resize pieces bought here for as long as you own them. See finding your ring size if a ring has stopped sitting where it should.