For life
Care & Keeping
Gold does not need much. It needs the right thing, done occasionally — and never the wrong thing, done often.
Before you begin
Six things from your own kitchen.
No ultrasonic tank, no proprietary solution, no polishing cloth you have to buy from us. This is the method our own bench uses when a piece comes back for a clean.
- A soft toothbrush
- Hot water
- A bowl deep enough to submerge everything
- Dishwashing liquid, or toothpaste
- A clean towel
- A hair dryer
The method
Set aside an afternoon. Most of it is soaking.
Count everything first
Count the pieces before you start and put them all in the bowl. It sounds fussy until the day a stud goes down the drain.
Add hot water
Fill the bowl with hot water so the loose dirt lifts and settles out.
Add soap and soak
Add the dishwashing liquid and leave everything for at least two hours. For a heavy clean, leave it overnight.
Wait for the water to cool
Once the water has gone cold, the soak has done its work. Now you brush.
Brush thoroughly
Work each piece the way you would brush your teeth — into the links, behind the settings, under the gallery of a ring. That is where the dullness lives.
Rinse in clean water
Rinse in a bowl of clean water, not under the tap. Never over an open sink.
Dry with warm air
Lay the pieces on a towel and dry them with a hair dryer for two to three minutes, until they shine. Air-drying leaves water spots in the crevices.
Count again
Count everything back. Then put it on.
Between cleanings
Put jewelry on after perfume, sunscreen, and hairspray, and take it off before you shower, swim, or sleep. Chlorine and salt water are hard on alloys and settings alike.
Gold scratches gold. Keep pieces in individual pouches or a lined box with compartments — chains clasped, so they do not knot.
Sterling tarnishes on contact with air and moisture. Store it sealed and dry, and it will stay bright far longer between polishes.
Once a year, run a fingernail over the prongs of any stone-set piece. If one catches, bring it in. A prong caught early is a free repair; a lost stone is not.
White gold is rhodium-plated. When the warm tone starts to show through, the piece is not faulty — it just wants replating. Any branch can arrange it.
When it needs more
Bring it back to the bench.
Restringing, replating, resizing, prong work, clasp replacement, and polishing are all done in-house. Manufacturing defects are covered for life; everything else is quoted before we start.
Find your nearest boutiqueClient services
Not sure where to begin?
Tell us what the piece is for and we will find it, size it, or make it. Reach the boutique team directly, or sit with the collection in person.
- Telephone
- 0927 755 6703
- Boutiques
- 15 branches nationwide
- mayetdelarosafinejewelry