Jewellery Care

Understanding how to care for and protect your jewellery is important to ensure that your jewellery maintains its natural beauty and shine and remains in a good condition for many years to come.

At Pearl & Diamond Designs, we pride ourselves on creating high-quality jewellery. We offer a warranty on all jewellery items against manufacturing defects (excluding all damage caused by normal and heavy wear and tear as well as neglect or modifications made by another jeweller).

Whilst every piece of jewellery is made to be durable, varying levels of care and maintenance are still required. For example, some jewellery pieces are especially vulnerable to household chemicals and extremely high temperatures and the durability of some gemstones is affected by their respective hardness level. All jewellery, regardless of the type of metal, will obtain fine scratches over time from day to day wear. These scratches can be polished out at our design studio.

The cleaning and care of jewellery presents special challenges, depending on the nature of the materials. Follow the guidelines below to care for your jewellery:

Basic Do's & Don'ts

avoid hard knocks and bumps to your jewellery as this can cause dents or damage.
take off your jewellery when performing household chores.
store your jewellery away from natural sunlight and heat.
store your jewellery in a soft cloth pouch or a jewellery box (please note that gift boxes are not made for long-term storage as they are not airtight and tarnishing can occur over time).
have your jewellery checked and serviced annually by a professional jeweller.

DO NOT

wear jewellery while playing sports, swimming, gardening or showering.
expose jewellery to chemicals that can discolour or leave a residue (this will make your jewellery look dull). Most hand lotions and perfumes may contain chemicals that can tarnish your jewellery.
store jewellery in the bathroom.

Silver & Gold Jewellery

Silver and gold jewellery may tarnish from time to time. If this should happen, clean your jewellery carefully with a soft, non-abrasive cloth. This may help maintain or restore its shine.

We recommend you use Pearl and Diamond Designs Jewellery Cleaner available for purchase through our website and online store. Use a very soft toothbrush to apply the cleaner and scrub gently. After cleaning your jewellery piece, rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and then dry with a soft cloth.

Chlorine and saltwater can damage precious metals and gemstones by dulling, eroding or oxidising them. Gold and silver are particularly susceptible to damage from chlorine, which can cause permanent damage or discolouration. Some soaps may also leave a thin coat on the metal making it appear dull, therefore, ensure that you remove your jewellery when washing dishes or your hands.

Plated Jewellery

Plating is a term used to describe when Sterling Silver has been coated with a surface covering to give it a gold finish. Although our plating is triple coated, please note that it is not permanent and does wear. The pace at which the plating wears depends on the acidity of a person's skin as well as the amount of care taken when worn. We are all different and therefore some people’s jewellery pieces may fade more easily than others.

When wearing your plated jewellery, it is extremely important to avoid contact with soap, sunscreen, creams, perfume and other harsh chemicals, such as chlorine. Please also ensure that you take your jewellery piece off before washing your hands, showering or exercising, as this can accelerate fading.

But not to worry! Plated jewellery pieces that have faded over time can re-plated. Visit any of our stores or email us at info@pearlanddiamonddesigns.co.za for a quotation.

Stones

Due to the delicate nature of gemstones, we advise that your jewellery piece is cleaned by a professional jeweller once a year. It is also very important to have your gemstone and diamond rings serviced on an annual basis to ensure that the products are in good, wearable condition.

Stones are prone to scratching. Please take care when storing and wearing jewellery pieces with gemstones, including diamonds.

Pearls

Compared to other materials, like gemstones or precious metals, pearls are a soft and delicate stone. Please take note of the following when caring for your pearls:

keep in mind that cosmetics and perfumes often contain chemicals that can damage your pearls.
keep your pearls in a soft pouch, secure and separate from other hard jewellery to prevent them from getting scratched.
if you notice that the string is becoming stretched over time, and your pearls are loose, it may be time to restring to prevent breakage. Visit any of our stores to restring your pearls or email us at management@pddesigns.co.za

DO NOT

clean your pearls with standard jewellery cleaner or any other cleaning material.
soak pearls in liquid. Instead, wipe them down with a soft, damp cloth if necessary.
blow dry your hair with your pearl jewellery on.

If you have any questions or require a quotation about cleaning, caring or repairing your jewellery, please contact us at info@pearlanddiamonddesigns.co.za