We all know the wonderful feeling when you first wear that immaculate, sparkling clean new piece of jewellery and promise to yourself you will keep it good forever. We want to help you make this last and maintain your most loved pieces to look and work as good as new for longer. Follow our top tips below for maintaining your jewellery, and remember we offer a variety of repair and cleaning services to look after your special pieces.

Store it correctly

Avoid scratches and dreaded chain tangles by paying close attention to how you are storing your jewellery. Different gem stones hold different densities, and if stored together could get damaged. Always store jewellery in soft lined compartments and if possible keep each piece in its own section. Make sure jewellery is stored away from any direct heat, sunlight or sources of dampness. The original packaging is often the best storage solution as it is designed especially for the piece to protect from dust and damage, so keep a hold of this.

Avoid chemicals

Always be careful when applying perfume, hairspray or makeup as the chemicals in products can contaminate and cause discolouration and tarnishing to delicate jewels. Ensure everything is dry before you put on your jewellery. Remember to remove jewellery before doing manual work, especially housework as any knocks or contact with harsh chemicals could damage gem stones.

If in doubt, remove it

Stones can react to surroundings differently. If you are in any doubt to whether you should wear jewellery in places such as the shower, beach, pool, or spa, the advice is to just take it off and keep it safe.

 

Jewellery care

Clean jewellery gently and delicately to remove dust, dirt and oils that may have built up.  Be careful to not be too harsh or over-rub jewellery and only use non-abrasive solutions like soap and water. Our advice is to clean with a very soft toothbrush, and if you are in any doubt of how to clean a piece it is better to be safe than sorry. You can bring your jewellery in to a McGowans store and our experienced and highly skilled jewellers will have it cleaned up safely for you.

 

Travelling with jewellery

Remember to take your jewellery off before heading to the beach or diving in the pool, as sand and chlorine could affect gem stones and cause discolouration. It’s always best to leave valuable jewellery at home if possible, but if you do plan on taking expensive jewellery abroad make sure your travel insurance covers it, or have your jewellery valued by us and covered by other insurance in case anything should happen to it.

It is recommended that you have your jewellery cleaned annually. If you have any pieces that need attention you can bring them into a McGowans store to have it cleaned or repaired by our team of experienced jewellers. We will have your pieces looking and working brand new so you can show them off once again!

You can view our full range of services here.