It is really important to keep your jewellery clean and take real care of your jewellery, so it is ready to wear whenever you need it.

Here our Founder Rebecca explains why and offers some general wisdom and ways that you can do this.

"You want to keep your jewellery looking new and clean for several reasons. Firstly, it feels better wearing a piece that looks good with an outfit and secondly, long term tarnish can be hard to clean off and may need specialist help, so keeping on top of it is advisable.

Jewellery that is locked away in a box or drawer and never sees the light of day saddens me; especially if the reason is a bit of tarnish or lack of knowing how to make it sparkle again. 

So, where to start?

I always start by looking at the piece of jewellery and what it is made of. Is it sterling silver, solid gold, silver plated? What carat of gold might it be? Does it have stones, is it a mixture of metals? Look for hallmarks, stamps and letters on the piece to give you clues.

For instance, 925 means the item is sterling silver (92.5% silver and 7.5% copper alloy). Gold may carry a mark like 375, 14ct, or 9ct, whilst platinum might say 950. If your piece of jewellery carries no mark at all don't worry, it can still be cleaned carefully. 

Polishing cloths are a great way to clean away excess tarnish and with patience, a pendant or chain can be brought to an excellent shine. 

When making our handmade jewellery, we use TownTalk polishing cloths and CapeCod impregnated cloths for tougher stains on the coins when they first come in. As most of our coins are base metal, like copper, bronze and brass, they clean up very well with a polishing cloth. This does take perseverance on hard tarnish but they work. *Tip* Always gently polish for longer, rather than scrubbing or pressing hard all in one go.

These brands offer a variety of cloths based on the metal you're working with too, so check their recommendations when purchasing to make sure you're selecting the most suitable item. They can last for years and don't be discouraged when they turn black - that's good - its the tarnish coming away. 

TownTalk and other brands offer anti tarnish strips. These are small pieces of paper or card that absorb tarnish and they sit alongside your item in a pouch, box or bag. They need replenishing regularly, maybe every three months to keep tarnish at bay, but they are a great invention because they provide peace of mind while you are not wearing your jewellery, that it will stay shiny. 

 

One top tip is when storing in a jewellery box or bag, try not to place different metals together. Keep sections for silver, gold, platinum etc and this will slow tarnishing. Jewellery boxes should be kept away from areas of varying and extreme temperatures, such as windowsills or near electricals that give off heat. Heat is one of the elements that speeds up tarnishing.

Other things that speed up tarnishing - all these things are based on medium to high levels of direct exposure or a combination thereof...

Sunlight, water, perspiration, salt, oils of any kind (skin, creams, lotions), perfume, man made fibres, hot/cold temperatures, chlorine, some plastics, alcohol (wipes, anti bacterial gel etc) and acids which can be found in some tissue papers, boxes or storage pouches. 

I store my personal jewellery in a lined box when not in use, separated by metal or item in sectioned trays and each tray layer has an anti tarnish card inside. Of course, some pieces are in their own branded boxes and this is fine too. 

Whilst these measures wont' eliminate ever having to polish your items, it does mean that most of the time, your favourite piece for the day is more than often ready to take out of the box and start wearing. 

Before busy times of year, like before Christmas, Easter or the summer when I wear the greatest variety of jewellery; I spend an evening with a nice drink, an audio book and sit at the table cleaning my jewellery with the suitable cloths. This is a lovely mindful task that maybe only takes an hour, but it's surprising how it calms the mind and sometimes ideas come to me out of nowhere. In the summer, it's a nice thing to do under the shade of a tree in the garden too. 

However you wear or care for your jewellery, I hope the above tips and information has been useful. Jewellery above all, is made to be appreciated, loved and worn and that is exactly what we design all our Prenoa pieces for - to be used. So love your jewellery and wear it with zeal; and when the time comes to put some love back in, make a date with your soul to mindfully do that."