How Do I Care for My Custom Jewelry?

Gentle is the whole method. Warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft brush remove the skin oils and product film that make any piece look dim; a soft cloth brings the shine back. What to avoid: harsh household cleaners and abrasives, which attack metal and can dull or scratch stones — and ultrasonic cleaners, which are fine for plain gold and diamond but risky for some coloured stones and some finishes. If you are unsure what your piece can take, mild soap covers almost everything.

The best single rule is to take pieces off before the situations that damage them. Showers and baths leave a soap film that dulls metal and is hard on plated finishes; pools and hot springs carry chlorine; the gym, gardening and heavy lifting load prongs with impact and grip; household cleaners are aggressive on both metal and stones. None of this is delicate-paranoia — it is why a piece that comes off for ten seconds a day still looks new years later.

Then there is the check that saves stones. Prongs are tiny; they bend gradually with years of snags and daily grip, and a stone lost to a bent prong is a real loss, while the same bend caught at a check is a quick tightening. Have pieces — especially daily-worn rings — looked over once or twice a year; any jeweller can do it in minutes. And remember that normal maintenance has a normal cost: replating a white-gold finish or resizing a ring are bookable services, not defects — the same honest line items we flag before a project starts.