Ensure your jewellery lasts many lifetimes..

Part 1- Shape

Beautiful, handcrafted jewellery is usually strong and durable, however it is extremely important to remember jewellery is not made of kryptonite.

Like almost everything, jewellery is susceptible to general wear and tear and even the best made piece can scratch, dint, loose a stone, bend or experience more significant damage.

The good news is with just a little bit of effort and care your precious jewellery should last many lifetimes and in this blog series we hope to give you a few pointers on minding your jewellery.

So what should you do?

Keep an eye on the shape of your jewellery.

Over the course of a day our jewellery is exposed numerous small bangs and knocks. The majority of these bangs you won't even feel or notice but consistent knocks over time can alter the shape of your jewellery, just like one big bang or knock. Rings and bangles are the most vulnerable to changes in their shape, as they are the most exposed to our surroundings. Check your jewellery at least once a month. It only takes a minute. Look for changes in the overall shape, changes in the settings of stones and any loose stones.

Get in the habit of taking it off!

Before you go asleep, take your jewellery off. Necklaces can get tangled, rings with large stones can get caught in bedsheets and sometimes even your body swells as you sleep putting extra pressure on your jewellery. So avoid all of this by taking key pieces of jewellery off before you go to bed and put them back on in the morning.

Always, always, always take your jewellery off when you go to the gym or play sports. Lifting weights with your rings on is a silly idea. Using levers and equipment wearing bangles is asking for trouble. We have seen so many snapped necklaces, squashed rings and bracelets, missing earrings and missing stones as a result of wearing your jewellery in the gym. Get into the habit of taking your jewellery off and storing it a safe container while you exercise. This is also true if you are playing sports, tennis, golf, rugby etc and even if you are swimming. The chlorine in swimming pools is notorious for tarnishing silver, let alone banging your jewellery off a lane rope if you are doing lengths. Similarly if you are gardening or doing heavy manual labour to ensure you avoid any unexpected heavy impacts take your jewellery off!

If you notice a change, do something straight away.

Don't take the risk! Bring your jewellery to a reputable Jeweller and ask them to inspect it. They will be able to tell you whether it is a quick fix or if something more significant needs to be done. They should also be able to clean your jewellery too. We offer this service in DesignYard - feel free to email us at info@designyard.ie to find out more.

Jewellery is made to be worn and this should definitely not stop us wearing and enjoying our favourite pieces but we do need to put a little effort and care into minding them.

We will continue these helpful tips in our next blog instalment......

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