Sirens Jewellery & Accessories

Caring for your Jewellery

As we get all that little bit older and hopefully wiser, our lifestyle changes, and before we know it we have inherited some heirloom jewellery or perhaps can finally afford to purchase some pieces that we wish to keep for our life time, rather than for just a season.

This article will give you some tips to maintain and keep your special items in tip top condition, however it is still recommended that your jewellery visits the jeweler from time to time for maintenance work (a little like going to the doctors.)

Glamour needn't be for just special occasions, and it is highly recommend that you were your favorite items everyday- however make sure you treat your items with some respect!

Wear gloves to protect your rings when cleaning around the house.

You should ideally remove all jewellery before showering, or swimming, basically any task that may bring you into contact with chemicals that may damage your jewellery.

Cleaning jewellery

It is easy to ensure your jewellery is always looking its best!
To clean, use warm soapy water (non-detergent soap). Jewellery polishing cloths are also great to bring back the shine in sterling silver jewellery. Most jewllers sell these clothes, but in a pink you can use a lint free cloth that is used to clean your glasses or sun glasses.

Hint - OPSM quite often has these on their counter for free as a value add gift.

Use a soft brush such as a soft toothbrush to help remove dirt on claws of larger or more intricate pieces.

Caring for Pearls

To keep pearls looking their very best you need just a little knowledge on how to care for them correctly.

Pearls, including freshwater pearls are delicate organic gems that are made of the natural product called calcium carbonate. This product is drawn from the lake or river by the mussel that the pearl lives in. Your freshwater pearls were once living and growing so you will need to make sure that as with all living things they stay out of harm.

The products that harm pearls most are the very things that the woman who loves pearls probably wears without a second thought.
You've guessed it already - the most harmful product to a pearl is the application of perfume, hair spray and cosmetics and face creams when the owner is wearing the pearls.

These grooming products and other household chemicals, if sprayed near pearls, can build up on the pearl and damage the lustre. The nacre can become marked, dull, pitted and generally lose that marvellous luminous lustre that defines a pearl.

Rules of Pearl Care

The most important way to prevent damage to your pearls is by following the golden rule of putting your pearls on as the last thing you do when finishing your grooming.

Put the pearls on after you have applied make up, perfume and hair sprays, never before.

Spray your perfume behind your ears or on your décolletage - avoid spraying it on your neck where the pearls will actually sit and avoid touching your pearls when you have just applied hand cream.

If you need to reapply hair spray at some time, slip the pearls off for a moment and put them well out of the damage zone.

Likewise make pearls the first thing you remove after a night out, before you wipe your face and neck with cleansers or facial wipes, or night creams.

As you remove your pearls wipe them with a soft damp cloth. Buff them occasionally with a silk cloth to enhance their shine and lustre.

Try not to fling them in a jumble on the dressing table, but discipline yourself to put them back in their original container. Many pearls are sold with a Chinese silk jewellery pouch and this is the best way to store your pearls. Velvet lined boxes with separate compartments are also safe to use as are chamois leather pouches. Your pearls may arrive protected by bubble wrap, but you should never store the pearls in this plastic long term.

Hint!

If your budget does not extend to the purchase of a new jewellery box or silk pouches, many $2.00 shops sell organza bags that can be used. The organza bags can in three or for sizes and a range of colours. This a great alternative to protect your jewellery and is ideal for you to take your jewellery away with you on a business trip or holiday, so you will always looking at your glamourous best.

If you throw pearls into a jewel box full of other tangled jewellery your pearls will soon lose their lustrous sparkle, the surface will become scratched, wires will become bent and clasps scratched. Never put your pearls on top of a fireplace, television set or a radiator as the heat will discolour them often turning them brown overnight. For the same reason avoid steam cleaning them. Always avoid touching your pearls with your fingers if eating bar snack foods as they sometimes have chilli style powders on them. Such spices can damage the surface of pearls. Store strung pearls flat as they won't stretch so quickly as when hung. Pearls appreciate a little moisture so wearing them regularly is important - therefore, avoid storing pearls in a very dry room, or in a safe deposit box. For the majority of women the best place to keep your pearls is on your neck! Wearing your pearls gives them the chance to breathe and the body produces natural oils that pearls love. Body warmth and the expression of this fine natural body oil through the skin keeps the pearls looking good.

Whilst some women can improve the look of pearls there are unfortunately a few other women who may have a more acid balanced skin type and such acid skins can sometimes cause pearls to lose their lustre. However by regularly wiping the pearls after use you can slow the process down enormously. This is very important as body perspiration is acidic and can eat away at the nacre, likewise the alcohol content of perfume can suck out the moisture from a pearl leaving it brittle.

Cleaning Pearls

Jewellers can clean pearls or you can buy a special pearl jewellery cleaning solution. Don't clean pearls using any of the jewellery cleaners especially for gold or silver on the market. Such products usually contain an ammonia base. Also don't use the ultrasonic cleaning sets as the vibrations canmake the pearls rub against each other and cause scuffing.

If the pearls are old and the lustre is dulling wipe them with a soft damp cloth that has been dipped in a very gentle natural soap solution, next wipe them with a detergent free damp cloth and then allow them to dry flat on kitchen paper. After the pearls have dried, a cloth with a fine smear of olive oil will help restore some lustre.

Stringing

Good pearls will last longer if they are restrung every year if you wear them every day or every two years for less frequent wear. They should only be restrung with pure silk thread or special nylon necklace cord. Other yarns like cotton break and rot more easily. Every string is best knotted between each pearl. The knot not only helps keep control of your pearls should they break, but also helps stop the pearls rubbing too much against each other.

Some people do not like the look of a knotted string and newer alternatives are spaced pearls on wires held in place by gimps. Such necklaces have a fresh modern look, but must always be stored as flat as possible to prevent the polymer coated wire from getting bent.

In review, jewellery is designed to help us look and feel great, with a little care, we will have pieces that will last a life time and even perhaps become family heirlooms. Next time you buy a piece of jewellery for your self or a friend, remember to ask the jeweler for a jewellery pouch to keep your piece in tip top condition.

www.sirensjewellery.com.au
"Revel in your inner girliness"

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About the Author
Colleen Condon is the owner of online jewellery and accessories boutique. www.sirensjewellery.com.au

Colleen Condon spent 7 years working in an outsourced customer relationship provider as a learning and development specialist, fine tuning customer service and sales skills of front line employees.

Sirens Jewellery and Accessories online boutique was created from a love of jewellery, girly handbags, a passion for travel and an interest in different cultures. In her travels and adventures working in the corporate world, Colleen was well known to friends and family for finding unique, quality fashion jewellery and handbags that told stories of exotic places and glamour.

About Sirens Jewellery and Accessories
Today's savvy shoppers use Sirens Jewellery and Accessories online boutique to purchase distinctive and gorgeous fashion jewellery and accessories.

Sirens Jewellery and Accessories innovative online boutique enables fast, convenient purchasing of gorgeous jewellery and accessories, for themselves, friends and family.

We understand that today's gorgeous woman wants fabulous jewellery and accessories that are delivered to their door. We know that the moment of unwrapping their 'Sirens Jewellery and Accessories' package is just as fabulous as wearing them.