Vintage Jewellery Care
Caring for your Precious Jewels
You may have just one piece or a vast collection of jewels. Whatever you have you love your prized jewellery finds. Therefore you will want to preserve their beauty as best you can, for all to see and to be able to pass down as heirlooms to friends and family. Therefore vintage jewellery care is of the utmost importance.
Here are a few things you need to remember:
Cleaning
NEVER submerge in any liquid or spray rhinestones (foil backed stones).
Clean stones with either a tiny amount of glass cleaner (free of alcohol, acids or ammonia) using a soft clean cloth, make-up brush or cotton bud. Ensure the cloth/brush or bud is barely damp.
Ensure you are gentle when cleaning your jewellery, be aware that Aurora Borealis stones are easily scratched and the claws can sometimes catch and be easily opened.
Also remember dust is an abrasive to your jewels so good storage is a must.
After cleaning place upside down on a piece of kitchen towel to ensure all moisture is removed from your jewels before storing.
Storage
Store your pieces separately from other costume/silver or gold jewellery. Different metals often react with each other, also glass and hard metals will lead to rubbed or scratched stones.
I suggest keeping each piece in a separate soft cloth bag or at the very least in a plastic grip seal bag.
Always ensure your jewels are dry before storing in a cool, dry and dust-free environment.
Temperature changes can affect the glue over time which may lead to stones falling out.
Moisture is one of the biggest enemies – it causes Verdigris, rust, and pitting damage to metals.
Wearing
Always ensure when wearing body lotions or perfume that your skin is dry before putting your jewellery on. Never spray on perfume while wearing your jewellery.
When wearing, remember that vintage pieces are claw set, be careful of catching them against certain fabrics. Always ensure that the claws are flat against the stones to prevent them from catching, breaking a claw and eventually the loss of a stone.
Where brooches are worn as pendants ensure that the roller catch on the pin is completely set at closed. Place a little piece of blue tack around the catch so it doesn’t move while wearing. Always attach the brooch to the chain by placing the pin clasp end pointing downwards. If the brooch did come undone you are more likely to catch it and stop it from falling.
Take good care of your precious vintage jewellery and preserve them for the next generation to love. Doing this will preserve the world’s History, as we cannot bring back the great designers of the past like, Judy Lee, Miriam Haskell, Albert Weiss, Hartnell, Jacob Bengel, Neiger Brothers, Louis Rousselet, or any of the thousands of talented designers from eras gone by.