CANTIK jewelry is made to last a long time, but it will remain shiny even longer, if you take good care of it. Metals can eventually tarnish, silver can get a dark patina and deposits of debris and grime can make gemstones look dull. Some gemstones are very sensitive to water and chemicals and their color and shine may change if treated carelessly. 

Below is our advice on how to maintain the beauty of your jewelry for years to come. 

Take it off 

• When going to sleep or getting ready for the day

• When exercising, showering or swimming

Any harsh chemicals such as chlorine, shampoos, shower gels and sweat can damage your jewelry and gemstones. If they are exposed, gently rinse them and dry with a soft cloth. 

• When doing heavy chores, gardening, cleaning, baking or cooking

Just in case, remove your jewelry before these activities to avoid any pressure, heat damage, or simply loosing your precious items.

Clean it regularly

Clean your jewelry regularly in order to keep it going longer. How fast your metals tarnish depends a lot on the composition of metals (alloy) and also on the acidity (pH) of your body. 

Silver usually always gets a dark patina with time. While some people find it attractive as it can give your silver jewelry an antique or vintage feel, some like their silver items shiny.   

To maintain the shine, you can either use a soft silver cleaning cloth or a silver dip, but be sure not to dip any items with gemstones. 

Gold plated and vermeil items can also tarnish if the very thin gold layer wears off and silver is exposed. You can clean those with a soft cloth. If the plating has worn off very badly you can consider having them replated. 

Gold filled material very much looks and acts like solid gold as the layer of gold on top of base metal is much thicker. Gold filled items don’t usually tarnish very fast, but if they do you can clean them with mild detergent and very soft brush or with soft dry cloth. 

The easiest to maintain is solid gold. If your pieces look a bit dull and dirty, you can just clean them with a mild detergent, warm water and soft brush. 

If you are a real jewelry lover you might want to invest in a small ultrasonic cleaner. However be very careful not to dunk your gemstones in it. They might chip from shaking in the cleaner. Never clean pearls, coral, ivory, amber or opal ultrasonically. The same applies to gems impacted by heat and temperature changes like tanzanite, moonstone, turquoise and topaz.

A word of warning about using any old toothbrush to clean your jewelry. While they feel soft they still might leave tiny scratch marks on metal. If you want to use a toothbrush the best option is to buy an extra soft baby toothbrush for this purpose. 

Store it well

This seems obvious but we all are quilty of tossing our jewelry in a pile in a drawer or on a table at the end of the day.

A better alternative is to get a few little jewelry bowls on your night stand, to place rings, earrings and necklaces separately. This way they won’t get tangled and lost and there’s no danger of gemstones getting scratched.

For long term storage of your precious items, the best would be to wrap each item in a soft cloth or tissue paper and place it in a little airtight bag. Ziplock bags are perfect. They don’t let oxygen in which stops the tarnishing process. 

Alternatively you can invest in a fabric lined jewelry case with several compartments and dividers and which can be closed. 

As a rule of thumb all jewelry should be stored in a clean, dry space. 

Insure it

You might consider insuring your precious items the same way you insure your domestic valuables. Often people don’t think about insuring their jewelry for theft or fire but it is better to do it than to regret. The first step to do this is to have your jewelry appraised so that you know the exact worth of it.