Jewellery Care

Your gold jewellery is designed to work hard for you, but it will need some care to keep it looking its best and lasting you through the years.  Below we’ve compiled some best practices to help guide you through taking care of your fine jewellery. 

Insure your jewellery

We highly recommend contacting your insurance company as soon as you have your new engagement ring or higher valued jewellery in the house or on your hand. 

While ATTIC’s one year manufacturing warranty covers prong maintenance and the replacement of side stones, it does not protect you from center stone loss or damage. 

Jewellers Mutual is the industry's leading insurance company, and provides comprehensive specific coverage packages as well as quick online quotes. 
 

Ring check ups + maintenance

Of all of the pieces in your collection, your rings likely get the most wear and tear. They rub on surfaces, bump up against things, and will therefore need the most maintenance.  Rings with gemstones that are worn frequently should be checked by a jeweller at least once a year.  Less heavily worn jewellery should also be checked, but you’ll likely find that it’s your rings that need the most love. 

If your ring has prongs or claws, over the years as they start to wear down, they can catch on hair or clothing. This can damage the prongs, so if you notice your ring is catching stop wearing it and contact your local jeweller for an inspection or repair. As the prongs start to wear down they will need to be re-tipped. ATTIC offers re-tipping repair services on ATTIC jewellery. Unsure of the parts of your ring? Head to Jewel School to learn the about Anatomy of a Ring.

 

Protect your finish + gemstones

When you first get your new piece of gold jewellery, it’s going to be beautiful and sparkly, and have a perfect surface finish. 

Over time, the shiny polish or matte finish on your jewellery will become burnished and even out into a beautiful, worn surface that falls somewhere between matte and high polished. This change is expected and completely normal, but there are some things to do to protect the finish on your jewellery and make it last longer. 

Make sure to remove your rings especially when you are doing heavy work like lifting weights, fixing cars, gardening, or doing the dishes.  This will help protect the metal from scratches, and your gemstones and settings from being damaged.  We also recommend removing your jewellery when showering and swimming.

When storing your jewellery, think about protecting the surface of the jewellery and being as gentle as you can with it.  Store your jewellery on soft trays, lined boxes, or in pouches or bags that won’t leave marks on your piece. 

There are so many great jewellery dishes and ring cones out there, but check to make sure that the surface of your dish isn’t rough, as it will likely scratch your pieces.  Even jewellery bumping into other jewellery can change the surface finish/ polish of a piece. Pro tip - Line your ring dishes or trays with soft suede or velvet inserts to create a non abraisive/gentle spot where your can jewellery to rest. 

If you store your chains or necklaces in bags or pouches, make sure you leave about an inch or more of chain outside of the pouch to prevent the chain from tangling. 

 

Clean your jewellery

If you find that your gemstones are not looking quite as sparkly as they did when you first got them, your ring likely just needs a good cleaning.  Body oils, lotions, etc. can get trapped on and under the surface of your sapphire or diamond, and over time affect the play of light in your gemstone.

While we don’t recommend bathing or showering in your jewellery, you should give your jewellery it’s own bath at least once a month or more. 

Pro tip - Soak your jewellery in a dish of warm soapy water (away from the sink) for a good hour or so.  Add a few drops of gentle dish detergent in warm water to help break down the oils and grime on your gemstone.  Use an old soft toothbrush (baby toothbrushes work great) and give a gentle clean around and under your gemstones.  Rinse with fresh water, then dry with a lint free cloth. 

We recommend bringing in your pieces to ATTIC or your local jeweller for professional deep cleanings once or twice a year.  At that time, we’ll give your ring a quick check up to make sure that everything is looking good.

Sapphires, diamonds and rubies are tough and can withstand diluted detergent baths, but check in with us about how to clean your other gemstones.