Protect Your Bling

Enjoy your jewelry for years to come by knowing how to protect and care for it. Read below for great tips that will help you maintain your jewelry and your investment.

1. You have a ring, now what? GET JEWELRY INSURANCE! Jewelers Mutual is the best option for jewelry insurance to protect the pieces you love. Their prices are comparable to USAA, but they actually offer BETTER coverage for your jewelry such as “mysterious disappearance.” Please use jeweler’s code: A02256 to receive your complimentary quote for coverage.

2. Keep gems, gold, and silver stored separately. To avoid the pieces from scratching one another, keep the different metals and gems separate. Fine jewelry should be stored in a soft cloth or pouch as protection and never touching other stones.

3. Don’t jam everything into your jewelry box. A crowded jewelry box means items can easily be damaged or misplaced. If your gem is truly valuable, it merits appropriate storage.

4. Check your fine pieces every 6-8 months by a reliable jeweler to see if the settings are secure, get your jewelry items polished, cleaned and stones tightened (if necessary). You don’t want to lose a stone because of poor maintenance or a damaged prong.

5. Take OFF your jewelry before you bathe, use any harsh chemicals, do any heavy lifting, shower, wash the dishes or WORK OUT. Soap will leave a fine film of residue that can diminish the beauty and liveliness of a piece of jewelry. You should also protect your jewelry or remove it before and after you put on makeup. Powders and creams can leave a dulling residue on it. Additionally, a gem can easily become lost down a drain or damaged during any vigorous physical activity.

6. Don’t wear fine jewelry when doing hard labor or cleaning. If you’re using abrasives or hard chemicals, these can scratch your jewelry or discolor it. For example, ammonia and chlorine (both common cleaning ingredients) can cause discoloration of many metals and even dull the polish on gemstones.

7. Don’t expose your jewelry to extreme temperatures. Gems like opals can be very sensitive to temperature changes, so think first before leaving a piece in an in-the-ground safe during winter or out in a car overnight.

8. Never boil jewelry. You should never boil your jewelry to clean it. The pressure can crack many stones.

9. Don’t store jewelry in a safety-deposit box for long periods of time. Gems like sapphires, rubies or diamonds won’t be affected by it, however, stones like opals and emeralds can be adversely impacted by the dryness. Some jewelers recommend storing a damp cloth in the box with the stones to keep moisture levels up.

10. Never take off your rings or jewelry in a strange place. Too many beautiful diamond rings have been left by the side of public sinks. Remember, you can always purchase a nice chain to wear your ring on rather than setting it down in an unknown place.