Jewellery Care Guide

Our jewellery is made to be worn, not saved for special occasions. A little care keeps it looking the way it did the day it arrived.

What your piece is made of

• Gold vermeil is a thick layer of 14k gold over recycled sterling silver. Ours is 2.5 microns, which is the full vermeil standard and several times thicker than ordinary gold plating.
• Sterling silver is recycled 925 silver, sometimes finished with rhodium for a brighter white.
• Solid gold is 9k, 14k or 18k throughout, so there is no surface layer to wear away.
• Stones are cubic zirconia, moissanite, lab grown or natural diamonds, and coloured gemstones.

The short version

Put your jewellery on last, after perfume, hairspray and hand cream. Take it off before swimming, showering, the gym and bed. Store pieces separately. That is most of it.

Wearing it

Perfume, hairspray, hand cream, suncream and cleaning products are what dull plating fastest. Give them a minute to dry before you put a piece on.

Chlorine and salt water are harsher still, so take pieces off before a pool or the sea. Sweat is mildly acidic, so take them off for the gym too.

Sleeping in a piece is the usual cause of bent chains and pulled settings. Earrings with a drop are the most vulnerable.

Storing it

Keep each piece in the pouch or box it arrived in. Jewellery stored loose together scratches, and silver tarnishes faster in damp air, so a dry drawer beats a bathroom shelf.

If you are not going to wear something for a while, an airtight bag slows tarnishing considerably.

Cleaning it

A soft dry cloth is all most pieces need. Wipe gently along the metal after wearing to lift off oils before they settle.

For sterling silver, a proper silver polishing cloth will bring back the shine.

Do not use silver dip, polishing compounds or an ultrasonic cleaner on gold vermeil or plated pieces. They strip the gold layer rather than clean it. Never use toothpaste or bicarbonate of soda on any of it: both are abrasive.

What is normal, and what is not

Gold vermeil and plating are surface finishes. They soften and wear with time and contact, particularly on rings and bracelets, which meet hands and cuffs all day. That is normal wear rather than a fault.

A clasp that fails, a stone that works loose, or a chain that parts at a join is a different matter. That is covered by our 3 year warranty.

Any questions

Email us at info@aarialondon.com and we will help.