Precious jewellery needs precious care. Diamonds and precious metals are strong and durable, and can be worn for decades but lose their brilliance with time. Make-up, lotions, powders, soaps, natural skin oils and household chemicals can cause build up in the setting of your jewellery and dull the surface of your diamond or gem stone. Regular cleansing is important to remove any such build up and ensures that your diamond or gem remains sparkling.

We recommend that you store all your jewellery individually when you are not wearing it to prevent scratching or dulling other jewellery pieces. It is a good idea to follow a gentle cleansing regime at home and professional cleaning as often as once a year.

Daniella offers complimentary lifetime cleaning for jewellery purchased from our store. We encourage you to bring your Daniella jewellery back to us for professional servicing. Our staff is knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of jewellery care from cleaning gemstones and restringing pearls to repairing clasps and earring backs.

Cleaning Your Jewellery by Daniella

The best way to take care of your jewellery is to let Daniella take care of it for you. Our valued clients receive lifetime complimentary polish and cleaning (ultrasonic and steam) for jewellery purchased from us.

For polishing, we use a high speed buff that spins at 2,850 revolutions per minute. This is followed by placement of  your jewellery in an ultrasonic cleaner – a metal bath filled with water, ammonia and detergent which, when switched on creates a high frequency turbulence that removes the dirt and polishing compounds from hard to get at places in your setting.

Additionally, we recommend that you bring your Daniella jewellery into our store every six months for an inspection to have the security of the setting checked and ensure your jewellery continues looking beautiful!

Cleaning Your Jewellery at Home

As it is not always convenient to visit our store, one of the safest methods to clean jewellery at home is to clean it with a soft toothbrush, after soaking the jewellery in warm soapy water. A mild solution of water and ammonia will also do. Care must be taken to not scratch the jewellery when cleaning.

We recommend the following procedure:

* Make a solution of 5% household grade ammonia, 5% dishwashing detergent and 90% boiled water
* Place your jewellery in the solution and let it soak for 30 minutes
* Follow this by using a soft toothbrush to scrub up and under the setting
* Dip the brush in the solution every now and then
* Finally rinse the jewellery thoroughly under a warm tap and dry with a soft cloth or tissues

Note that this process should not be used for emeralds, pearls, opals or any other soft or porous stone.

Keeping Your Jewellery Happy

* Protect all your jewellery from scratches, sharp blows, chemicals, extreme temperatures, and sunlight
* After each wearing, gently wipe each piece of jewellery clean of make up and skin oils with a 100% cotton cloth
* Store jewellery separately so it doesn't scratch other jewellery
* Remove jewellery when performing household chores such as gardening, cleaning, repairs or other strenuous activities
* Apply make-up and hair spray before putting on jewellery as they contain chemicals that may affect your jewellery
* Do not store jewellery next to heating vents, window sills, or in the car
* Store jewellery away from sunlight. The sun may fade some gemstones
* Do not wear jewellery while in a pool, hot tub or bathing. The chlorine in the water can damage gemstones and precious metals
* Always store bead necklaces strung on silk flat because silk stretches over time
* Frequent cleaning is recommended to maintain your jewellery’s true beauty
* Salt water, chlorine in swimming pools, soap, perfumes, personal products and perspiration take their toll on all fine jewellery
* Wipe your jewellery carefully with a soft cloth or soft tissue to keep it clean

Keeping Your Jewellery Beautiful

Commerical Silver/Gold Cleaners: Read the label, and if in doubt, do not use a chemical cleaner. Some gemstones that cannot be placed in commercial cleaners are pearls, lapis lazuli, malachite, opals, coral and turquoise.

Jewellery Polishing Cloths: Use lightly to restore lustre. Do not press hard when polishing gold filled or plated jewellery or you will damage the surface.

Easy Homemade Solutions: The best way to clean in places where a polishing cloth can't reach is to clean using lukewarm water and a small amount of mild washing liquid.

Tarnish: Prevent tarnish by storing your jewellery in a resealable plastic bag with anti-tarnish paper. Pearls and opals, however, should be stored in fabric instead of plastic because they need to breathe.

Caring for Platinum, Gold and Silver

Between professional servicing, most gold and platinum jewellery can be maintained with a non-abrasive cleaner. Examine your jewellery regularly to make sure settings are snug and clasps and joints are secure. Sterling silver tarnishes rapidly, especially when exposed to salty air and products containing sulphur, such as rubber bands and some papers. Daniella recommends a non-abrasive silver polish to keep your silver looking its best.

Also ensure that you remove all your jewellery each time before you shower or apply lotion.

Storage of your gold, silver and platinum jewellery is also important. At the time of purchase, all Daniella jewellery is wrapped in a protective box, case or tarnish-resistant pouch. When not wearing your jewellery, we recommend that you place the piece back in its original case or another suitably lined box or pouch.

Caring for Sterling Silver Jewellery

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The first thing to understand is that sterling silver tarnishes typically by things that we do and wear. Perfume, colognes, lotions, sweaty skin and hair products are all contributing factors to tarnishing your shiny silver jewellery. After you remove your jewellery, you must wipe the residue off, otherwise the chemicals contribute to the tarnishing process. Harsh chemicals from dishwater detergents, chlorine and the like will tarnish sterling silver jewellery. Also, if sterling silver is exposed to the air and left unprotected when not being worn, tarnish is inevitable.

A few easy steps will ensure that your sterling silver jewellery is as brilliant as it was the day it was purchased. Ensure that your jewellery is the last thing you put on, after spraying yourself with perfume and applying lotion, and after you spray your hair. Remove your jewellery before you go for a swim, an invigorating workout or to bed. When you remove your jewellery at the end of your day, take a couple of minutes to wipe it off with a jewellery cloth or an old t-shirt. Never use tissues or paper towels to clean sterling silver. These products will scratch the jewellery, which in turn will detract from the beauty of the pieces.

After the silver jewellery is wiped clean, store it in an airtight container, such as a resealable plastic bag, a cloth bag or an airtight jewellery box. Please be aware that many display units and boxes may contain sulphur, which interacts with and tarnishes sterling silver. The lesser air and light your silver is exposed to when you aren't wearing it, the lesser it will be tarnished, making it easy to have shiny jewellery each and every time you're ready to wear it. Taking the time to keep your silver jewellery clean after wearing it and storing it away from light and air is all that's needed to cut down on tarnish significantly.

Caring for Gold Jewellery

Pure gold is very soft which makes it unsuitable for most jewellery. To make it stronger, it is mixed with other metals – this is called alloying. The carat (ct) tells you how many parts of gold and how many parts of other metal are there in the gold alloy.

Gold plating is a method of depositing a layer of gold onto the surface of sterling silver through an electrochemical process. Care should be taken when cleaning gold plated jewellery to protect the layer of gold from being worn away or nicked. Do not use abrasive compounds to clean gold jewellery.

Although gold jewellery will not tarnish, it will get dirty. The oils from your skin affect the metal and will therefore need to be washed off periodically. The easiest way to care for it is to scrub it with an old soft toothbrush and a mild dish washing liquid. Rinse it well and lay on a towel to dry. Be sure it is completely dry before storing.

Another cause is actually corrosion of the metals. Gold itself does not corrode, but its primary alloys of silver or copper will do so (forming very dark chemical compounds) under moist or wet conditions. When we perspire, it can corrode the gold, especially when exposed to warmth and air. This problem intensifies in coastal and semitropical areas, where chlorides combine with perspiration to form a corrosive element that discolours skin. Smog fumes gradually attack jewellery and are evident as a tarnish that rubs off on the skin. We suggest that you remove gold jewellery often and use an absorbent powder, free of abrasives, on skin that comes into contact with your jewellery. Avoid contact with chlorine too, as it can damage and discolour your jewellery.