We Have New Care Cards!
On the back of our 'Thank You' card, you can now find our beautifully designed 'Jewellery Care' instructions to help you keep your jewels in tip-top condition!
I am often asked why it is recommended to remove jewellery for swimming when all our pieces are solid gold and should be 'waterproof'. The truth is, that even though we don't work with plate or Vermeil, all jewellery is delicate and prone to tarnish, dirt and breakage without the appropriate care.
All our jewellery is made from solid recycled 9 carat and 18 carat gold (and some Sterling silver) and while solid gold jewellery will not lose its colour, it is entirely possible that the lower carat gold can tarnish.
This is because the gold used to produce jewellery is an alloy. Pure gold is chemically unreactive but it is too soft for the rigours of daily life, so it must be mixed with other metals to make it more robust. Those other metals mixed with the gold are chemically reactive. The carat of the gold is a measure of the gold content contained in the alloy, for example 18 carat contains a mixture of 75% gold with other metals such as silver, 9 carat contains 37.5% gold and so on. And this is the reason lower carats can change colour when exposed to water (salt & chlorine) and perfumes etc. - because the other metals in the alloy are chemically reactive. For example, the ear posts and butterfly backs of ALL my earrings turn a black or a coppery red colour where they come into contact with my skin! Some skin can even tarnish metals!
But fear not! If you find that your solid gold jewellery has changed colour to a reddish tone, it isn't damaged or faulty! A good rub with an anti-tarnish polishing cloth will remove the discolouration - which is one reason why solid gold is a much safer bet when investing in jewellery, as every time you clean plated and Vermeil pieces you are losing a little bit of that precious gold plate by rubbing it off!
(Check out the reel on instagram showing how just a little bit of a rub with an anti-tarnish cloth will remove tarnish no problem! Click here)