18ct white gold natural solitaire diamond ring

A guide to caring for gold jewellery

Caring for white gold, yellow gold, and rose gold jewellery
Like all other precious metals, gold requires special care and attention to look its best year after year. When it comes to caring for gold, purity affects care. While purer, high karat gold is more prestigious, it also damages and degrades more noticeably than alloyed pieces.

• Yellow gold is the most pure form of gold jewellery. It is the most hypoallergenic, and requires the most amount of care out of all forms of gold
• White gold features an alloy of nickle or palladium. These strong metals make it more resistant to scratching, tarnishing, and damage. All White gold jewellery is plated with rhodium for extra strength, sparkle and lustre. It must be replated yearly to ensure that it is always looking its best.
• Rose gold takes its pink hue from the presence of copper. This makes it subtle, delicate , and precious.

Easy gold care at home

The easiest way to care for your gold jewellery at home is to make a mixture of 10 parts water and 2 parts dish soap. Soak your pieces for at least two hours, then polish with a soft cloth. Never use paper towels to polish your jewellery.

Daily wearing tips

Proper gold jewellery care starts in your day-to-day life. Practising daily care will guarantee your gold jewellery a longer and most lustrous life. Here are some simple tips to keep your gold rings, gold earrings, gold bracelets, and gold chains looking their best.

 

• Store your pieces separately. Using a jewellery box will prevent scratching and tangling.
• Wrap each individual piece in a soft cloth. If you don't own a box, this is the next best thing.
• Put on your gold jewellery last. Perfumes, deodorants, and makeup can degrade your jewellery faster.
• Keep an eye on degradation. Having your pieces fixed early will prevent structural damage.
• Get rid of moisture when storing your pieces. Put silica gel or a piece of chalk in your jewellery box.
• When keeping your jewellery stored away, make sure a silica gel satchel is in the box

What not to do

Although it's a soft metal, gold itself is actually quite resilient. However, because gold jewellery is always comprised as an alloy of several different metals, it is susceptible to degradation. This is because chemicals and wear affect the alloy metals, leading to stress corrosion in key places like prongs and bands.

Gold jewellery cannot be cleaned by traditional household cleaning methods. The presence of harsh chemicals can degrade your gold pieces until they tarnish, crack, and even completely disintegrate. Unfortunately, there's no way to save heavily damaged pieces.

To avoid damaging your gold jewellery, steer well clear of chemicals like:

• Chlorine
• Chloride
• Bleach
• Solvents
• Detergents
• Dissolvents

Keep in mind that being a soft metal, gold jewellery is precious, and can be subject to scratching and denting if not cared for properly. Not matter how beautiful your piece of gold jewellery is, you should wear it sparingly when possible.

You should remove and store your gold jewellery in a safe place when:

• Sleeping
• Cleaning
• Bathing
• Exercising
• Swimming

Please note that Stardust Gold Jewellery must not be worn in water.