Jewellery Care
Each piece of Catherine Hartley jewellery is made to last. But the materials used can still incur damage, and care is needed to protect and prolong the life of your piece. Taking a little care of your jewellery will help to prevent damage and minimize the natural wear that occurs over time.
Avoid wearing your jewellery when doing anything that will have contact with chemicals or will cause impact or pressure on the piece. Rings in particular need extra care, as their place on our hands means they are in constant contact with various surfaces while being worn. As a general rule, always remove rings whenever you are doing rough hand work that could scratch or dent your piece, chip or crack stones, or loosen settings. This is also for safety reasons, as rings can catch or cause serious harm if your hands or fingers are injured while working.
While it can be tempting to wear your piece all the time, always remove jewellery when swimming, exercising, gardening, crafting or building, cleaning, if your job involves regularly working with your hands, or similar activities. It is also best to remove jewellery when bathing, showering, applying lotions and other beauty products, and sleeping to avoid buildup up of residues, particularly on gemstones and diamonds, and to avoid unnecessary heat and pressure over the long term.
The box that your jewellery item comes in is an ideal place to store your jewellery whenever it is not being worn.
If you are unsure about whether you should remove your jewellery at any time, it is best to err on the side of caution and remove it. Make sure when you take off your piece to keep it in a safe place. While metals, gemstones and diamonds are hard materials, they are not indestructible. Certain gemstones, such as emeralds for example, are delicate despite their hardness, and can chip or crack easily if knocked.
Prongs holding gemstones and diamonds in place can loosen over time and with wear. Keep an eye on your stones by periodically having them professionally checked and tightened by a jeweller. Pave set stones will also need extra care and to be looked at, as settings can loosen and allow stones to fall out. You can also check the stones at home in between visits to a jeweller by very gently tapping the sides and surface of stones with a pinpoint, and seeing if they move at all. Do not continue to wear your piece if you suspect a stone is loose, as this could lead to the stone falling out. If you think a stone is loose or that the prongs need tightening, get in touch or visit a professional jeweller before wearing your piece again.
Jewellery is not meant to be bent or pulled. Bending a piece back and forth (a bracelet, for example) will weaken the metal and may cause it to break.
Jewellery Cleaning
To clean your jewellery, gently clean in lukewarm water with mild soap and a soft toothbrush. It is best to do this with a soft washcloth lining a sink, or in a plastic bowl - never over a hard surface (or open drain!) in case it drops. If there are gemstones or diamonds in your piece, use the toothbrush to gently clean underneath and around the setting. Rinse your piece clean of any soap after cleaning, and then dry and polish with a soft cotton cloth. Never use metal polishing pastes or cleaners as they tend to be too abrasive and can actually cause damage over time - particularly if there are gemstones in your piece.
For sterling silver jewellery (without stones), there is a very simple and non-toxic trick that I love for cleaning tarnished pieces. Take a clean bowl or container, flat bottomed ideally (plastic, ceramic or glass will do - not metal), and line with aluminum foil. Place your silver jewellery on top of the foil, ensuring that each piece is touching the foil at at least one point. Sprinkle about a teaspoon or two of baking soda over the foil and jewellery. Bring a kettle to a boil and pour the hot water into the container, until the silver jewellery is fully submerged. The baking soda will bubble now - this is normal and is cleaning the jewellery. Allow this to sit for about a minute and then pull a piece of jewellery up to check (wooden or plastic tongs, or similar will do - again, not metal). If your piece looks clean of tarnish/oxidation, it is done. If not, allow it to soak for a minute or two more. Once the silver looks bright and clean of tarnish, remove it from the container, rinse clean with water, and dry fully with a soft cotton cloth.
Repairs
Great care is taken in making each piece of jewellery; if any issues arise under normal wear within the first 6 months after delivery that are the result of a flaw in fabrication, I will repair it free of charge. If any piece shows improper care or damage not relating to the build quality, repairs will be done at a fee. Damaged pieces can be repaired after this 6 month period, and fees for this service will vary according to the extent of repair. It is your responsibility to ship and insure your jewellery. Email info@catherinehartley.com for additional information.
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I will check gemstone and diamond settings, and give your jewellery a quick clean (not full polish - that is a separate service) for free at any time over the years. I love to be reminded of long-gone pieces when they come back to the workshop and to catch up with customers, and I want to ensure your piece remains in good shape throughout the years of wear. Feel free to get in touch and book an appointment to come by the studio to have your piece looked at by emailing info@catherinehartley.com
-Catherine