Caring for your pieces
Silver darkens, copper turns green, leather dries out and coral dulls. None of it is serious, and all of it can be put right. Here is how.
925 silver
Silver darkens on contact with air: it is a normal chemical reaction with the sulphur in the atmosphere, not a fault in quality. It is entirely reversible.
Routine care: rub with a soft dry cloth, or a cloth made for silver. That is enough in the great majority of cases.
Heavily darkened silver: soak the piece for a few minutes in warm water with bicarbonate of soda, in a container lined with aluminium foil. Rinse in clean water and dry completely. This bath works fast — keep an eye on it.
Never do this to an antique piece whose dark patina is part of the design: on a Tuareg cross or a Berber jewellery set, the blackened hollows draw the pattern. Stripping them means erasing the drawing.
Set stones
Each material has its own fragility, and the general rule — warm water, mild soap, a soft brush — does not hold for everything.
| Stone | Precaution |
|---|---|
| Turquoise, malachite, coral | Porous. Never water or soap. Dry cloth only. |
| Mother-of-pearl, pearl | Damaged by alcohol, therefore by perfume. Put on last, take off first. |
| Amber | Very soft, scratches easily and melts with heat. Keep away from sunlight. |
| Amethyst, rose quartz | Fade under prolonged direct light. |
| Tiger's eye, agate, onyx | Hard-wearing. Warm water and mild soap are fine. |
| Lapis lazuli | Often wax-treated. No hot water. |
Checking a setting
Hold the piece near your ear and shake it gently. A faint rattle means a stone is moving in its seat. Stop wearing it and show it to a jeweller: a shifted claw is easily put back, a lost stone cannot be replaced.
Antique objects
Pewter and metalware. Dust with a dry cloth. Old pewter scratches very easily: avoid any polishing paste. Brass and copper can be revived with lemon and salt, but think first — patina has value.
Ceramics. Wash by hand, in warm water, never in a dishwasher. Antique pieces often have micro-cracks in the glaze that absorb water and dyes.
Leather. Antique leather is dry. A hazelnut-sized amount of colourless cream once a year restores its suppleness. Never water, never a heat source to dry it.
Minerals
A soft dry brush is enough. Avoid water on iron-bearing pieces and on meteorites: damp starts a rust that never stops. Store them dry, apart from one another so they do not scratch.
Ten habits that change everything
- Take your jewellery off before the shower, the pool and the sea
- Perfume and cream first, jewellery afterwards
- Take off rings and bracelets for housework, gardening and sport
- Do not sleep in fine jewellery: chains break at night
- Store each piece separately, in a soft cloth
- Never keep silver in a damp airtight box
- Check clasps twice a year
- A chain that has broken once is weakened along its whole length
- Antique jewellery needs more care than new
- At the slightest doubt about a stone, ask before acting