Caring for Women's Jewellery

Before starting to sell women’s jewellery online in 2003, I knew absolutely nothing about jewellery or semi precious stones however since then, I have accumulated a wealth of invaluable information which I now love to share with others who are as passionate about gemstones as I am.

The term “semi precious stones” is not particularly favoured by gemmologists who deem all gemstones to be precious to a certain degree.   After all a fine grade of Garnet or Aquamarine, both of which are “semi precious stones”, can easily rival the price of a Ruby or Sapphire so what exactly makes one gemstone precious and another semi precious?  Some may argue that rarity or value is the chief contributing factor but there are plenty of semi precious stones which are rare and pretty expensive and many low grade precious stones which are common and relatively cheap which basically puts an end to that argument straight away!

Whatever you prefer to call them, gemstones are beautiful natural objects which have evolved over millions of years and gemstone jewellery has been worn for personal adornment since prehistoric man walked the Earth.  Historians have learnt that almost every natural material has at one time or another been used in women’s jewellery and certain semi precious materials can be dated as far back as 70,000 years.  

Semi precious stones come in an endless variety of colours and despite it having taken millions of years for the minerals to evolve, gemstones can quickly become spoilt if not well looked after.  Whilst the colour of Amethyst can fade if exposed to excessive heat or bright sunlight, Chrysocolla will easily crack if not well protected and Turquoise can be damaged by coming into contact with the oil from your skin or chemicals found in perfumes and hairsprays.

Women’s jewellery is easy to look after and by following a few easy steps, you’ll be able to enjoy your collection for many years to come.  The most important rule is to keep your jewellery covered with a soft piece of material when it’s not being worn, this will help to prevent silver from tarnishing and gemstones from becoming scratched.  Mohs scale of mineral hardness confirms that all semi precious stones can be scratched by a gemstone which is harder so you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is for your favourite Turquoise pendants or Lapis Lazuli necklace to get scratched and without re polishing, these marks are there to stay.

Using a silver polishing cloth will remove any build up of tarnish and giving your jewellery a quick wipe before putting it away will remove traces of chemicals or other pollutants which it may have accumulated whilst being worn.  Due to the chemicals in most swimming pools and salt and moisture from your skin, always remove your jewellery before swimming or going to the gym, protect your hands from detergents when wearing gemstone rings and be careful to avoid sudden temperature changes such as opening a freezer if wearing a pendant necklace as this could cause certain gemstones to crack.  Women’s jewellery often becomes damaged as a result of being cleaned in silver dips or other jewellery cleaning solutions so take extra care if ever you’re thinking of using one of these.    

There are no hard and fast rules to follow with regards to caring for women’s jewellery and what may be acceptable for some pieces may be not be recommended for others so before cleaning any of your jewellery or gemstones, always speak to a professional first to get some expert advice and remember, if you’re doing your research online, anyone can write articles and post them online so be sure to delve deeper and cross reference what you read to check how accurate the information actually is.