Keeping & Caring for Your Jewelry - Cassie Stevens, Guest Blogger

I'm super excited to introduce our guest blogger for today! Cassie Stevens lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and two cats, Watson and Sherlock. In her free-time she enjoys wine tasting, weekend vacations with her husband, and watching reruns of BBC’s Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth edition). 

Valuables are called "valuables" for a reason. If a material valuable becomes broken or damaged, it may not lose its meaning, but there very possibly could be some disappointment if the memories or stories behind your valuables are precious to you. I would hope nothing ever happens to your engagement rings or the necklace Grandma gave you. 

A 1.80 ct., G-VS2 Natural Cushion Cut Pave Diamond Engagement Ring is in 14k white gold & found on eBay, $8,495.

Here are some ways to keep your jewelry safe and in good condition, so your memories will always be honored and respected. 

• Get in the habit of dusting and cleaning your jewelry

Really this has two purposes. One is keeping your jewelry clean, and the other is building a habit of taking care of it. There could be debate on how often you should take care of it – some people would say after every use, others may say several times a week. Regardless, you should clean it on a pretty regular basis. With jewelry you have to be extremely careful in doing this, obviously. I would recommend this helpful resource from Reader’s Digest about ways to clean different types of jewelry.

Be sure & take the time to gently clean your jewelry so that it stays looking its best for years to come!

• Store Different Types of Jewelry Separately

Due to different metals involved in pieces of jewelry, keeping them stored next to each other can cause issues of damage in the case of scratching or rubbing off on each other. If you are somewhat of a purist when it comes to the condition of your jewelry, you will want to make sure different jewelry, especially those of different metals, are apart when storing them and don’t tend to touch each other, in case they may rub and get damaged.

Pearls are fragile compared to other gemstones such as diamonds & require specific storage specifications.
These stunning baroque pearls are by Kasumi Pearls show the wide variety of colors that pearls come in, $540.

• If you wear it, make sure the occasion is appropriate!

Since jewelry is so expensive and easily damageable, it only makes sense to use it sparingly. If you’re engaged, wear your engagement ring. But don’t wear your diamond studded necklace when you go the grocery store. And for crying out loud, if you’ll lose it while swimming, don’t wear important jewelry while you’re swimming – you may be surprised how many people still haven’t learned this well into their thirties! Also, it’s important to note that while losing them in water is a possibility, the chlorine in most swimming pools can damage certain types of metal. For more on that, check out this Effect of Chlorine Salt Water on Jewelry article.

A Christie's employee wears a sapphire (33.23 carats) & diamond ring by Repossi, center, a 30.52 carat diamond
ring (D color, Flawless), left, & a Fancy Intense Yellow diamond ring (57.02 carats), right, in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Lock It Up

Essentially, when it comes to keeping jewelry that’s important to you, a solid rule to operate by is treat your jewelry as precious as what it represents to you. That said, keep it safe. It doesn’t really matter where you live – lock your doors. Home burglaries, realistically, are a thing. If you don’t have an alarm system in your house, they may be a good idea – not just for the sake of your jewelry, but other important things as well. A jewelry safe would be a good thing (I happen to prefer Casoro Jewelry Safes for my belongings). 

This is a gorgeous Cartier Meli Melo ring in solid platinum, diamonds and gems ladies wide band ring. The piece is
exquisitely crafted in solid platinum with a smooth polished finish and nice wide form adorned with round cut
loupe clean sparkling diamonds and vibrant gems.  Found on eBay, $$5,995.

The Bottom Line – Lock it up when you’re not using it. This not only keeps it safe from thievery, but unforeseen accidents such as things falling or breaking and harming your jewelry in a general vicinity.  So to keep your jewelry safe and unscathed, you just need a little discipline and some effort.  But like anything in life, it will pay off when your belongings are safe and your memories are respected.

Coco says it best!

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