If you are like me, then you don't have a lot of money to spend on "expensive" jewellery. What is expensive to me may not be for others but for me, spending in excess of £40 on a bit of bling means I am going to want to take care of that piece of jewellery.
Obviously, a lot of my designs fall into this category and none of my pronged pieces are made to withstand rigorous sports or activities. Though, I try and make sure my rings are as sturdy as can be as rings tend to take the worst hit when it comes to getting bashed about.
So what can you do?
Here's some of my common sense tips:
MAKE SURE your jewellery is the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off. No exceptions. Jewellery can damage your pretty (and expensive) sweaters but your clothes can also ruin your jewellery if you catch it and are not being careful. A little tip for you naughty folks with prong rings who often ignore this: swivel the stone round into your palm and make a fist when you run your arm through a sweater.
TAKE OFF your jewellery before doing anything requiring you to scramble around on rocks or doing sports. Not only will your team mates thank you for removing your jewellery, you can easily bend a prong, open a jump ring or lose a stone or pendant if you are not careful. This will also prevent your jewellery from getting all scratched up.
DON'T spray perfume over jewellery; we often don't know what crazy chemicals are in our perfumes and I have no idea if these could affect the patina or stones in a piece but my advice is: don't risk it.
NEVER and I mean never...put your rings in your jeans pocket. Trust me on this one. I've done it two too many times and bent my rings so out of shape that if I weren't a jewellery maker myself I'd either have to send it to someone for an expensive fix or throw it out. The rings I make in particular have fairly thin bands and will not withstand being crushed by denim and your mighty strong thighs.
DON'T leave it on the floor. About to do some yoga? Get a jewellery tray or ring holder for your nightstand and use it. Don't be tempted to take your rings off and put them on the floor next to you. If you leave it on the floor I guarantee you will tread on it and scream bloody murder at both hideous foot pain and your now beautifully bent ring. Or someone else will be in big trouble for something that wasn't really their fault.
WEAR it regularly to stop tarnish from forming. Wear it less regularly if you want to prolong the oxidised finish or get yourself some liver of sulphur. Click here for instructions on how to re-oxidise your pieces. Got some serious tarnish? Get yourself a Sunshine Cloth.
BUY or make yourself a jewellery hanger where you can store your necklaces. Spending thousands of minutes trying to untangle fine chain is the least amount of fun a person can have.
If you can think of anything else that is helpful at keeping your jewellery safe and undamaged then leave a comment!