Protecting your Gems and Jewelry from Damage:

The precious metals and gemstones used to create your jewelry are durable substances, but not impervious. Even a diamond, the hardest of all stones, is vulnerable to damage if treated improperly. The following are a few simple precautions which will help you enjoy your jewelry for a lifetime:

• DON'T wear your jewelry when engaging in activities where there is a risk of impact, such as sports and gardening. I, myself, have damaged a couple rings when I carelessly took part in a drumming circle and forgot to remove my rings. Another example would be a trip to an amusement park -- it can be a great time, but imagine getting home in the evening to discover that your prized pendant or earring was jostled loose and lost on a ride, or a stone from your ring was cracked. Even a diamond can be chipped by a hard blow. Enjoy yourself, have fun, but take off the jewelry beforehand so that you will not remember that day as the day you lost your favorite pendant!
• DON'T expose your jewelry and gems to chemicals such as household cleaning products, make-up, fragrances and hair products. Many of these products contain chemicals that could damage or destroy some gemstones, altering the color, appearance and/or durability. If you cannot remove your rings when using strong cleaning products (i.e. Ammonia based), protect your jewelry (and your skin) by wearing rubber gloves.
• DON'T subject gemstone jewelry to sudden temperature changes. This can cause some stones, particularly opal, will fracture or break. Personally, I don't recommend wearing opals outdoors in the dead of winter. Subjecting opals and other fragile stones to freezing temperatures can destroy them. I'm perhaps overly cautious, but that's me. Wearing an opal pendant in the wintertime beneath a coat should certainly be more than enough to protect it from the cold.
• DON'T wear your jewelry while swimming in chlorinated water, as the chlorine may cause discoloration of the metal.
• DON'T use an ultrasonic cleaner on gemstone jewelry. Many of the stones used in my jewelry would be damaged by this. It may be suitable for diamond jewelry, but I recommend against these machines, as the intense vibrations can damage many other types of stones or loosen the settings. If you must, ultrasonic cleaners are only safe for very hard stones such as diamonds, rubies, spinels, alexandrite, sapphires and zircon, provided that the stones are free of inclusions.
• DON'T wear your sterling silver jewelry while handling vinegar or citris fruits. The acidity will cause the sterling silver to blacken with tarnish.
• DON'T store jewelry in direct sunlight. This can cause many stones to fade over time. Kunzite, in particular, is especially vulnerable to sunlight, and that lovely pink stone will quickly fade.
• DON'T use Tarnex® or similar commercial cleaning solutions on your fine jewelry. The chemicals in these solutions can permanently damage some stones and can leave marks on the metal. I recommend against the use of these types of products for any use.
• DON'T wear jewelry to bed, it prevents possible damage to both you and the jewelry!
• DON'T jumble your jewelry pieces together in a drawer or jewelry case. The metal and the harder stones, particularly Diamonds, can scratch other jewelry - and diamonds can even scratch each other - and the metal or can scratch or crack some less durable stones. Actually, the Mohs' scale which is used to determine a gem's hardness is based upon one stone's ability to scratch another, e.g., a diamond (10) can scratch a sapphire (9), a sapphire (9) can scratch topaz (8), topaz (8) can scratch quartz (7), etc.
• DO wipe your precious gemstone jewelry thoroughly with a clean, soft, damp cloth after wearing. This will enhance the luster and assure that your jewelry is clean before being stored.
• DO store your jewelry in a cool dry place, individually wrapped to prevent it from being scratched by other jewelry.
• DO talk to the jeweler about proper care for your jewelry at the time you purchase it. He or she would be glad to help you ensure that it will be treated properly and give you a lifetime's worth of pleasure.
• DO USE COMMON SENSE in handling and storage. This, more than anything, will help you protect and enjoy your jewelry and gemstones.