April’s birthstone is the diamond, and as such, this month’s blog will be dedicated to exploring the characteristics of diamonds and how to care for your diamond jewellery.
Diamonds are one of the most exquisite gems possessing a timeless allure that captivates hearts worldwide. Often known to be the epitome of luxury and elegance, diamonds symbolize endurance and purity, making them a cherished treasure for all generations. However, to ensure their radiance and sparkle for years to come, proper care is essential.
Read on to learn more about diamonds and discover simple care tips to maintain your diamond jewellery over time.
Before exploring care tips for your diamond jewellery, let’s learn more about diamonds themselves. Renowned for their exceptional characteristics, diamonds have maintained enduring popularity and allure over time.
One of the characteristics of diamonds is hardness. They are known to be the hardest known natural material, scoring a perfect 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. This property makes them highly resistant to scratching and abrasion.
Diamonds also exhibit brilliance due to their ability to refract and reflect light. Their facets are cut precisely to maximize the dispersion of light, resulting in the sparkle that diamonds are famous for.
Another significant characteristic of diamonds is their color. They span a spectrum from colorless to faint yellow or brown, with some rare specimens exhibiting fancy colors like pink, blue, and green. Colorless diamonds, prized for their purity and transparency, hold the highest value.
Diamonds are measured by carat weight, with one carat equivalent to 0.2 grams. Generally, larger diamonds are rarer and more valuable. However, factors like color, cut, and clarity also significantly impact a diamond’s worth.
Another important characteristic is the cut. The cut of a diamond encompasses its proportions, symmetry, and polish, directly impacting its overall appearance. A well-cut diamond optimizes light performance, thereby enhancing its beauty and value.
For enduring brilliance, proper cleaning of your diamond jewellery is essential. Here are five simple and essential care tips for your diamond jewellery:
To keep your diamond jewellery sparkling, regular cleaning is essential. Try the Connoisseurs Jewellery Dazzle Stik cleaning gel, formulated with micro-fine cleansers and polishing agents that help bring the radiant shine to diamonds. You can find the Dazzle Stik at our locations across Canada
To prevent scratches and abrasions, store your diamond jewellery separate from other jewellery. Consider using soft pouches or individual compartments within a jewellery box for safe storage.
From time to time, it’s advisable to have your diamonds inspected by a jeweller near you. This helps detect any potential issues early on, such as loose settings or damage.
Try to avoid exposing diamonds to harsh chemicals such as household cleaners and bleach, as they can cause damage to both the stone and its setting.
To prevent accidental damage or loss, refrain from wearing diamonds during activities prone to impact or damage, such as sports or housework.
Diamonds boast numerous unique characteristics and are famously known as a girl’s best friend. However, to maintain their brilliance and enduring sparkle in your jewellery, proper care is essential. By adhering to the simple yet highly effective care tips outlined above, you can ensure the lasting splendor of your diamond jewellery for generations to enjoy.
1. Where can I have my diamond jewellery inspected or repaired?
If you require a professional inspection of your diamond jewellery or simple jewellery repairs, visit a Hudson’s Bay location, where our knowledgeable staff can assist you. For more intricate diamond jewellery repairs, please contact us directly.
2. Where can I purchase a Connoisseurs Diamond Dazzle Stik?
Easily restore the brilliance of your diamond jewellery with the user-friendly Connoisseurs Diamond Dazzle Stik. Find this product at any of our Hudson’s Bay locations throughout Canada.
Occasionally forgetting to take rings off while doing the dishes or showering with a necklace on; we are all guilty of doing things with our jewelry that we know we probably shouldn’t. However, if you want to avoid unnecessary jewelry repair in Edmonton, you should make a habit of not doing these 5 things with your jewelry:
One of the most common jewelry faux pas, after making a habit out of swimming or showering with your jewellery on, is improper care of your jewelry. Abrasive cleaners can damage precious metals and some stones, but leaving dirt and body oils to collect can also cause damage to the settings. Professionals recommend not using cleaners that contain harsh chemicals anywhere near your jewelry, even costume jewelry; instead, simply clean with a mild dish soap, warm water and a soft cloth. Failing to correctly clean, or have your jewelry professionally cleaned, can lead to needing avoidable jewelry repair in Edmonton.
Even though a marriage is forever, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ever take off your wedding ring. Same goes for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and lotions all leave residue on your jewelry that can tarnish the metal and damage settings. While forgetting to take your jewelry off for the occasional shower or dip in the pool isn’t the end of the world, making a habit out of wearing jewelry where it is likely to come into contact with chlorinated water, chemicals, and soaps is not recommended.
If you have noticed that a setting is loose, a prong is bent, or you have attempted some DIY jewellery repair hack, you really should bring your item in for professional repairs. Basic jewelry repair for some of the most common types of damage, including bent prongs, broken clasps, tarnished metal, and misshapen bands, is surprisingly inexpensive. Rather than spending time trying to find ways to remedy the problem yourself, you would be much better served taking your expensive items in for very inexpensive jewelry repair in Edmonton.
No one really likes to discuss insurance, however it does serve the important purpose of protecting your investments. If you have purchased or been given an expensive piece of jewelry, adding these items to your home or renters insurance policy is a smart way to ensure the safety of your item. For a relatively small cost, you can be covered against theft, loss, and damage, which you would otherwise be responsible for covering yourself.
When it comes to a purchase as significant as an engagement ring, you should not be limited to what it on display. While a jewelry store may carry many wonderful options, if there is nothing available that speaks to you, there is no reason to settle. Custom ring design services allow you to create a unique expression of your feelings, one that perfectly matches the individual for whom you are buying the ring.
Working together with a professional jeweler, you will be able to select and design all the elements that go into your ring. Whether you have many ideas or are in need of guidance, you will have the benefit of working with an experienced professional who can offer advice and insight on creating the perfect custom ring.
Because of the high degree of customization available, custom ring design services can accommodate all budgets; you can choose how to allocate your budget, where to spend, where to splurge, and where to save. When you purchase a ring from a store, you are fairly limited by the selection available. While you may be able to choose the quality and size of the stone for example, you may be limited to specific designs and settings. With custom ring design services you choose everything, from the materials and style, to the stones, the quality, and the setting. You can even add in other personal elements that are unique to you as a couple.
Sometimes, families pass down sentimental engagement rings from generation to generation. These rings have seen a lot of wear, and while some may choose jewelry repair to bring these treasured pieces back to life before presenting them to their partner, you can also choose to take elements of these rings and create something completely custom; a little old combined with a little new. This is a wonderful way to pay respect to family heirloom while creating the perfect piece for a new generation to cherish.
Your jewelry is often more than just a fashion statement. It can complete an outfit, but it can also represent a promise to someone, a memory passed down through generations, or a celebration of an accomplishment. Whether your jewelry is new or antique, it should be cared for properly so that it will mostly only require minor maintenance instead of major jewelry repair. Here are some ways to properly care for your beautiful pieces.
Keep your gemstones out of the sun!
Just as with many other colourful things, the sun’s harmful rays can alter the colour of gemstones if left in it directly for a long period of time. When you are storing your gemstone jewelry, be sure to store it away from direct sunlight to keep the natural vibrant colours over time.
Keep cleaning simple
In many cases, you can buy expensive cleaning solutions to clean your jewelry, however the best at home method to use is still a simple mix of soap and water with a soft bristled brush (a soft bristled toothbrush can work wonders). Especially on gemstones, it is important keep it simple. Harsh chemicals or strong vibrations can damage the stones. Get back to the basics for the best results at home!
Put it on last
If you are getting ready for a night out on the town, be sure that your jewelry is the last part of your outfit you put on and the first part to be taken off at the end of the night. Many chains are quite delicate and can easily get caught on clothing and break. Also, lotions, perfumes, sprays, etc., can cause damage to delicate jewelry pieces and make them dirty as well. Protect your jewelry now, so you won’t need jewelry repair later.
Take your jewelry in for maintenance at the first sign of a problem
Just like anything else in your life that gets used regularly, if you want it to last, you have to give it some tender loving care. Watches should be taken to a jeweler to be cleaned and fixed once every 3-5 years; rings can be cleaned, resized, or have the prongs re tightened or re-tipped when needed; and chains should be cleaned and checked for clasp issues and wear. Some regular maintenance is the best method to ensure your jewelry lasts for years to come.
If properly cared for, jewelry can stand the test of time but be sure to maintain it and get jewelry repair completed when you do notice any issues.
Jewelry is often more than just a pretty accessory that glistens in the sunlight. Jewelry is sometimes passed down through generations and holds a special place in its owners’ hearts. Sometimes we give jewels to say, “I love you”, “congratulations”, or even “be mine for the rest of our lives.” Jewelry is given to send a message.
You have probably heard the phrase “diamonds are forever”, however the jewelry that they are placed in doesn’t always last forever. As time goes on, the prongs that hold your precious stones in place may become bent or worn, the metal may get tarnished, or worse, you may lose stones or have breaks in the chain. All of these things can leave you nervous about wearing your jewelry, or even unable to do so.
These issues and more can be fixed and prevented by taking your treasured pieces in for jewelry restoration services. With the proper tools and a skilled jeweler, nearly any piece of jewelry can be restored to brand new condition.
Over time, jewelry will get dirty and lose its beautiful shine. It is important to clean your jewelry regularly on your own; however, for a nice touch up, it is also a good idea to take your jewelry in for a thorough cleaning and polishing to keep it sparkling like new.
Chains may end up broken due to regular wear, especially with delicate chains. Repairing broken links and clasps on bracelets, necklaces, and anklets is quite common and can save an otherwise unusable accessory.
Over the span of years, finger size can change, or older rings may be passed down to a new person. In either case, a resizing would be required to make the ring larger or smaller.
Over time, the prongs that keep the stones in place may become bent or worn away. This leaves your stones vulnerable to becoming loose or falling out. The claws can be replaced or re-tipped in order to ensure that your stones stay tightly in place.
Especially in antique jewelry, stones will often be lost or fall out. Jewelry restoration services are able to replace stones that may have fallen out or even swap out a stone for a new stone if you desire a change.
In some circumstances, sometimes a stone will become chipped or cracked. A jewelry restoration expert should be able to recut your stones to ensure that they do not become further damaged and if desired, the re-cut stone could be transferred to a different piece of jewelry.