Retaining your Diamond's Brilliance
Caring for diamonds is best not left to trial and error. Knowing what and what not to do will ensure the lasting brilliance of your diamond jewellery.

• Storing diamond jewellery - Because diamonds can easily scratch other jewellery, even other diamonds, the best single piece of advice is to keep your diamond jewellery in a fabric lined jewellery case with dividers.
  

• Prevent scratching - It's not wise to wear a diamond ring when doing rough work. While diamonds are one of the hardest gemstones they can be chipped.
  
• Diamond cleaning - Chlorine bleach can pit and discolour the mounting. Lotions, powders, soaps and even your natural skin oils can put a film on diamonds that cut down their brilliance. But this can be easily rectified. It's simply a matter of cleaning your diamonds fairly regularly.
  
• Professional cleaning of diamonds - Visit us in-store for the best advice on how to keep your diamond sparkling.
  
• Check for wear & tear - It's wise to have your jeweller check wear and tear on the mounting at least once a year. Bring your jewellery to Matthews Jewellers to check for any wear and tear and receive advice if any preventative repair is required.
  

• Regularly wipe clean - to keep their original lustre wipe your pearls after each wear. This is especially so in summer as perspiration can affect them.
• Store pearls separately to prevent scratching - Because they can be scratched, it's a good idea to protect them in a chamois bag or wrapped separately, so your other jewellery doesn't harm them.
• Avoid pearls contact with bleach or detergents - Some people find that their pearls change colour. Generally speaking this is because they have been worn when in the bath or working in the kitchen or laundry. Most cleaning agents contain bleach, so it's not surprising that pearls can lose colour under these circumstances.
• Professional pearl cleaning is recommended - While pearls can be washed in a solution of mild soap and water, particular care has to be taken because of the silk thread. It really is best if pearls are cleaned professionally.
• Check string to prevent loss of pearl beads - If you have a string of pearls it's wise to often check if the string is loose or wearing thin. Large strands of expensive pearls should be knotted between each pearl. This ensures that they don't all run loose if the silk strand breaks.
• Re-stringing should be carried out yearly. Simply show one of our jewellers in-store and we will offer reliable, expert advice as well as skilled craftsmanship.

• Store jewellery to prevent scratching - To help protect against scratching, it's good practice to separate your gold jewellery in a compartmentalised jewellery box.
• Remove gold jewellery during personal hygiene - Because soap tends to cause a film that can make gold appear dull and dingy, it's worthwhile removing your jewellery when you shower or bathe.
• Regular cleaning of gold jewellery prevents tarnishing - The gold in most jewellery is an alloy. That is, it is a mixture of different metals. The inclusion of these other metals enable gold to be practical in every day usage. However because of these same inclusions, your jewellery can tarnish. This tarnishing can be caused by many things: perfume, after shave, fluoride in water or even the acidity in your skin. However this doesn't present you with a problem. A soft jewellery polishing cloth with tarnish preventive will help you keep the gold pieces lustrous and shining. These solutions and cloth are available at Matthews Jewellers.
  

Warning!
The procedures for cleaning gold should not be used if your gold jewellery contains any precious stones, pearls or opals. To clean these requires careful and expert attention. Our Jewellers have the necessary expertise and specialised equipment.

Keeping Silver Bright and Shiny
As with most precious metals, in time silver will oxidize. Properly maintained silver actually improves with age. It develops a lush patina when treated well.

• Simply clean with a mild soap and water solution. Pat dry with a soft cloth. If dirt is more stubborn a silver cleaner is appropriate. But don't rub silver with anything other than a polishing cloth or fine piece of felt. Tissue paper or paper towels will cause scratches.
• Like other jewellery, avoid wearing silver in chlorinated water as this will discolour it.
• Store your silver jewellery in a cool, dry, dark place. A tarnish preventative bag is a good idea, or wrapped individually in a soft piece of felt or cloth.
• Minimise your silver jewellery's exposure to air and light as this may cause tarnishing.