One of the most common questions we're asked is how to keep your jewellery clean.

We've seen a lot of news reports recently about the importance of keeping your rings clean, for example, to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, and we would always encourage you to clean your jewellery regularly. Soap, debris and moisture can get trapped under your rings and cause skin irritation - and, of course, clean jewellery sparkles more!

We offer a cleaning, polishing and rhodium-plating service in store. While this service is currently unavailable due to the lockdown, we do have some advice to keep your jewellery looking its best until you can bring it into us:

1) Use warm water and a mild soapy solution. We recommend Jewel Clean, which we use and sell in store, as it's specially formulated for cleaning jewellery, but if you don't have any to hand, washing-up liquid would do the job.

2) A soft toothbrush is ideal for cleaning hard to reach areas, such as behind your gemstones. A cheap electric toothbrush (or a spare head on your own toothbrush!) is perfect for this as it speeds up the process, too!

3) Always, always, always, rinse and dry your jewellery thoroughly before wearing it again. This helps stop any irritation on your skin, and reduces the likelihood of your jewellery looking "cloudy".

4) Don't use gin to clean jewellery. Some gemstones have treatments or coatings that don't respond well to alcohol . . . plus it's a waste of perfectly good gin!

5) Don't use boiling water. The heat of boiling water can cause thermal shock in your gemstones and cause them to crack or break. Go gently.

6) For silver jewellery, we recommend Silver Clean (available in store). Wipe your pieces with a very soft cloth to avoid abrasion. Don't use bleach to clean silver; this actually has the opposite effect and turns it black!

7) Try to keep opals, pearls, turquoise and any other soft or porous gemstones as dry as you can. These stones can absorb water and chemicals, and soaking them may cause irreversible damage. If you're unsure if your gemstone is porous, contact us. We'll be happy to help!

8) Wear your jewellery! The best way to avoid silver tarnishing is to wear it. That's not to say that we recommend you wearing jewellery while gardening, or doing DIY, sports or housework! To prolong the life of your jewellery, we always recommend that it is the last thing you put on before leaving the house, and the first thing you take off when you get home again.

Below you'll see before and after photos of an aquamarine ring being cleaned with Jewel Clean. While it's not possible to polish the metal yourselves at home, having sparkling gemstones will distract from that until you can bring it into us for a deep clean and polish. With a little TLC you can keep your jewellery looking beautiful for generations to come.