Care and Warranty
Care
Caring for your jewellery is part of being a jewellery wearer, like we have to water and maintain our plants for them to look their best, jewellery is no different. Please read through these care and warranty guidelines. This will highlight how best to care for your jewels so they stay sparkling for many years to come, as well as ensuring your jewellery remains in warranty.
Remove your jewellery when:
- Showering, bathing and swimming: exposure to hot water for prolonged periods can impact some stones, pool chemicals, salt water and shampoos/soaps will degrade materials and affect the clarity of your stones.
- Sleeping: removing your jewellery before you sleep is essential, this protects your jewellery from being caught, bent and warped. Engagement rings with claw setting or high profiles are especially susceptible. Earrings and chains can get tangled and stretched, so best to remove these as well.
- Applying cosmetic products, lotions, soaps or perfumes: exposure to these chemicals can degrade materials and damage gemstones over time, even if not immediately visible. Soaps and lotions can build up under stones and your gems can look milky and cloudy due to the extra dirt. The plating on jewellery will wear off quickly when exposed to any chemicals.
- Exercising: fine rings are no match for gym equipment or weights, and even during yoga and pilates your ring could be at risk of being bent through pressure and causing gemstones to fall out! Sweat and oil buildup can also cause skin reactions for some, so best to keep your jewels in a safe place while you work out.
- Cleaning, gardening, cooking: Household chores can expose your jewellery to soaps and other chemicals and to damaging impact and scratching.
- Some types of work: Depending on your job, we do recommend thinking about whether your jewellery should be worn while you work. Occupations like nursing, labouring, physiotherapy or other hands on jobs should not be wearing fine jewellery with high profiles and fine bands, whereas office type jobs will usually be ok! If in doubt, it probably means you should remove it, or get in touch with us so we can provide advice.
Failure to follow the above guidelines will not only void your warranty but put you at higher risk of loosing or damaging a stone, injuring yourself or even loosing your jewellery all together.
A few more points about caring for your jewels:
Engagement and long-term wear jewellery: Fine jewellery requires care over time. As well as the above guidelines, some styles of engagement or wedding rings will require extra maintenance. Please bring your engagement or celebration ring in to us every 12 months so we can check the claws and stones under the microscope and service as required. This is a free service, and we’ll give it a good clean and polish to ensure it’s bright and sparkling.
Mixing metals: When different metals rub against each other, they cause wear at a much faster rate. While we make jewellery in sterling silver, 9ct, 14ct, 18ct and platinum, we recommend that any rings that will be worn together be made in the same material.
Stones: Each stone requires different care and it’s important to understand the hardness and particular needs of each stone when you are choosing. When rings get knocked or exposed to any impact, stones can chip or become loose in their settings. If you notice your stone moving in its setting, immediately stop wearing it and bring it in to us for assessment.
Special care stones: Some stones are particularly soft or fragile, including (but not limited to) opals, moonstones, pearls and emeralds. These stones require especially careful wear and are generally not recommended for engagement or long term wear jewellery.
Diamonds: Even though diamond is the hardest natural material on earth, the right impact in the right spot on your diamond can cause chipping, cracking, scratching or cleaning. Because of their emotional and financial value, we recommend regular checking to ensure they are secure in their settings. Loose diamonds can also damage the metal in settings, so if you notice any movement, please stop wearing it and bring it back in for assessment.
Earrings: Earrings shouldn’t be worn if they can get caught or pulled, like during sports, cycling, or child-caring!
Necklaces and bracelets: Avoid wearing fine chains around small children or during activities where they can be pulled. Store fine chains individually and clasped closed to avoid tangling and knotting.
Cleaning: Polish your jewellery with a silver or gold polishing cloth (available here). Pieces with gemstones (but not opals, pearls or emeralds) can be cleaned with warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush. You can also bring your fine jewellery pieces in to us for a clean.
Storing: All jewellery should be stored in its box in a dry environment. Chains should be clasped closed. If possible, storing all jewellery where it doesn’t rub against other pieces will help it avoid becoming scratched. It is normal for sterling silver and some 9ct gold jewellery to become oxidised when not worn for a period of time, so cleaning before your next wear is required.
Warranty, insurance, repairs
Insurance: Insuring your jewellery is recommended. Ensure you are covered for loss, accidental damage or theft. Get in touch for our recommendation for insurance. If insured, keeping an up to date inventory of jewellery, including images and valuations, is important. We offer no warranty on centre stones valued over $500, so make sure replacement of your centre stone is included in your insurance policy.
Warranty: Geneine Honey Bespoke Jewellery provides a 6 month manufacturers warranty on costume jewellery items (sterling silver pieces) provided they have been cared for using the above guidelines. Outside of this we are still able to repair (in most cases) for a small fee. Our 9ct and 14ct gold fine jewellery, which includes bespoke jewellery, has a 12 month warranty, provided it has been cared for using the above guidelines and brought in every 12 months for checkup. Our 18ct jewellery, which includes bespoke jewellery, has a 5 year warranty, provided it has been cared for using the above guidelines and brought in every 12 months for checkup. There is no warranty on centre stones valued over $500, so make sure replacement of your centre stone is included in your insurance policy.
Warranty is void if your jewellery has signs of improper care, negligence or improper storage and if you miss annual checkups.