Care Instructions
Enamelled Jewellery
Please wear your enamelled jewellery with care. Vitreous enamel is a technique of fusing glass to metal, if banged against another object or dropped the enamel can shatter or crack. Because enamel is essentially glass, it must be treated as such. At Fiona Rae our enamel pieces are designed with the utmost of quality and care, they are made to be wearable and stand the test of time. We recommend when putting on your enamelled jewellery or cufflinks please do so on a carpeted area.
General Jewellery Care
To keep your jewellery looking at its best please wear your items with care, do not expose them to harsh or common household chemicals, remove all jewellery before bathing, swimming or immersing in a hot tup or steam bath. Salt water or humidity can degrade the enamel faster. Treat it like the precious item it is and it will last a lifetime! As with all jewellery, remove it before getting wet.
Perfume, skin and hair products can all react with silver causing it to tarnish, cause vermeil to erode and even damage stones – especially pearls. Always apply your products before putting on your jewellery and leave for a few minutes to be absorbed by the skin. Avoid spraying perfume or hairspray directly onto your jewellery as this can damage it.
Please treat your jewellery with care – remove when doing physical work, playing sports etc. Hot weather and sweat can also speed up the tarnishing process. Jewellery should always be removed before swimming and bathing. At night store your pieces in their box or a jewellery box.
A silver-dip solution is the best way to clean both your silver and vermeil jewellery and is available in store. Dip your jewellery in the solution for a couple of seconds only and then rinse thoroughly in warm soapy water. For more stubborn dirt use the little soft brush supplied with our dip to gently rub away and then rinse well.
Soft stones and pearls may react to the silver dip solution so please avoid dipping and simply with a soft cloth.
Gold Plated Jewellery
Our vermeil is a heavy layer of fine 18ct gold, plated on top of silver. As this is just a layer it can gradually wear, giving the appearance that it has faded. Everyday wear may speed up this process, especially on items like rings and bracelets which have lots of contact knocking against objects. We offer a re-plating service for our vermeil jewellery.
Pearl Jewellery
Pearls are very sensitive and should be treated with care to maintain their beauty! Please store your pearls out of direct sunlight and keep your pearls away from chemicals, including perfume, hair products and skin lotions. Do not spray perfume or hair-spray directly onto pearls, instead leave products to settle into the skin and hair before wearing your jewellery.
Take pearls off at night-time, when bathing, doing physical work and sports. Pearls love to be worn and absorb the natural oils in your skin – this helps to keep their lustre shiny. We recommend re-stringing pearls every 1-2 years. This depends on how often you wear your pearls and how well you care for them after use. For restringing enquiries please contact us for more information.
Diamond & Fine Jewellery
All fine jewellery must be kept clean and stored carefully when they are not being worn. Here are some guidelines to help keep your diamond in top condition.
After many years of continuous wear, you may notice stones get loose in their settings or any other noticeable damages to your jewellery, do not continue to wear the piece until we can make an assessment and repair the jewellery.
When you’re not wearing your jewellery, be sure to store them in a fabric-lined case or in a box with dividers to prevent the diamonds from scratching other jewellery or other diamonds.
Avoid wearing your diamonds and fine jewellery while doing gardening work or any other kind of rough work. Even though a diamond is extremely durable, a hard blow could chip it.
When doing household chores, never allow your jewellery to come into contact with chlorine bleach.
Diamonds, like anything else, get smudged, soiled and dusty. Lotions, powders, soaps – even the natural oils from your skin–will create a film on diamonds, which will reduce their brilliance. Keeping your jewellery clean will maximize its sparkle.
Here are a few ways you can keep your fine jewellery clean:
Detergent Bath: Prepare a small bowl of warm suds using any mild household liquid detergent (be sure not to use any cleaners containing chlorine). Brush the jewellery with a soft brush until you have created a lather around it. With the jewellery on a plastic or metal strainer, rinse off with warm water (be sure not to clean your jewellery over the drain!) Pat your jewellery dry with a soft, lint-free cloth and dry hard to reach parts with a hairdryer set on a slow cool setting, holding firmly.
Cold Water Soak: Make a solution of 4 parts cold-water and 1 part very mild dishwashing detergent. Soak the pieces for several minutes. Lift out and tap gently around all sides of the mounting with a soft brush. Rinse the pieces in the solution once more and drain on tissue paper.
Quick-Dip Method: Buy one of the brand name liquid jewellery cleaners, choosing the one that is best for the kind of stones and metals in your jewelry. Read the label carefully and follow the instructions. Rinse well and pat your jewellery dry with a soft, lint-free cloth and dry hard to reach parts with a hairdryer set on a slow cool setting, holding firmly.
At Fiona Rae shop and studio we offer our customers a free cleaning service on our fine jewellery. We use an ultrasonic cleaner to give your Fiona Rae jewellery a deep clean and maintain its sparkle. Please contact us to arrange this complimentary service or for more information on cleaning your jewellery.