Care guide
Looking after your jewellery
Plating fails for one reason far more often than any other: chemistry, not wear. Here’s how to get years out of a piece instead of months.
The one rule
Last on, first off. Jewellery goes on after perfume, hairspray, sunscreen and moisturiser have dried, and comes off before you do anything else. Nearly every "the gold came off" email we get traces back to perfume sprayed onto a neck already wearing a necklace.
Day to day
- Wipe each piece with the dry cloth in the box after wearing. Thirty seconds. This does more than anything else on this page.
- Take it off before you shower, swim, sleep or exercise. Chlorine and salt water are the fastest way to strip a plating; sweat is slower but relentless.
- Store pieces separately in the pouches provided. Metal against metal is what scratches a finish, and a haram left loose in a drawer will tangle around a jhumka every time.
- Keep them out of the bathroom. Humidity accelerates tarnish on the exposed brass at clasps and joins.
If it needs a proper clean
A drop of plain dish soap in lukewarm water, a very soft brush at the stone settings, rinse, then pat completely dry with a soft towel and leave it out for an hour before it goes back in the pouch. Trapped moisture under a stone is what turns a setting green.
Never use a silver dip, a jewellery cleaning solution, toothpaste, or an ultrasonic cleaner. All four are designed to remove a surface layer, and on plated jewellery the surface layer is the point.
Antique and oxidised finishes
The dark recesses on our antique pieces are an oxide layer applied on purpose. Scrubbing them "clean" removes the contrast that makes the detail readable and cannot be undone. Wipe the raised gold, leave the shadows alone.
Pearls and enamel
Shell pearls and hand-painted enamel do not like water or friction. Wipe with a dry cloth only, and never soak a guttapusalu or a kasu piece.
Our plating guarantee
We back the plating for twelve months against flaking or peeling under normal wear. Gradual thinning at high-friction points — the inside of a bangle, the back of a clasp — is expected wear and isn’t covered, but a piece that loses its finish in patches is a manufacturing fault and we’ll replace it. Email us a photo.
This guarantee is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which we can’t and don’t try to limit. See returns.