Christmas Baubles

Fed up with tarnished and scratched jewellery? Well, you’re not alone. A question the Wardrobe 

Angel gets asked regularly is‘how are you supposed to look after your jewellery?’ So, I decided to find out and get some advice and tips from GillianTinney who owns 

Yorkshire based Dee and Gee Designs selling luxurious yet affordable jewellery made from

precious metals, stones and pearls sourced from all around the world. 

“When we get ready to go out, there’s a tendency to spray on our perfume and put the finishing touches to our hair at the end,”says Gillian. “The trouble is direct contact with liquids and 

aerosols, including perfume, insect repellent, creams, makeup and hairspray, can really affect the 

quality and condition of pearls, precious metals etc, so really need to be avoided. We realised a lot of people don't know how to care for their jewellery so we included a little 'Care and Cleaning' card as standard with each item purchased as well as having a page on our website (click here to be transported!) dedicated to jewellery cleaning. "The simplest advice I can give anyone, " Gillian explains, "is jewellery should be the last on and first off as it makes an amazing difference. Also there are slight differences in how to care for you pearls and precious metal jewellery."

Gillian's top tips for Caring for Pearls:

Before putting on your pearls make sure your body cream, perfume, hairspray have all 'dried' first. To remove natural body oils prior to putting your pearls away, just gently wipe them using a soft lint-free cloth. If dirty, use a lightly dampened lint-free cloth. Always make sure they are air dried before storing though. 

NEVER clean your pearls:

• Using an ultrasonic cleaning machine
• In solutions that contain ammonia or harsh detergents
• Using an abrasive cleaner or by rubbing them with an abrasive cloth. 

You have been warned!! One of the reasons Dee and Gee Designs places all of their pieces in their very own jewellery bag is that jewellery, particularly pearls, should be stored separately as they can get scratched. Store your pearls in their own slot in your jewellery box. If you don't have a jewellery box then store them in a small drawer. 

If you are thinking about Christmas presents then I can highly recommend Dee and Gee Designs: they bridge the gap between high street and designer jewellery so effortlessly and are classical with a contemporary twist. 

Next up: looking after Sterling Silver!!