I love using silver for creating jewellery – it’s both versatile and beautiful. My pieces are designed to last a life time, with proper care, and there are a few steps I recommend to help keep your silver jewellery in great condition –

• silver naturally tarnishes. It is important to wear your jewellery often. Wearing your silver jewellery helps keep it clean in several ways – natural wear helps remove tarnish, and your skin’s oils help protect the silver from tarnish
• store your jewellery well. Silver jewellery is best kept away from strong sunlight, in a lined, darkened jewellery box with an anti-tarnish tab or in an anti-tarnish bag. I include an anti-tarnish tab with every order
• certain chemicals such as chlorine, perfume, bleach, hairspray, perfume and body lotions or creams can accelerate tarnish so it is advisable to remove your jewellery when you are in contact with any such chemical, for example when swimming.
• silver has a Mohs rating of 2.5 – 3 as compared to a Mohs rating of 4 – 4.5 for steel for example. Always protect your silver jewellery from knocks and scratches.
• polish your silver with a soft silver polishing cloth to remove tarnish and help prevent further tarnish. Polish lightly and in one direction to prevent scratches. Do not use tissue or paper towels as these can scratch the surface. Where there is deliberate oxidisation in one of my designs, care must be taken not to polish off the oxidised effect. Oxidisation is a surface treatment that can be removed by wear. Only polish those areas are not deliberately blackened.
• it is easier to prevent tarnish than remove it, so be sure to look after your silver
• I recommend removing rings when carrying out chores, such as washing up, or when handling tools/performing tasks when your silver will come into contact with hard materials. This will not only prevent marring of the silver, but also help prevent the wear on any oxidised surface or removal of sealing waxes with hot water and/or soap
• many of my pieces are based on nature and are therefore irregular in shape. Please ensure that your jewellery does get caught on items of clothing or fabrics. Remove rings when working in conditions where they may get caught or snagged
• all oxidised silver is given a coat of  microcrystalline wax and/or a coat of sealing lacquer to help protect the oxidised surface. Do not expose to water, soaps or chemicals as this may accelerate the removal of the coating. 

Gemstones 

I use only natural gemstones and since many gemstones are quite delicate, there are certain steps I recommend to keep them in great condition –

• do not use harsh chemicals to clean your gemstone jewellery
• do not use an ultrasonic cleaner. Certain gemstones can break, crack, fracture or dissolve in an ultrasonic cleaner
• do not use hot water. Heat can adversely affect certain gemstones
• most gemstones can be cleaned gently with a soft dry or lightly damped cloth.