| Gold Jewellery - Care Advice | | | | wool. For heavy soiling use a weak solution of |
| So you've been given a beautiful piece of gold | | | | warm water and detergent-free soap. |
| jewellery? Here's how to look after it properly. | | | | - Gold is softer than sand. Sand will scratch your |
| Gold is the softest of the precious metals. In fact | | | | jewellery. Don't wear it on the beach! |
| the greater the purity, the softer it is. Hence the | | | | - Always store your jewellery separately in a soft |
| 'old' prospector's biting test - pure gold is marked | | | | stable-temperature environment. Ideally, keep |
| by a hard nibble! (Not to be advised without a | | | | your jewellery in the box with which it was |
| dentist on standby!) | | | | supplied. |
| This 'softness' property is one of the reasons | | | | - To give your jewellery a deep clean it can be |
| why it became so precious and desirable, to | | | | immersed in a very weak (just a pinch), sodium |
| every civilisation. Gold, although rare and difficult | | | | bicarbonate/boiling water solution for a few |
| to obtain could be easily 'worked' - Just one ounce | | | | seconds. Carefully dry the jewellery immediately |
| can be beaten out to cover a surface area of | | | | with a soft cotton cloth. (*Do not do this if your |
| over 27 square metres! | | | | jewellery contains gemstones). |
| In it's purest form it is too soft to be of any use | | | | White Gold: |
| in the making of Jewellery. The pure gold is | | | | White Gold was originally developed in the 1920's |
| alloyed with silver, copper and various other | | | | as an alternative to Platinum. It's not actually |
| metals in order to render a material hard enough | | | | another type of gold; there's no such thing as |
| for jewellery. The percentage of pure gold, in a | | | | 'pure' white gold, or 24k white. It's simply an alloy |
| Jewellery alloy is denoted by its carat (k) weight. | | | | in which the choice of alloyed metals has been |
| Pure gold is 24k (ie.100%), the other common | | | | made to achieve a 'white' or platinum like colour. |
| alloy carat weights are 22k, 18k, 14k, 10k and 9k. | | | | Rhodium Coating: |
| 9k is the hardest alloy. Obviously, this means that | | | | Most white gold jewellery has a thin coating of |
| 9k will scratch all the softer k weights. This is the | | | | Rhodium to enhance its 'whiteness' and reflective |
| reason it's advisable to always wear items of the | | | | properties. Rhodium is a member of the platinum |
| same carat weight, if your jewellery is likely to | | | | family of metals and serves as a good protective |
| come into contact (rings etc). Gold is resistant to | | | | coating to the jewellery, as well as enhancing the |
| oxidative corrosion - it won't tarnish, rust or | | | | colour. Rhodium is harder than gold and will wear |
| corrode. | | | | much better as a consequence. However, this |
| A few 'golden rules': | | | | rhodium coating will wear through with time, which |
| - Remove your gold jewellery when using | | | | will expose the alloy underneath. As the white gold |
| chemicals and engaging in manual work. Gold will | | | | alloy will be a darker, less white colour, this wear |
| scratch abrade reducing its lustrous appearance. | | | | will be noticeable. It is a simple matter to reapply |
| - Remove your jewellery when swimming - | | | | the rhodium coating; most jewellers make a small |
| Chlorine will affect its lustre. | | | | charge for this. |
| - To clean jewellery use warm water and cotton | | | | |