Silver

Avoid exposing your silver to household chemicals when cleaning with bleach or ammonia, or when swimming in chlorinated water, as these chemicals can damage silver.
Care should also be taken to prevent silver tarnish build-up, a dulling that naturally occurs when silver reacts with sulphur or hydrogen sulphide in the ambient air. To clean your silver, use polishes formulated specifically to remove tarnish. You can find fine silver polishes, solutions, or cloths appropriate to remove tarnish at TAMANIE. Tarnish is most easily removed when it first becomes visible.

Gold

Keep your gold jewellery away from harsh chemicals such as chlorine and cleaning fluids. This will reduce daily abrasions and prolong gold's lustre. To clean gold jewellery, use a solution of warm water and detergent-free soap and wash gold gently with a soft-bristled brush (a dull tooth brush works well).

Platinum

Soaking platinum in a mild solution of soap and warm water and gently scrubbing it with a soft-bristled brush is usually all that is required to maintain the metal's lustre.

Gemstone

After removing your gemstone jewellery, wipe it with a soft cloth to remove dirt and other residues.
In general, all you need to clean your gemstones is warm, soapy water and a very soft brush (a soft toothbrush and mild dishwashing liquid does a good job). Remove your jewellery, let it soak in the soapy water for about 20 minutes, and then gently brush it and rinse thoroughly. Be careful not to scratch the metal of your setting.
Your gemstone jewellery should be the last thing you put on when getting dressed and the first thing you take off at the end of the night.

Store your jewellery in a lined case or a soft cloth, so the jewellery does not touch each other. Gemstones are harder than gold, silver, or platinum and can scratch the surfaces of your other fine jewellery if they are not kept separate. Store it carefully and it will be enjoyed for generations.

 

For further cleaning services or information please stop by TAMANIE

 

Rhodium plated

When white sterling silver and white gold rings are new, they can be coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and Rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white colour. Rhodium can also be used on sterling silver or gold to give it a brighter and whiter look as well as adding a protective layer which prevents the jewellery tarnishing or scratching as easily. Rhodium does wear off over time but can be re-plated for a small cost (to keep it nice and shiny re-rhodium plate approximately each 12 to 18 months).
Be aware of the difference of items in Yellow & White Gold (they will always stay 2 tone) compared to Yellow with some white areas that are rhodium plated (will get all yellow after the rhodium has worn off).

 

18k Gold compare to 9K Gold

Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale where harder metals receive a higher Vickers score than less hard metals. 9k has a Vickers hardness of 120 and 18k has a Vickers hardness of 125. This shows 18k as harder, but the difference is so slight that in practical terms 9k and 18k are much the same.

18 carat alloys are almost completely resistant to chemical attack in normal use whereas
9 carat alloys are much less resistant.
9 carat alloys, for example, will go dull or even black merely from exposure to chemicals in the atmosphere; they will also discolour in contact with perspiration … (Tarnish can however be removed by polishing).

Note: 18k gold contains 75% pure gold (stamp 750) and 9k gold contains 37.5% pure gold (stamp 375).

 

Platinum compare to White Gold

White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium. White gold can be 18k, 14k, 9k or any karat. For example, 18k yellow gold is made by mixing 75% gold (750 parts per thousand) with 25% (250 parts per thousand) other metals such as copper and zinc. 18k white gold is made by mixing 75% gold with 25% other metals such as silver and palladium. So the amount of gold is the same but the alloy is different.

When white gold rings are new they are most likely to be rhodium plated. The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look whiter. The natural colour of white gold is actually a light grey-yellow tinted colour. (see Rhodium plated )

Platinum is a white metal, but unlike gold it is used in jewellery in almost its pure form (approximately 95% pure). Platinum is extremely long wearing and is very white, so it does not need to be Rhodium plated like white gold. Platinum is very dense (heavy), so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18k gold ring.

Platinum is, however, very expensive. A platinum ring will be approximately twice the price of an 18k white gold ring (excluding gemstone costs).