Cleaning and Reparations

Some wear jewelry every day, some wear it only on special occasions. Regardless of how you wear it, we subject our jewelry to the elements of nature and that means that even the highest-quality jewelry will wear over time. This is perfectly normal, and with timely maintenance you can keep your pieces in a brand-new condition for generations on end.

At BLOU, you are always welcome to bring your own jewelry for a free check-up. Often, we can clean-up your jewelry at no costs. Prevention is the best remedy, so don’t wait until the damage has been done!

Mechanical damage: loose stones

Goldsmiths secure stones in jewelry using various stonesetting techniques. Over time, due to friction or vibrations, stones can get looser in their socket. Eventually, the precious stone might fall out, and that might mean losing your beautiful gemstone altogether. It is therefore important to re-secure loose stones before you loose them! Margriet is an expert stonesetter, often inquired by jewelers for complicated settings or setting reparations. Have your stones checked at BLOU regularly to avoid losing them.

Chemical damage: oxidation

So-called noble metals are resistant to many types of chemical damage. For this reason, we use noble metals, such as gold, in jewelry. However, while pure gold is highly noble and resistant, even pure silver is less noble and still subject to some chemical reactions. The most well-known reaction is oxidation, which is the interaction with oxygen (air), causing black spots on silver jewelry. One can even recognise real silver from fake by the oxidation that builds up over time.

Oxidation can simply be cleaned off using the right materials, so to keep your silver jewelry good-looking, bring them around for a quick cleaning!