Made to be kept

Materials

Everything we make is solid precious metal: K18 Japanese gold — 18 karat, meaning 75% pure gold — in both yellow and white, and platinum. Nothing in the collection is a thin gold layer plated over a cheaper base metal, so there is no finish to wear away and reveal something else underneath.

A small number of designs are set with stones. If you would like the exact details of a particular piece before you buy, please get in touch and we will confirm them for you.

Everyday Care

Put your jewelry on last, after fragrance, hairspray, sunscreen and lotion — the alcohols and oils in them are the most common cause of dulling. Take it off first, before showering, swimming, exercising or sleeping.

Keep gold pieces away from chlorinated pools and hot tubs in particular. Pure gold barely reacts to anything, but the other metals blended into 18 karat gold to give it strength do react to chlorine, and repeated exposure can weaken a chain or a claw over time. Platinum shrugs off chlorine far better, though it is still worth taking any piece off before a pool. Salt water and heavy soap build-up in settings and links are worth rinsing away whichever metal you are wearing.

Cleaning

Most of the time, a gentle wipe with a soft, dry cloth after wearing is all a piece needs — it lifts away skin oils before they have a chance to settle and dull the surface.

For a deeper clean on a plain gold or platinum piece with no stones, use lukewarm water with a drop of mild dish soap and a very soft brush, then rinse and dry it thoroughly. Moisture left sitting in a clasp or a link is what causes problems later, so dry it properly rather than leaving it to air.

Pieces set with stones are the exception. Some stones are softer and more porous than the gold holding them, and soaking or scrubbing can damage them permanently even when the metal is perfectly fine. Stay with the dry cloth for those, and if a stone-set piece needs more than that, ask us first rather than risking it.

Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, toothpaste, baking soda and any household cleaner containing bleach or ammonia on any piece. 18 karat gold is a relatively soft metal, so abrasives leave fine scratches on it, and bleach attacks the alloy metals within the gold itself. Platinum is tougher, but the stones and settings on any piece are not, so the same rule applies across the collection.

Storage

Store pieces separately, somewhere dry and out of direct sunlight. This matters most with 18 karat gold: gold of this purity is soft enough that pieces kept loose together in one box will scratch each other, and a harder platinum piece sharing that box will happily mark the gold ones. A soft pouch each, or a lined box with individual compartments, prevents it. Fasten clasps before putting chains away and lay them flat, which is the simplest way to avoid the knots that are so easy to create and so hard to undo.

What to Expect Over Time

Solid gold and platinum do not tarnish or turn your skin green the way plated and silver jewelry can — that is the advantage of buying the real metal outright. What they will do is show that they have been worn. Fine surface scratches gather on pieces in regular rotation and soften the shine into a warmer, less mirror-like finish. On platinum this settles into a soft satiny patina that many people prefer to the original polish, and unlike a plated finish, nothing is being lost — the metal is simply moving rather than wearing away. Either metal can be polished back up by a jeweller whenever you would like it bright again, and white gold can have its brightness refreshed the same way.

If something ever seems wrong rather than simply worn — a loose stone, a clasp that no longer closes securely, a link that has opened — please contact us.

Repairs & Resizing

We repair and resize fine jewelry — pieces bought from us and, in many cases, jewelry from elsewhere. Ring resizing, clasp and chain repairs, stone tightening and replacement, and refinishing a worn polish are all things we can help with. Send us the details on the Repairs & Resizing page and we'll reply with a free estimate.