Tips for Keeping Solid Gold and Sterling Silver Keepsakes Beautiful

How long will jewellery last? Jewellery can last for a day - or a thousand years - depending on how often you wear it, how carefully you wear it, how you clean it and how you store it.

Solid gold will usually wear longer than silver, although treated carefully any keepsake can last for generations.

Oh My Giddy Aunt Sterling Silver Jewellery is 925 - NOT plated, and our gold jewellery is 9ct or 18ct solid gold. Oh My Giddy Aunt keepsakes are not costume or 'disposable'. Our jewellery is made in precious metal so it can be restored, repaired or resized if need, re-gifted through the generations, or recycled and remade into a new piece for a new chapter in the story.

TLC Tips to Keep Keepsakes Beautiful.

• "Moving" bits on jewellery will wear out sooner than solid, 'unmoving' bits as rubbing, bumping and scratching causes wear and tear. Take jewellery to a jeweller if you notice wear and tear. Often "a stitch in time will save nine". Take precious pieces for a check up every year or so to ensure stones are still secure, jump rings and clasps aren't worn through. 
• Keep gold and silver jewellery clean to stop a build up of grime. Air and light cause tarnishing in silver. Keep jewellery stored in an airtight container away from light to prevent tarnishing. 
• Silver will oxidise or tarnish with time. To clean, use a silver cloth (available from the supermarket or jewellery shops) or mild detergent and water. Pat dry softly. Polish it with a Silver Polishing Cloth or fine felt. 
• Gold jewellery should also be polished with a specially produced polishing cloth to prevent tarnishing caused by chemicals in perfume, aftershave etc. 
• Keep jewellery out of chlorinated water and take it off when your shower or bathe. 
• Wearing jewellery while sleeping is not such a great idea as it can get caught, rolled on, twisted or broken while you sleep. It can also hurt the wearer. 
• When jewellery rubs against jewellery it will scratch. To protect against deep scratching keep pieces separate. When you wear jewellery the metal will pick up little marks and scratches. This is part of the "life" or the "story" of the jewellery and can give a depth and patina to old jewellery not found in brand new jewellery. 

Enjoy your jewellery and wear it every day if you want too... just remember it is like anything that has a finite number of wearings. A pair of shoes worn once a year may last for 30 years, but worn 30 times a year, they may only last for one year. Giddy Aunts believe in the wisdom of buying less, choosing well and making it last.

Oh My Giddy Aunt's custom-made jewellery comes with a manufacturers guarantee excluding wear and tear.