Jewellery Care

When you are not wearing it, keep each piece on its own — in its original LIRÈNE box, or in a soft-lined compartment — so that nothing can scratch it and no chain can tangle with another. Somewhere dry, and not the bathroom: humidity works on metals and on settings over time, and a bathroom shelf is the most humid place in most homes.

Keep your jewellery away from perfume, hairspray, lotion, household cleaning products, chlorine and salt water. These dull a metal finish, film over a stone so it stops catching light, and over time work at the settings that hold it. The simplest habit is the last-on, first-off one: jewellery goes on after perfume and moisturiser, and comes off before anything else does.

Every piece is built for regular wear, but take it off before sleeping, bathing, swimming, exercising, and anything with impact — gardening, lifting, a gym session. It is not that the piece is delicate; it is that clasps, chains and claws take their strain from knocks and snags rather than from ordinary wearing, and those are the parts that fail first.

Soak the piece in warm water with a little mild soap, work gently behind the stone with a soft toothbrush if it needs it — that is where the film that dulls a diamond collects — then rinse and pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. Do this every few weeks and a diamond will keep looking the way it did in the box. Nothing abrasive, no ultrasonic cleaner at home, and no bleach.

These are made to last a lifetime and can be professionally polished, repaired and resized as often as they need to be. With years of wear — bracelets soonest, because they meet desks and door handles all day — fine surface marks appear. That is what worn gold looks like, not damage, and a polish returns it whenever you want. White gold's rhodium finish gradually thins and can be re-plated; platinum instead develops a soft matte patina, which some clients keep and others have polished back.

Vermeil asks for more care than solid gold, and the reason is simply that the gold is a layer over sterling silver rather than the whole piece. Keep it dry: away from water, perfume, lotion and chemicals, and off before sleeping, bathing, swimming or exercising. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth after wearing rather than washing it.

Even cared for, the gold layer softens gradually with regular wear — soonest on a bracelet, and at the points that meet skin and surfaces most. That is what vermeil does; it is not a fault, and it is why the piece costs what it does. See Our Precious Materials for the full comparison with solid gold.

Write to the atelier from time to time to arrange a professional clean and inspection. A jeweller looking at the claws under magnification will find a loose one long before you lose a stone to it, and that single check is worth more than everything else on this page. Made-to-order rings include one complimentary resize within the first year of delivery.