The Jewellery Workshop
HELP CENTRE
We have gathered some of the questions we get asked regularly, but if there's something not covered please contact us at the bottom of the page
WHY HAS MY SILVER JEWELLERY TURNED BLACK?
Bleach is usually the cause of silver turning black, it is often something that can be restored through professional polishing, depending on how much damage had been caused. Swimming and hot tubs are the main culprit, the chlorine used to sanitise them is essentially a mild form of bleach that can cause jewellery lots of problems. Always remove jewellery before jumping in the pool or hot tub
WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT PLATINUM?
Extremely hard wearing and pure white colour make platinum a great choice for diamond jewellery. Due to economic factors regarding the use of platinum in diesel engines Platinum is currently seeing a much reduced price compared to just a few years ago.
WHY IS MY WHITE GOLD YELLOW AND DULL?
Gold is naturally a rich yellow colour when mined, the alloy (mix of metals) that makes up your ring can be altered to make a number of colours, ranging from white and pink through to green and purple! The white gold alloys are never completely pure white, imagine adding white paint to a tin of yellow, it will never be completely pure, so it is rhodium plated to give a pure white finish, over time this wears off and needs replacing. Our workshop can re plate the white gold to restore its original beauty.
HOW DO YOU DO REMOVE A STUCK RING?
”Carefully” is the simple answer. If the ring is stuck and the finger is swollen, painful or changing colour immediately seek medical assistance. These are some suggestions that may help,but we are jewellers not Drs, if in any doubt seek medical help. The first option is to get some help, gently bend your finger to pull the skin on the knuckle tight. Have your assistant gently pull the skin back at the base of the finger and gently rock the rock back and forward over the knuckle. Option 2 is to soak your hand in chilled water to reduce swelling, remove chilled not ice as ice shouldn’t be applied directly to the skin, then keep your arm elevated for a few minutes and try option 1 again.Option 3 is often called the dental floss method, we cannot recommend dental floss due to the risk of cutting off the blood supply if something goes wrong. Instead take a look at a video from a professor of emergency medicine that might be more useful. https://youtu.be/DxoAbK5Pc6wThe final option is pop into the shop and if possible we will use a simple ring cutting tool to remove the ring.
IS MY WATCH WATERPROOF?
The simple answer is “probably not anymore”.Water resistance is not a permanent feature, even solar powered or automatic watch manufacturers recommend re testing of water resistance every 2-3 years. When batteries are fitted in watches the seals and gaskets are not replaced and the watch is not pressure tested, therefore water resistance is not guaranteed. Pressure testing is an additional service that currently takes 2-3 weeks. It isn’t as simple as just re greasing the seal or fitting a new one, water can enter through wear to the caseback, winder, buttons even the glass, we suggest removing your watch before swimming to avoid exposing it to the ocean salts or pool chemicals.
CAN RINGS BE RESIZED?
Yes. We can alter almost any ring, making it larger or smaller. Gold is extremely malleable and can be worked in different ways to achieve the size you need. Sometimes we need to add or remove gold, and some rings can be adjusted without any cutting at all. When a ring with stones is adjusted in size it is vital that the settings holding the stones are then checked to ensure no movement has occurred.
CAN MY JEWELLERY BE MADE INTO SOMETHING NEW?
Yes. We can normally reuse your own gold to create a new piece of jewellery. Please look at our workshop page for more detail on remodelling. It is also possible with silver jewellery, but the cost of the labour would mean you pay more than the finished item is worth, meaning re using silver is only really suitable for the most sentimental pieces.
HOW DO I CLEAN MY JEWELLERY
Warm water, a toothbrush and a dash of washing up liquid, then polishing with a soft cloth will usually be enough to restore the sparkle to gold jewellery and diamond rings, if that doesn’t work we sell jewellery cleaning solution, silver dip and polishing cloths. If your jewellery is in need of a professional clean we can restore its former glory in our workshop. We offer a free ring cleaning service that includes inspection of all settings to check for wear and damage. Most stones in jewellery can be cleaned but some precious stones should not be cleaned in a machine or even soaked in water, the main ones are pearls, emeralds, opals and crystals like Swarovski that all should be kept dry, For further help or advice please get in touch.
CAN MY JEWELLERY BE WORN ALL THE TIME
The simple answer is no. To avoid unnecessary wear and damage remove your jewellery before bed, sleeping in jewellery puts lots of extra pressure on your jewellery especially necklaces and bracelets that can twist and stretch when laid on. Claws on rings rubbing against bedding may not seem like a problem, but imagine 8 hours of that every night for 10 years. Save yourself money and heartache by simply making jewellery the first thing to take off and the last thing to put on. The gym is also a big no go area for jewellery. Jewellery is simply not designed for the pressures of the gym.
IS MY JEWELLERY SAFE IN THE POOL OR HOT TUB
Absolutely not. In the USA chlorine damage is well known and a common problem due to so many homes having pools and hot tubs, in the UK hot tubs are not very common so we are only just seeing the damage caused by regular chlorine exposure. Chlorine was historically used to separate gold from its alloy when refining old gold. Continued exposure can leave your jewellery looking like Swiss cheese and beyond repair, it’s sadly not an issue that can be fixed.