Jewelry Care

Should I Shower or Swim with My Necklace On?

Swimming Pools are Jewelry’s Biggest Enemies

This is among the most common questions that jewelers get from collectors and jewelry owners: can you safely swim in a swimming pool with fine jewelry like sterling silver, gold, platinum, pearl, and the like? And the general answer is no, even if you’re not wearing pricey fine jewelry.

Sulfur compounds and chlorine in bathhouses and swimming pools can easily tarnish fine jewelry, so it’s best to remove them before swimming.

 

Some additional scenarios where you would have to remove all your jewelry include:
 

• Before putting on personal care products like sunscreen, spray tan, lotions, perfumes, and the like.
• When bathing in cold water. It’s not that the cold water will tarnish your jewelry. Still, there’s a big chance that the skin on your hands will contract, and this may lead to accidentally losing bracelets and rings.
• Direct sunlight for prolonged periods. This is another reminder that you should always remember regardless of what kind of jewelry you bring outside.
• Direct sunlight can aggressively bleach metals and cause them to lose their color. Over time, this can mean that even your finest gold jewelry will look more aged than they are.
• When handling sand, rocks, and soil. There’s a good reason why jewelers always advise their customers to never go gardening with rings and bracelets. While soil and sand may not be harmful to the skin and you may not feel that they’re going to do any significant damage, the matter is that garden soil, rocks, and sand all have abrasive properties.

This means that as you continue handling garden soil, your jewelry will be exposed to mini-session of rock tumbling, minus the finesse of a polisher.

In short, your jewelry is going to look worse after each gardening session. They’re going to be scratched and weathered until they become duller than they should be then with regular use.
 

 

If you want to care for your jewelry better, follow these steps:

• Every day, wipe down all your jewelry with a dry microfiber cloth. This will prevent daily dust, sweat, smoke, and grime from accumulating on the surface of your jewelry and between crannies and nooks, especially if you have complicatedly designed jewelry.
• Always store your jewelry in the right organizer or container. Please don’t leave them about the room. Freely-floating sulfides in the air can cause jewelry to tarnish and eventually rust. Keeping them in an air-tight container will help reduce tarnishing and keep them shinier, longer.
• Check your jewelry for loose joints and weak spots. Have them checked and serviced annually if you truly want to take care of your jewelry.
• The most expensive jewelry pieces should be insured; in case you lose them or they break unexpectedly.

When all is said and done, it’s a good idea to remove your jewelry before going to the beach or taking a shower. Water can be corrosive to metals, and the chemicals we use every day can cause a host of issues with your fave jewelry picks.

Whether you’re buying a gift for your Best friend or having a treat yourself day, it’s best to obtain high-quality jewelry at a fair price. That way, you won’t drain your bank account, but you can also ensure that your jewelry pieces will stand the test of time—and some wear-and-tear—for years to come.