How to Care for Your Sapphire Jewellery
A piece of sapphire jewellery goes beyond the physical. We form emotional attachments to our jewellery - their stories, the occasions they celebrate, the people connected to them - and we want this attachment to last a lifetime. Or longer.
Maximise the value of your jewellery and keep it looking stunning for longer with the proper sapphire jewellery maintenance. We’ll show you how to clean, store and care for your most precious pieces, the easy way.
Safeguard your sapphire's beauty.
The importance of proper sapphire jewellery care
Their rich colours and unmistakable sparkle make sapphires unique, stunning stones.
Thanks to their durability - they clock in at 9 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness - they can hold that beauty for generations to come.
That said, if you want to pass yours down the family line, you have to know how to care for your sapphire jewellery. Regular maintenance doesn’t have to be taxing, but it’s crucial to preserve the lustre, colour and overall value of your sapphire jewellery.
Introduce a schedule of regular cleaning and maintenance, proper storage, and careful handling of your jewellery to keep it in pristine condition.
How to clean your sapphire jewellery at home: Step-by-step
Keep that sparkle with some simple at-home sapphire jewellery care.
It’s easier than you think. Use warm, soapy water and gentle, non-abrasive materials. Keep harsh chemicals away - never use detergents, alcohol, acetone or paint thinner on your jewellery collection.
You’ll need:
- Soft-bristle toothbrush
- Dish soap
- Warm water (not hot!)
- A soft towel (such as a microfibre cloth)
How to clean your jewellery:
1. Fill a small bowl with warm water and add about 1 tsp of dish soap. Mix it together until it bubbles and foams.
2. Soak the jewellery in the soapy water for 5-10 minutes. This will soften any dirt and grime.
3. Take the jewellery out of the water and gently scrub it with the toothbrush. Dig into any hard-to-reach areas to extract grime and optimise shine.
4. Make sure there’s a plug in the sink before rinsing the jewellery under a tap to remove all the soap.
5. Pat the jewellery with your soft towel until it’s dry.
Storing your sapphire jewellery
Give your sapphire jewellery love and care, even when you’re not wearing it.
The best approach is to keep every piece separate. Use lined jewellery boxes or soft cloth pouches, to store jewellery individually and prevent metals from bashing and scratching each other.
If possible, lock your jewellery in a safe, so you know exactly where it is and your precious gems can never be lost or stolen.
Are you making these common mistakes?
You could unknowingly be dulling the shine and shortening the lifespan of your sapphire jewellery.
Avoid these common mistakes to keep your gemstone and precious metals safe and beautiful for longer.
1. You’re wearing a sapphire ring while using power tools or doing some other high-impact activity.
2. You’re wearing jewellery while taking part in sport. (Keep balls and other fast-moving objects away as they could chip the gem or scratch the metal!)
3. You’re wearing your jewellery while swimming or at the beach. (There’s a risk of losing your favourite pieces.)
4. You’re using thick lotions or creams. (They can build up and impact your jewellery’s lustre.)
5. You’re wearing your ring while cooking. (Grease and oil get into the tiny holes beneath your gems and are stubborn to remove.)
6. You’re cleaning your sapphires with harsh chemicals.
Although sapphires don’t scratch easily and are durable enough for daily wear, it’s still possible to damage them. Protect your sapphires from chemicals, abrasives and potential impacts by following this guide.
And remember: The gold, silver or platinum jewellery that holds the gemstones will never be quite as durable as the sapphire. Proper sapphire jewellery maintenance includes caring for your piece’s metal.
Call in the experts.
The importance of professional sapphire jewellery maintenance
Do you wear your sapphire jewellery every day? We recommend cleaning it at home once a month. If you wear it less often, you can clean it every few months.
While you can easily take care of ongoing maintenance, take your sapphire jewellery to a professional once a year. They can do a deep clean of your jewellery.
A deep clean involves ultrasonic or steam-cleaning. It’s ideal for that tough, built-in grime you can’t remove with a toothbrush - and for getting into awkward, tiny crevices.
If your jewellery is particularly fragile or antique, or features more delicate gemstones like pearls or emeralds, it’s best to leave the cleaning to the experts.
A regular check-up goes beyond restoring your sapphire’s sparkle. It’s important to have jewellers check for issues early on, like loose stones, so they can be fixed before any real damage is done.
A quick top when you're looking for a jeweller to clean your gems...
“If you bring your [jewellery] to be professionally cleaned by another jeweller that’s not where you originally purchased them, be sure to give them the details of all the stones in your [jewellery] to ensure they don’t damage them in the cleaning process.”
- Page Neal, Jeweller & Co-Founder of Bario Neal
Our best quick sapphire jewellery care tips
We’ve covered just about everything you need to know on how to care for your sapphire jewellery. But we’ll leave you with some more everyday tips to extend the lifespan of your collection.
- Take off your jewellery during sports or intense activities like rock climbing.
- Store it separately in a soft-cloth container.
- Check your jewellery regularly for loose stones, or have a professional check for you.
- Insure your sapphire jewellery.
- Remove your jewellery to bathe, swim or use saunas/steam rooms. Store it in a safe place, away from drains.
- Never subject your jewellery to extreme temperature changes.
Protect your investment
With the right care, your sapphire jewellery can shine with lasting beauty, so you can love your stone just like the day you first laid eyes on it.
Follow our care tips, making sure to set time aside each month to clean your sapphire jewellery at home. And don’t neglect a yearly professional clean - it makes all the difference to your stone’s allure and lifespan.
Today, you can buy sapphire jewellery you’ll love forever. Our collection comes with a lifetime warranty that protects you against defects or imperfections. (T&Cs apply)
Shop the dazzling new arrivals at Sapphire Dreams.