Jewellery care

Taking care of your special Michelle Pujol jewellery piece.

Silver Tarnish:

Silver tarnishes from environmental reasons and can vary from place to place and person to person. It is caused by silver having a chemical reaction to Hydrogen Sulphide. This can be in hand cream or perfume, the acidity of your perspiration, and the level of hydrogen sulphide in the air, so car fume’s or what you touch like eggs, onions and even humidity. All accelerate the tarnish, which shows up as patches of yellow/brown and even black.
So for those who would like a simple solution here is an old wives remedy that works. I use it on all my jewellery. Even before adding the bi -carb I could see a huge difference. It’s easy to do and will save you a lot of time and money later down the track.

1. Place aluminium foil in “Pyrex “dish.
2. Place jewellery in bowl.
3. Pour boiling water from kettle on top (2cm above pieces).
4. Add a small sprinkling of B-Carb (it will foam up and bubble).
5. Leave till bubbles disperse and stop.
6. Take out pieces and wash in soapy warm water, dry well with a soft cloth and wear
7. If there are any stubborn areas in crevices or flower centres you can gently use a soft plastic kitchen scour in these as my work is a combination of polish and satin matt and these areas are usually a satin matt finish.

One other saying that may help to prolong the tarnishing process:
“Your jewellery should be the last thing you put on before you leave and the first thing you take of at night.”
This limits the contact and exposure to the above mentioned probable causes.

***NB: Please note that Blackened patina pieces do not need this cleaning process and the patina is a light film on the surface so this would remove that effect *****