TELL YOUR CLIENTS TO STOP WEARING RINGS FOR NOW
A number of articles have been published recently debating the possible harm hand sanitizers could be doing to jewellery. Our research has led us to conclude that it’s best to advise your customers to lock away their rings for now, and here’s why:
The protected crevices of jewellery can harbour bacteria. A nurse from the UK has advised all ring-wearers to wash them every single evening, but it’s simply safer to rather take them off, especially given the points that we’ve summarised below:
- Alcohol-based sanitizers seem to be safe for almost all jewellery except organic minerals like amber, coral or pearls, and may also harm delicate stones like opals or emeralds. The alcohol will alter the surface of pearls, dulling their shine and changing the colour – for example from white to yellow.
- According to the team at James Allen, “Extensive hand sanitizer use can loosen the prongs that hold diamonds in place”.
- Some hand sanitizer can also react to the copper elements in rose gold, causing the metal to tarnish over time.
- Non–alcohol-based sanitizers typically contain chlorine-based compounds that can react with water and release free chlorine – a highly reactive substance that may cause tarnishing, especially of sterling silver jewellery. Halogens are also known to cause stress corrosion cracking in low karat golds, in particular, nickel white golds.
- Soaps may contain abrasives, which are capable of wearing away rhodium plating, and will also cause a film of unsightly residue to build up on precious stones.
- Repeated contact with cleaning agents can break down the brilliance or vivid colour of gemstone jewellery over time.
It’s best to warn your clients to put away their rings in a safe place for now.
Many people will choose to wear them anyway, so take the opportunity after lockdown to promote your services – possibly offering a free cleaning while you check stone settings and advise if any re-plating or repairs need to be done.
