Whether you purchased it as a treat for yourself or received it as a gift from a loved one, a gold tennis necklace is a beautiful piece of fine jewelry that deserves to be treated with care. Due to its construction, dirt and debris can easily get into the gaps of the piece. If your tennis necklace comes with diamonds or other precious stones, they may also come loose without you ever noticing it. Here are a few tips on how to take care of this precious accessory:
Inspect it often
Most people wear their gold tennis necklace on a daily basis. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t–it’s a versatile piece of jewelry that goes well with casual and formal ensembles, and everything in between.
Wearing it out a lot does expose it to certain factors that can damage it, though. This is especially true if you like to have it on while doing strenuous activities, such as playing tennis or any other active sport, or when doing household chores.
Inspecting your tennis necklace every so often makes you more familiar with it, and thus more aware of any changes to its shape, the settings, and the stones. It’ll then be easier to know when something is amiss and requires professional care.
Clean it the right way
Yes, there is a right and a wrong way to take care of your gold tennis necklace and other pieces of fine jewelry. Suzanne Kalan, an LA-based jewelry company, recommends using a bowl of warm water and a soft toothbrush to carefully scrub and rinse your jewelry, and then drying them with a soft cloth.
No matter what you do, keep your gold tennis necklace–and any other jewelry, for that matter–far away from all chemicals, especially those with harsh compositions. This includes bleach, chlorine, and any cleaning products you use around the house or garden. Diamonds may be the strongest substance on the planet, but the settings that the stones are in can and will be damaged from contact with these chemicals. They can also negatively affect the metals.
Consult a professional
Jewelry experts agree that you should have your pieces looked at by a professional at least once a year. Expert jewelers will be able to thoroughly inspect your tennis necklace and determine if they need repairs. Stones coming loose happens more often than you think, and it’s something that you may not notice until it’s too late.
When you buy your gold tennis necklace from Suzanne Kalan, you are automatically entitled to their complimentary care and maintenance services. These include cleaning and polishing, rhodium plating to restore the radiance of white gold, and even gemstone replacement–depending on certain circumstances–all free of charge. They can also replace broken clasps.
Store it properly
With a hardness rating of 10 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, diamonds can withstand almost anything. They are vulnerable to other diamonds; stones rubbing against each other can cause unsightly scratches. Diamonds can also damage other precious stones, as well as metals.
The easiest way to keep your jewelry safe is to store your diamonds separately, especially from pieces that are made with softer materials such as gold necklaces. You can put them back in the boxes they came in, or use jewelry pouches to store individual pieces.
Suzanne Kalan is one of the best places to purchase jewelry from, including gold tennis necklaces. They have a wide variety of designs in their catalog that you can peruse here; their after-care customer service is top-notch, too. You can learn more about their services here.
