You worked hard for you money, you even paid for your new gold necklace and bracelet in cash. You wear this lovely new matching set everywhere, and the compliments pour in! As they should since you chose the classiest item on display.

4 Months Later It Is In For Repairs!!! Not just gold, but silver jewelry also is subject to being damaged by the mis-informed consumer who asks, "Can I wear it all the time?" The clerk answers, "Well yes of course, this is a solid gold bracelet which you can most definitely wear all the time!" Often sales staff in jewelry stores are not well versed and educated in the metalurgy, and composition of the jewelry that we wear (that they are selling). Not their fault, it is the companies who hire them and fail to properly train the staff, keeping them uninformed may very well keep the profits up. Education is your asset here. Truth is, you cannot wear your new jewelry everywhere. Example situation, many women clean with javex and other harsh chemicals. They are exactly that, harsh chemicals, most of them are acidic and slowly eat away at the metals and alloys which are your precious jewelry!! Low and behold, you are having a repair order written by the same store who told you,:" Why yes of course you can wear this all the time!" Perhaps that is why the staff is uneducated, so the store can continue to have a huge repair business. Who knows. The fact of the matter is this,

(1) keep your jewelry away from household cleaners, no matter how mild they claim to be.

(2) Beware of chlorinated pools, jacuzzi's, even the chlorine in the tap water now is concentrated enough to do long term damage to your jewelry over the years. The acidity level and constant or even infrequent exposure will cause your jewelry to deteriorate over time. Often rendering them unrepairable. Certainly, we collect many jewelry items over the years, and some are even passed down from generations. Ideally, jewelry is made to last a very very long time. As well it should, that is why many jewelry items are so expensive. We hold a certain responsibility as with everything to take care of our jewelry, so that one day it may perhaps be enjoyed by our children, our grandchildren. Watch for my next article coming soon, how to professionally clean your jewelry at home using a microwave.