Jewels Care & Repairs
All jewelry will be affected over time by daily wear and elements. The gold and silver surface can become opaque and tired. 18 karat Gold and Sterling Silver are quite soft, therefore need to be treated with care.
Timeworn prongs or sharp impacts may cause the loss of one or more stones. When working with your hands, doing exercise etc., we suggest removing your jewelry.
Always put your jewelry on last; perfume alcohol, make-up and hairspray may damage porous gemstones and pearls.
If possible, it is best to have your jewelry professionally cleaned and cared for. This is important in particular for the care of jewels featuring gemstones, because these have to be tight and secure in their settings (channel, prongs, etc).
Jewelry Homemade Cleaning Solution
If you prefer to keep your jewelry sparkling at home, here is some brief advice on what to use, according to the different types of precious metals and stones.
Gold
Gold cleaning liquid, ultrasound machine.
Pearls
Soft, moist cloth.
Gemstones
Warm water, mild detergent and a soft cloth. Always dry your jewelry thoroughly after cleaning with a soft cloth. If the gemstones of your jewel move, bring your piece to your jeweler for tightening.
Silver
Silver cleaning liquid, ultrasound machine.
Gold Plated Jewels
Gold plated jewelry can last abouttwo years before the gold plating begins to tarnish and wear down. However, the length of time can be much shorter or longer depending on whether or not you decide to properly maintain your jewelry collection. Gently rubbing the surface of your gold plated jewelry using a soft jewelry cloth, helps restore shine. Do not use a polishing cloth as this will strip away the plating. If your jewelry needs more cleaning you may clean it with warm, soapy water. Soak it for a few minutes and you may clean it with a soft cloth.
To take care of plated jewelry, you should:
- avoid getting the jewelry wet with water, soap, perfume, lotion and other chemicals;
- avoid getting the jewelry wet with your sweat;
- remove the plated jewelry when you sleep at night to reduce contact with bare skin;
- store the jewelry in a dry place.
Wearing solid gold jewelry, white gold or yellow gold, in the shower will not harm the metal itself, however it can reduce the shine, therefore it is not recommended. Showering with gold plated jewelry can eventually cause the gold layer to wear off completely, so you should definitely refrain from doing so.
Jewels Repair
We repair pieces made by Alex Jona. You may either bring your item to the shop or send in your item via insured carrier to: Alex Jona, Via Conte Giambattista Bogino 8, 10123 Torino (IT).
If you choose to send your item via carrier, please inform us previously by email sending a picture of your jewel to be repaired: we will be glad to examine the damage and tell you if we can repair it providing you with a free estimate.
In case you agree, we will be happy to receive the parcel and proceed with repairing your jewel.
Resizing a ring
If too tight or too loose, there are a few ways we can resize your ring:
- cutting & soldering: a cut is made and metal is either added or removed to adjust the size to fit, unless there are stones or an inscription that precludes it. No seams should be visible when finished;
- sizing beads: placed on the inside of the bottom of the shank, these accommodate slight discrepancies in size for a half size or less;
- spring inserts: put inside the shank adjusts to 1-2 full finger sizes.