Jewelry Maintenance

One of the rewards of having Philippe Medawar as your personal jeweler is that once you put your irreplaceable heirloom in his capable hands, you can be confident that your item is cared for in a state-of-the-art atelier where all Jewelry Maintenance Services are performed expertly in house, in a secure environment.

Inspection

People sometimes forget that gold is a soft metal that wears down over time. A jewelry element that is most prone to this wearing down is an item's prongs. Prongs are usually four or six metal wires used to secure a gemstone in place. As we move throughout our day, prongs rub against hard surfaces and eventually become paper-thin or entirely break off, thereby endangering the security of the gemstones they were designed to protect. Prongs also snag easily and when they’re bent out of place, gemstones are vulnerable to loss. 

Because diamond is the hardest natural known substance in the world it should not be loose in a gold mounting. If you see a diamond move in its mounting or can hear it jiggling, please don’t wear it! Put the item safely aside until you can bring it to Philippe Medawar for inspection. When a diamond is loose in its setting, either due to thin or bent prongs, its movement will potentially cut through the prongs and your gemstone could be lost. Philippe Medawar is committed to helping clients avoid the heartache of losing a treasured gem. This is one reason why it’s important to have your everyday jewelry professionally inspected every three months.

Consultation

Every three months, clients who present Philippe Medawar custom jewelry designs for Jewelry Maintenance Service will have their item inspected by an expert to assess it’s overall condition. At this juncture, a more in-depth consultation may be required. If jewelry repair or jewelry restoration services are needed, clients are appraised of all condition issues and given a free estimate for required service. However, if the jewelry item is in acceptable condition, the item will be professionally cleaned.

Cleaning

Does your jewelry not look nearly as beautiful as it did years ago? It’s probably because it needs cleaning. Diamonds are naturally attracted to oil, which is why even a fingerprint can lessen its dazzling beauty. If you want your jewelry to sparkle as brilliantly as you do, bring it often to Philippe Medawar for professional cleaning. Having one’s jewelry professionally cleaned doesn’t only improve how it looks but also whether or not it will endure. Pollutants and seemingly benign chemicals we encounter every day (lotions, perfumes, hot tubs…) can damage and destroy some jewelry items and their gemstones.

Here are a few cleaning tips to help you keep your jewelry beautiful and enduring for many years to come:  

• Your pearl should be gently cleaned with each wearing. Use a soft, non-abrasive cloth or new cosmetic brush and a very mild cleaner. Pearl bracelets and strands should be cleaned and re-strung annually. For additional pearl care information, click here.
• We recommend that you do not use in-home ultrasonic machines to clean your jewelry. Some gemstones are heat-treated and the color is unstable in high temperatures. Also, ultrasonic machines vibrate with ultrasonic waves that can potentially shake gemstones loose in their mountings. We see jewelry that is so dirty, the only thing holding gems in place is the dirt. Once clean, the gems actually fall out of their mountings! Jewelry that contains organic gem material such as, pearl, ivory, amber or coral cannot withstand chemicals, heat and vibration inherent in an ultrasonic machine.  Antique jewelry may contain gems that are assembled and coated with foils, plastic, glass and wax that are not stable when subjected to ultrasonic cleaning. 
• Instead of a home ultrasonic machine, we recommend that you invest in a new, soft bristle cosmetic brush and a very mild cleanser for cleaning around gemstones and their mountings.

It is better to entrust the cleaning of your jewelry to the knowledgeable staff at Philippe Medawar. At your convenience, you may telephone or email for an appointment so that your jewelry is sparkling clean during your next speaking engagement, wedding or anniversary dinner. 

Polishing

It’s inevitable, your jewelry will get scratched if you wear it. Most jewelry metals are vulnerable to environmental wear, such as tarnishing and other condition issues resulting from normal wear and tear from the office, home or anywhere else you encounter hard surfaces. Don’t worry, Philippe Medawar’s expert technicians will polish out unwanted scratches making jewelry shine brightly again.

Buffing

Though a similar process to polishing, buffing is unique in that a loose abrasive or rouge, that is unique to the jewelry metal and work wheel used, creates an extremely high polished surface. Philippe Medawar will buff away discolorations that may be present from chemicals the jewelry item has encountered. The buffing process adds sparkle to your jewelry so it glitters and shines.

Caution

Each individual gemstone and the various mountings in which they're set require different approaches to care and maintenance. Philippe Medawar considers the age and condition of jewelry in conjunction with the unique requirements of that particular item before determining care and maintenance methods. Please inquire at Philippe Medawar how to best care for items in your jewelry collection to help ensure their beauty will endure for many years to come.