Plating is a surface. Everything below is about protecting a surface.
1. Last on, first off
Put jewellery on after fragrance, hairspray, sun cream and make-up, and take it off before you take anything else off. Alcohol and oils in cosmetics are the fastest way to dull a finish.
2. Water is fine, soaking is not
Showering and washing your hands with it on is fine. What we would avoid is soaking it for hours at a time — a long bath, a whole day at the pool or the sea, where chlorine and salt do the damage. Sweat is the quiet one, because it is slightly acidic and happens every day, so a quick wipe after the gym helps.
3. Wipe it when you take it off
A soft dry cloth, ten seconds. This is the habit that makes the biggest difference and the one almost nobody does.
4. Store pieces apart
Plated surfaces scratch against each other and against anything harder. Flat, dry, and not all in the same dish. A pouch per piece is ideal; separate compartments are fine.
5. No polishing cloths or dips
Silver polishes are abrasive by design. On sterling silver that is the point. On a plated piece you are rubbing the plating off. Dry cloth only.
6. Rotate
A piece worn every single day wears faster than three pieces worn in turn. This is a good argument for owning a small collection rather than one favourite — and it is roughly how we think about the catalogue.
What to expect, honestly
Treated this way, a plated piece holds its colour for years. Treated carelessly, months. We would rather say that than promise something we cannot control once the parcel leaves.
Anything that arrives wrong goes back within fourteen days with the label included. See the collection.