Ways to take care of your precious gold jewellery

Gold being a soft metal, contact or abrasion between different jewellery pieces may damage them. Wrap each piece separately to avoid such a problem, say experts.

Anita Mertia, Founder at Shri Ram Jewellers, and Subash Naheta, Chairman of Jaipur Jewels, have listed ways in which you can keep your expensive gold safe and make it last longer:

* Don't wear your gold jewellery while bathing or cleaning: There are chemicals in soaps and other cleaning agents. Exposure to these chemicals can dull your gold.

* Store it separately: Gold is a soft metal. Contact or abrasion between different pieces may damage them. Wrap each piece separately in a soft cotton cloth and try hanging up the gold chains.

* It needs occasional buffing: Though the jewellery may not need cleaning yet but buffing or rubbing your jewellery with a soft chamois cloth can help restore the shine of the piece immediately.

* Cleaning tips: Mix mild dish washing detergent with water.

Soak your jewellery. If the piece has stones avoid soaking, use a soft cotton cloth dipped in the cleaning mixture and wipe down carefully.

Rub the pieces with hand or cotton swabs one at a time. You may also use a children's soft toothbrush for heavily ornamental pieces with numerous crevices. Make sure to use the brush extremely gently.

Rinse with warm water to remove all the suds and dry with a soft cloth or leave it out to air-dry overnight.

* For jadau jewellery: For your precious gold-based jadau jewellery, an eraser can be used to wipe off marks that develop over time. It is not a very good idea to use water on jadau jewellery since humidity may leave the jewellery rusted.