Rosa Fine Jewelry
Jewelry Care Guide
A well-made ring is built to outlast a few decades of being lived in. What follows is how to give it that chance — the small habits that keep gold warm and stones bright, and the few you'll want to avoid.
01 — Daily Wear
Wear it often, with intention
Last on, first off
Apply lotion, perfume, sunscreen, and hairspray before your jewelry goes on — residue from any of these dulls the finish over time. When you come home, jewelry comes off before makeup remover, dish soap, or a shower.
Take it off for water
Chlorine and salt water both wear at gold alloys with repeated exposure, and hot water loosens prongs over time. Pools, oceans, and long showers are best enjoyed without your ring on.
Take it off for heavy work
Lifting weights, gardening, moving furniture, kneading dough — anything that involves grip pressure or sharp impact can loosen a prong without you noticing. A loose prong is how stones go missing.
A note on sleeping
Most fine rings are fine to sleep in occasionally, but nightly wear bends prongs slowly over years. If you take it off at night, keep it in the same place every time.
02 — Cleaning At Home
A bath, a brush, a dry cloth
The simple method
Warm water with one drop of mild dish soap is all most pieces need. Soak for ten minutes, then use a soft toothbrush to gently clean behind the stone — that's where lotion and skin oil collect, and where light gets lost. Rinse under running water (close the drain first), then pat dry with a lint-free cloth.
How often
Every two weeks for a ring worn daily. More often if you notice the stone looking cloudy or the gold dulling.
For gold pieces
After the bath, a few passes with a soft jewelry polishing cloth restores the warm yellow finish. Avoid paper towels — they leave fine scratches.
What to avoid
Ultrasonic cleaners, steam cleaners, and drugstore jewelry dips can shock fragile settings, loosen prongs, or strip the natural patina of gold. Leave those tools to a professional bench.
03 — Storage
A quiet, separate place
One box or pouch per piece
Different metals and stones scratch each other — a diamond will mark a softer gemstone, and gold against gold leaves hairline marks. The Rosa box is lined for this reason. Use one pouch per piece.
Cool and dry
Humidity dulls gold over time and can tarnish the alloy metals beneath the surface. A bedroom drawer is better than a steamy bathroom shelf.
Chains lie flat
Necklaces store best clasped and laid flat. Knotted chains are easy to make and difficult to undo without professional help.
Travel
Keep pieces in their original box or pouch, ideally in a small zip case in your carry-on. Hotel safes vary in reliability — your bag is more predictable.
04 — Long-Term Care
Once a year, look closely
Inspect your prongs
Once a year, examine every prong holding a stone. Press very gently on the stone — if you feel any movement, bring the piece in. Prong tightening is a small job, but only if it's caught before a stone is lost.
Professional cleaning
Home cleaning handles surface residue. A proper jeweler's clean — with the right ultrasonic and steam tools, used carefully on your specific setting — restores a piece to the brilliance it had on day one.
Appraisal & insurance
For pieces of significant value, if you have insurance, an updated appraisal every three to five years keeps your insurance coverage accurate as metal and stone prices shift.
If something feels off
A stone that sits differently, a clasp that catches, a band that suddenly feels loose — these are signs to stop wearing the piece and bring it to us. Wearing a compromised setting is the fastest way to lose a stone.
Quick Reference
The short version
Do
- Wear your jewelry often
- Clean every two weeks with mild soap and warm water
- Store each piece in its own box or pouch, in a cool, dry place
- Inspect prongs once a year
- Book a professional clean annually
Avoid
- Swimming pools, the ocean, and long hot showers
- Putting jewelry on before lotion, perfume, or sunscreen
- Storing pieces loose or alongside other jewelry
- Ultrasonic cleaners, steam, and chemical jewelry dips at home
- Wearing a piece if a stone feels loose
RFJ ATELIER Services
Professional cleaning & repair
We offer in-house cleaning, prong tightening, polishing, resizing, stone retipping, and minor repairs at our Manila atelier. Labor is billed at a per-day rate based on the work involved. For complex restorations or formal appraisals, we'll quote on inspection.
Contact us to inquireA piece worth keeping is worth caring for. None of this is complicated — it's a handful of small habits, repeated over years, that keep a ring looking the way you remember it.