CARE & MAINTENANCE
Jewelry Care & Maintenance
To extend the wear and preserve the beauty of your jewelry it is important to take care of your pieces so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come. AF SERVICES will inspect your jewelry carefully at no charge but you can also maintain and care for your jewelry.
- Jewelry can get dented and damaged if treated roughly, and stones can fall out of settings.
- Before doing any household work, going to the gym or using power tools it is important to remove your jewelry.
- It is imperative to keep pieces away from water and chemicals. Moisture tarnishes silver and can weaken springs and clasps. Chlorine can cause metal to fracture with repeated exposure. Avoid cleaning products, swimming pools and Jacuzzi’s. This is a special reminder for engagement and wedding bands whose owners do not realize that the Jacuzzi, the pool and household cleaners are slowly eroding and distressing the metal setting for their diamonds and gems.
- Extreme hot and cold temperatures could damage jeweler’s cement. This is mostly a concern regarding costume jewelry. A rapid temperature jump can also cause stones to fracture.
- After wearing pearls it is important to wipe it with a damp cloth to remove any perspiration or makeup that may be on the pearls.
- Proper storage of your pieces is important. Each piece of jewelry should be stored separately. This will prevent it from getting scratched and tangled. Diamonds and other gemstones can scuff metal.
- Inspecting your jewelry regularly is crucial to keeping it in pristine condition. Check the clasps to make sure they are secure. Prongs should be thoroughly looked at to make sure they are not cracked bent or loosened, this can cause a stone to fall out. Pin backs and earring posts should be examined to see if they are bent or loose. Links, wedding bands and charms should be inspected to make sure the metal was not worn too thin.
Watch Care & Maintenance
All watches needs special care and handling. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions in caring for your watch. Over time, watches, like automobiles, need regular care and maintenance.
For maximum efficiency and to prevent damage, make sure your watch is serviced regularly. The oil that keeps the watch running will dry out. Watch parts which are not freshly lubricated can be abraded by friction. Friction can create a fine metal dust that will act as an abrasive. A watch should be serviced every three to four years, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendation. The watch will be opened by a skilled watchmaker and the movement will be cleaned in special solutions. All the parts are checked for wear and replacements will be made where necessary. Then the movement will be reassembled, re-lubricated and regulated. The case and bracelet will be cleaned ultrasonically or polished. If the watch is marked “Water Resistant”, it will also be checked for water-tightness. As watches wear, their ability to resist water can diminish. Gaskets—the rubber rings that seal the back of the watch to the case— may lose some of their elasticity and case parts like crystal, case tube and crown may become worn or slightly damaged. An expert watchmaker can prevent these dangers by making sure your watch remains water resistant. Always make sure, if you wear a water resistant sport watch, that the crown you opened to set the watch is screwed down or closed tightly as this is a common error causing unexpected water damage to ‘water resistant’ watches.
If your watch is not “Water Resistant”, avoid ALL contact with water.
It’s recommended to wear a mechanical watch every day. When winding the watch turn the crown until you meet resistance. Try to wind your watch at the same time every day. You may need to wind the watch – forward please – from 8 to as many as 20 times. Take your time and feel the resistance as it becomes fully wound. It is safer to wind it slowly, but do keep winding until it is fully wound. Never wear a mechanical watch while playing tennis or golf.
An automatic – self-winding – watch will stop after 48 to 56 hours, if it is not in constant use. To get it running again, wind it as you would a mechanical watch. For any automatic complicated watch – especially calendar watches—we recommend a winding box to keep the watch running and set to the current time when not being worn.
When setting the time, always turn the hands in a clockwise direction. For complicated watches, especially calendar or dates watches, set the day and date of the watch during the day. The day and date mechanism is activated over few hours at night. Making an adjustment at that time will jam the calendar mechanism.
