The reason 22K gold looks the way it does — that deep, slightly orange warmth that a leaner alloy never quite reaches — is that there is very little else in it. The same fact makes it soft. A 22K bangle worn daily for a decade will show it, and should.
What actually damages it
- Chlorine. Take gold off before a pool. Chlorine attacks the alloy metals and leaves the gold structurally weakened at the joins.
- Perfume and hairspray on chain. Both leave a film that dulls the surface and, on fine chain, works into the links where it cannot be polished out.
- Storing pieces together. Gold scratches gold. One soft pouch per piece.
- Ultrasonic cleaners on set pieces. Fine for a plain band; a reliable way to loosen a pavé stone.
Warm water, a drop of plain soap, a soft brush, and patience. That is the whole domestic method.
Bring a piece in once a year and we will check the clasps and stone seats and re-finish the surface. It takes an afternoon and it is free for anything made here. Most jewellery that is lost was not stolen — it came off a failed clasp that had been feeling slightly loose for months.
Written at the bench at Sita Shree Jewellers, New Road, Kathmandu. Bring any piece — ours or not — and we will look at it with you across the counter.
