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EVERY woman loves her jewellery. But even precious ornaments need proper care. Here are some pointers on how you can keep them shining forever.

• Don`t accept jewellery in pouches. They will cause gold pieces to brush against each other and result in scratches.
• Try and get a cleaning cloth, synthetic chamois or chamois leather to clean gold or diamond jewellery.
• Invest in a cleaning liquid.

• Try and sit on a sofa/bed while wearing jewellery.
• Earrings with complicated links should be worn in front of a mirror.
• Put on your make-up before wearing your jewellery, because a coat of powder or rouge could dull your gold jewellery.
• Protect your jewellery from hair spray, perfumes and nail polish. Pearls should be kept a mile away from nail polish as the acetone in polish could wipe out the outer coat of the pearl, thus reducing its value.

• While cleaning jewellery, use a soft cloth, chamois leather or a cleaning liquid. You can even clean gold or diamond jewellery (open settings, only), by dropping it into a beaker of boiling water into which a pinch of soda bicarbonate has been added. Leave it for half a minute, till the grease and grime fall away, and remove it. Wipe it with a soft cloth.

• Keep jewellery in a box with a soft velvet or satin lining.
• Keep your items separate from each other in the box.
• Wipe each piece of jewellery before and after using it, with a clean cloth.
• It you preserve your gold jewellery in your locker, wrap it up in cellophane before wrapping it in cloth and then place it in a box. The cellophane will protect the piece from the iron oxide materials of the locker.
• You can bathe with your jewellery on, but after some time, the soap and water can coat it with a thin film, leaving your gold dull.

• Jumble jewellery in small containers. Never, ever mix costume jewellery with 22k gold jewellery or 22k jewellery with 24k pieces.
• Boil close set jewellery, `kundan` jewellery and heirloom pieces. Use only a soft cloth to clean them.
• Use detergent/soap/powder/toothpaste to clean gold jewellery.
• Use force while putting jewellery like rings or bangles onto children. As far as possible, pick up adjustable jewellery like bracelets for children. For some children and adults, the body temperature could alter, thus changing the size of the finger.