Care of Your Locket and Chain

With your locket you are creating a precious memory to pass down through the generations. Because of this we stock only solid 925 sterling silver, gold or platinum lockets and chains (we do not stock any gold plated or vermeil jewellery whatsoever as these coatings will eventually wear off). 

These are the following steps that we recommend to keep your locket looking at its best:

1. To open your locket, press gently on the edge with the latch. Care must be taken not to open your locket further than the hinge will naturally go. Most lockets are not designed to be opened flat. Please ensure that you do not put any pressure on your locket when opening it.
 
2. Keep your locket away from chemicals such as perfume, hair products, sun tan lotion, and moisturiser, as these can contain chemicals and colourants which can stain the metal.

3. Do not wear your locket in water or in a hot steamy environment, as water may damage jewellery. It may also damage the photos inside the locket.

4. Do not sleep with your locket on. Sleeping with your locket on can cause it to dent, and can also cause the chain to break.

5. Store your locket separately from other jewellery to avoid scratching. 

6. Close the chain when you take it off to avoid tangling.

7. Sterling silver will naturally tarnish over time, due to oxidisation. The amount of tarnish varies according to conditions such as dampness in the air and moisture on the body. It can even happen when the locket is kept unworn in a jewellery box.

Tarnish should be removed with a silver polishing cloth, such as the cloth we supply on our website. Silver polishing cloths can also be purchased from a jeweller's shop or websites such as Amazon.

To keep your locket looking at its best, we recommend polishing your locket periodically, and especially polishing it when you first see signs of tarnish, rather than waiting for it to build up.

8. 9 ct and 18 ct gold are alloys of gold and other metals, and so they will slightly darken and can appear slightly mottled over time, even if kept unworn in a jewellery box. This is a natural process.

The slight darkening of the metal can be removed by polishing the locket with a gold polishing cloth. This will quickly restore the locket's original brightness.