Useful Info Useful Info
Care of Jewellery
The scratches and bumps from everyday wear will show on any metal. Generally, all jewellery should be regularly washed in hot soapy water. You can buy proprietary cleaning products for gold and platinum and these metals will easily retain their colour. The finish on all metal will change with wear – matt finish becomes more shiny and a highly polished finish becomes duller. This change is particularly noticeable on rings because they are more likely to be knocked and rubbed than necklaces or brooches.Silver Jewellery
Silver jewellery is particularly susceptible to oxidisation and this is more noticeable on matt finished pieces. If you experience any blackening of the jewellery when it is new, we recommend cleaning with concentrated washing-up liquid and a soft toothbrush, or try a quick dip in ‘Silver Dip' ( NB matt jewellery should not be polished after dipping!). Any initial discolouration should fade in time. You should avoid contact with chemicals such as peroxide, chlorine or sulphure because they discolour silver.Unfortunately some people react against silver jewellery and turn it black. According to a chemist this could be due to diet, or some medications. The methods described above will clean jewellery that has blackened in this way, but often the only alternative is to avoid silver jewellery. We can rhodium plate certain items of jewellery to create an invisible barrier between the jewellery and the wearer’s skin. Alternatively, all designs can be made in white gold or platinum
If tarnishing persists please contact us to discuss returning the jewellery for cleaning.All jewellery sold in the Diana Porter shop is made from the highest quality of materials. All silver, gold, palladium and platinum pieces are hallmarked to guarantee authenticity.
Diamonds
Our diamonds are purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict in compliance with United Nations resolutions.Diamonds are graded by cut, carat, clarity and colour:
Cut
Most of the diamonds shown are brilliant or round cut.Some are oval cut and the square cut diamonds are princess cut.
Carat
The weight or size of a diamond is measured in carats.A carat is 0.2gms and there are 100 points per carat.
Clarity
Gemmologists determine the clarity of a diamond by the number and type of inclusions seen through x10 magnification.The grades go from I.F.(internally flawless) through V.V.S.1, V.V.S.2, V.S.1, V.S.2, S.I.1, S.I.2, P.1 – I.1, P.2 – I.2, P.3 – I.3 (imperfect).
Colour
ColourDiamonds are graded for colour from D-F(colourless), G-J(near colourless), K-M(slightly tinted), N-R(very light yellow), S-Z(light yellow-yellow).We use F-J colour and can obtain other grades or ‘fancy' colours such as pink, orange, blue or yellow
Chocolate diamonds are natural colour brown diamonds and the exact colour of the brown diamonds cannot always matched.
Certification of Diamonds
Some of the larger diamonds come with a report from the Gemmological Institute in Antwerp or we can obtain a report and certification from the Birmingham Assay Office.
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