How to clean gold-plated jewellery without damaging it

The short answer: a soft, dry cloth after each wear and, every so often, lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, a quick rinse and an immediate dry. Not much more than that. No bicarbonate of soda, no toothpaste, no alcohol, no silver cleaner, no ultrasonic baths.

That list of things not to do is, in fact, the important part. Most gold-plated pieces that come back to the workshop damaged haven't been damaged by being worn a lot. They've been damaged by being cleaned. And almost always with the best of intentions: someone wanted them to sparkle and reached for a product designed for a different material.

So let's take it step by step. First, what lies beneath the gold and why that shapes how it should be cleaned. Then, the method, step by step. And finally, the list of products best kept well away from your jewellery box.

What lies beneath the gold plating

A plated piece is not a gold piece. It is a piece made of another metal with a layer of gold deposited on top by electrolysis. Knowing which layers there are, and in what order, explains almost everything else.

With our earrings, for example, the journey goes like this:

• Brass, which is a copper alloy. It is the body of the piece, what gives it its shape and weight.
• Matting of the surface, to prepare the metal.
• White bronze plating, an intermediate layer.
• 24-carat gold plating, which is the colour you see.
• A final hypoallergenic coating, which is the layer that touches your skin.

Notice the order. The gold isn't inside the piece: it sits on the surface, and there is still one more layer on top of it. When you rub with an abrasive, you aren't removing dirt from on top of the gold. You are removing microns of gold, and before that, the layer that protects it.

There is another detail worth bearing in mind. 24 ct gold is pure gold, not alloyed with other metals. That purity is what gives the warm colour you want from plating, and it is also what makes it a soft material. In a solid piece of jewellery this is offset by mixing it with other metals; in plating, what you have is a layer of pure gold with the hypoallergenic coating on top acting as a shield. In practical terms: the finish stands up well to wear and poorly to targeted friction.

Electroplating is thin by definition. It isn't a sheet, it isn't a thick coating: it is a film deposited onto the metal. That is why it copes perfectly well with normal wear, the brush of clothing, the touch of your fingers, and copes very badly with an abrasive paste or a harsh chemical. They are two different kinds of wear.

The rest of the pieces in our collection follow the same logic: everything we make starts from brass and ends with that hypoallergenic coating. What changes from one piece to another is the shape, not the structure of the finish. So the cleaning method is the same for almost everything.

What you need to clean them

Very little, and you probably already have it at home:

• A clean, soft microfibre cloth, with no polishing product built in.
• Lukewarm water. Neither cold nor hot.
• A drop of mild soap, such as a gentle hand soap or a detergent for delicates.
• A brush with very soft bristles, only if the piece has relief or openwork.
• A second dry cloth, for drying.

What you don't need: any specialist jewellery product. The liquids and treated cloths sold for cleaning silver are formulated to attack silver sulphide. On a plated piece there is no sulphide to find, so they attack what they do find, which is your plating.

How to clean a gold-plated piece, step by step

1. The daily habit: a dry cloth

It is the most effective step of all, and the one people skip most often. When you take the piece off, give it a wipe with a soft, dry cloth before putting it away. Five seconds.

What you are removing there is sweat, traces of cream and oil from your skin. Left on overnight, these have time to react with the surface. Removed in time, they never get the chance to do anything. This habit alone spares you most deep cleans.

2. The deep clean: lukewarm water and mild soap

When the piece has lost its sparkle or feels filmy to the touch, it's time for water. Here's how:

1. Fill a small bowl with lukewarm water and dissolve a drop of mild soap in it. You want it soapy, not foamy.
2. Dip the piece in for a few seconds. Don't leave it to soak for long: there's no need, and it only lengthens its contact with the water.
3. Run your fingers gently over the surface. Your fingers are a better tool than any brush, because they don't scratch and you can feel where residue remains.
4. Rinse in clean lukewarm water. Make sure no soap is left in any crevice.
5. Dry it straight away with the cloth, then leave it in the air for a few minutes before putting it away, so that any moisture in the nooks can evaporate.

A note on tap water: in hard-water areas, if you let it dry on its own, the limescale leaves whitish marks as it evaporates. They don't harm the piece, but it looks dull and you end up rubbing too much to remove them. Drying by hand breaks that cycle.

Step five is the crucial one. The water itself isn't the problem; the problem is the water that stays behind. Moisture trapped in a clasp, behind a butterfly back or inside a hollow is where marks and darkening begin. If you dry it well, cleaning with water is perfectly safe and you can repeat it whenever needed.

3. Relief, hollows and filigree

If the piece has cut-outs or textures where cream builds up, use the soft-bristled brush dipped in the soapy water. Short strokes, no pressure: the idea is to lift away the residue, not to scrub the metal.

An ordinary toothbrush, even a soft one, is already too hard for this. If that's all you have, your fingers are the better choice.

4. Drying and airing

Pat it dry; don't wipe. And don't use a hairdryer or any source of heat: heat doesn't help at all and, on pieces with enamel or glued parts, it can cause problems. A little while in the air on a dry cloth is enough.

If the piece has enamel, there's a nuance

Our enamelled pieces are finished with enamel hand-painted piece by piece, free from bisphenols. That means the colour isn't a uniform industrial coating, but a layer applied by hand onto the metal.

With enamel, everything above still applies, with two extra precautions:

• No solvents whatsoever. Alcohol, acetone, nail varnish remover, cleaners containing ammonia. Any of them can attack the colour before you notice.
• No rubbing the enamelled area. The cloth, yes. Pressure, no. If there is residue stuck on, lukewarm water and patience.

Something else worth knowing if you wear enamelled earrings: the post and butterfly back are 925 sterling silver. Silver does tarnish with air and sweat, so it's normal for the back to dull before the front. It doesn't mean the earring is deteriorating; it's simply two different materials each behaving as they should. A dry cloth over the back now and then, and that's that.

What you should never use

This list matters more than the method. Each point comes with the reason why, because that makes it easier to remember:

• Bicarbonate of soda, toothpaste, salt. They are abrasives. They work by scraping. On plating, they scrape away the plating.
• Liquid silver cleaner and impregnated cloths. They are formulated to react chemically with silver. On a plated piece, it's the finish that takes the hit.
• Alcohol, acetone, ammonia, bleach. Harsh on the outer layer and, on coloured pieces, on the enamel.
• Ultrasonic baths. They are designed for solid gold and securely set stones. Vibration is exactly what a thin coating doesn't need, and hand-applied enamel even less so.
• Scourers, rough cloths, kitchen roll. Kitchen roll looks harmless and isn't: its fibres scratch polished surfaces.
• Very hot water. It offers nothing lukewarm water doesn't, and it adds expansion where different materials are joined together.

When it isn't dirt

Before you carry on cleaning, it's worth telling apart three things that look alike but aren't the same.

Dirt. A greasy film, traces of cream, fingerprints. It comes off with lukewarm water and soap. If you clean the piece and it gets its shine back, this was it.

Darkening. The piece looks dull or greyer in tone, especially in areas in constant contact with the skin. What has happened here is a reaction with sweat, a cosmetic or moisture. Gentle cleaning can improve it, but if you persist with abrasives, you make it worse.

Wear. Specific areas where the colour has changed and a lighter or pinker tone shows through underneath. That's no longer dirt: it is the plating that has worn away at the point of greatest friction, usually edges, clasps and the part that rests against clothing. No amount of cleaning will bring it back, because there is nothing to remove.

Telling them apart saves a lot of heartache. Many people rub harder each time, convinced it's stubborn grime, and all they manage is to speed up the real wear.

How often to clean them

There is no magic frequency, but there is a sensible rule of thumb:

• Dry cloth: every time you take it off.
• Soap and water: when it looks dull or feels filmy. For everyday pieces, that might be every few weeks. For special-occasion pieces, hardly ever.
• Checking clasps and backs: use the clean as a chance to make sure everything is secure.

Cleaning more isn't better. Every clean means contact and friction, however slight. If the piece is fine, leave it be.

The best clean is the one you don't need

Almost all the work happens beforehand, not afterwards. These four habits make quite a difference to the life of a piece:

Jewellery goes on last. Cream, perfume, hairspray, make-up: all of that first, and let it sink in. Then your jewellery. Perfume sprayed straight onto the metal is one of the most common causes of marks.

And comes off first. As soon as you get home, before your jumper. That way you avoid snagging, and it isn't still on in the shower or while you cleanse your face.

Off for water and sport. Swimming pool, sea, shower, gym. Chlorine, salt and prolonged sweat are far tougher on a finish than months of normal wear.

Off for sleep. It isn't only for the piece's sake: it's for yours, and your pillow's. Bent earrings and strained clasps usually have their origins at night.

How to store them so they get less dirty

Storing them well reduces the need to clean. Three ideas:

• Dry. Never put a piece away damp, and avoid the bathroom as a place to keep it. It is the dampest room in the house.
• Separate. Each piece in its own pouch or compartment. When they're loose together in a box, they scratch one another, and scratches on plating can't be polished out.
• In the dark, away from sudden changes. An ordinary drawer is perfect. Far better that than an open jewellery box by the window.

If you have pieces you wear every day and others for special occasions, keep them physically apart. The everyday ones will need the cloth more often; the others, hardly any attention at all.

Quick questions

Can I use the yellow silver-polishing cloth?

No. It contains a polishing agent. On silver it does its job; on gold plating it strips away the outer layer. If you have one of those cloths, keep it for the cutlery.

I've spilt perfume on it. Should I wash it?

Wipe it with a dry cloth first, as soon as possible. If it's still sticky, then yes: lukewarm water with soap, a rinse and a dry. Speed matters more than method here.

What if the piece has stones or glued parts?

Avoid soaking. Clean it with the cloth slightly dampened in soapy water and dry it straight away. Water trapped beneath a glued part takes a long time to get out.

The plating has worn away in one spot. Can it be fixed?

No clean will bring it back, because there's no material left to polish. If this has happened with a particular piece, write to us and we'll take a look: on our shipping and returns page you'll find how to get in touch and how the process works.

Are all pieces cleaned the same way?

Yes, with the enamel nuance we covered earlier. You can use this same method on any piece in our collection, and all the more so on earrings for everyday wear, which are the ones in most contact with skin and hair.

In short

A dry cloth every day. Lukewarm water with mild soap now and then. Dry it straight away. Jewellery at the end of your getting-dressed ritual and at the start of your getting-undressed one. Stored dry and apart.

No abrasives, solvents, silver cleaner or ultrasonics. If you're unsure about a product, the rule is simple: if it's meant for cleaning something else in the house, it isn't meant for this.

If you have a piece you're not sure how to care for, you're welcome to drop by the workshop. We're at Calle Alameda 4, in Madrid's Barrio de las Letras, and we'll look at it together.