GOLD
GOLD IS A TEAM FAVOURITE AT BENSIMON, IT HAS BEEN A HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER PRECIOUS METAL FOR COINAGE, JEWELLERY AND OTHER ART FORMS SINCE LONG BEFORE RECORDED HISTORY.
WE OFFER A RANGE OF DIFFERENT GOLD PURITIES AND COLOURS IN OUR DESIGNS. GOLD JEWELLERY MUST CONFORM TO INTERNATIONAL HALLMARK PRACTICES AND THEREFORE THE PURITY MUST APPEAR ON EACH PIECE AS A NUMERICAL VALUE. FOR EXAMPLE 18CARAT GOLD IS REPRESENTED BY THE NUMBER 750 WHICH LITERALLY RELATES TO THE FACT THAT IT CONTAINS 750 PARTS OF PURE GOLD TO EACH 1000.
GOLD IS VIBRANT AND WILL NOT TARNISH EVER IT IS, HOWEVER, A RELATIVELY SOFT METAL AND THE HIGHER THE PURITY THE MORE IT WILL BE SUSEPTIBLE TO DENTS OR SCRATCHES.
IF YOU ENJOY THE ODD ROLL IN THE HAY, CHEEKY ACTIVITY THAT RAISES BODY TEMPERATURE OR EVEN A FUN RUN, GOLD SHOULD BE YOUR NUMBER ONE CHOICE AS IT WILL HOLD UP ON ANY DANCEFLOOR NOR WILL IT EVER CORRODE.
WELL LOVED GOLD JEWELLERY WILL SHOW SIGNS OF A WELL LIVED LIFE WITH SOAPS, BODY OILS, GREASE OR A MIRIAD OF OTHER EXPOSURES CAN LEAVE A RESIDUE BUT ITS EASY TO CARE FOR GOLD WITH PERIODIC CLEANING THAT IS EASY TO HANDLE AT HOME AND ONCE EVERY FEW YEARS WE CAN SEND IT OFF TO ONE OF OUR QUALIFIED JEWELLERS FOR A PROFESSIONAL CLEAN AND TO ENSURE ANY DIAMONDS OR GEMSTONES ARE SECURE - THIS WAY IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A POINT OF PRIDE THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFETIME AND YOU CAN BE JUST AS NAUGHTY AS YOU WANT.
DIAMONDS
TO PROTECT YOUR FABULOUS DIAMOND PIECES, STORE THEM SAFELY IN A JEWELLERY BOX & PREFERABLY SEPARATE FROM EACH OTHER.WHILST DIAMONDS THE HARDEST OF ALL PRECIOUS GEMSTONES AND CAN BE SUBJECTED TO EXTREME HEAT, THEY CAN STILL CAN SCRATCH OR CHIP ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE ACTIVELY SOCIAL.
IT’S TRUE DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND; DON’T BE ROUGH, PLAY NICE AND THE FRIENDSHIP WILL LAST FOREVER. KEEPING YOUR DIAMONDS IN SUPERB CONDITION IS EASIER THAN YOU MAY THINK; WE SUGGEST USING HOT SOAPY WATER AND A SOFT TOOTHBRUSH, MAKING SURE TO RINSE OFF ALL SOAP RESIDUE.
HOWEVER, FOR BEST RESULTS YOU NEED OUR BENSIMON DIAMOND CLEANER IT IS VERY EFFECTIVE & EVEN COMES IN COMPACT SIZE ALL YOU WILL REQUIRE IS A SOFT TOOTHBRUSH, WARM WATER AND A CARING NATURE. MORE IMPORTANTLY OUR JEWELLERY CLEANER IS MILD ENOUGH TO USE ON ALL YOUR JEWELLERY INCLUDING PEARLS AND IS GENTLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT.
EVERY NOW AND THEN YOUR PRECIOUS DIAMONDS DESERVE A PROFESSIONAL CLEAN AND POLISH WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN THE CASE OF DIAMOND SET JEWELLERY THAT REQUIRES RE-TIPPING OF CLAWS TO KEEP YOUR PRECOUS GEMSTONES SAFE.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF QUALIFIED JEWELLERS WE USE REGULARLY AND WILL BE ONLY TOO HAPPY TO ARRANGE THIS FOR YOU.
SILVER
WE EXCLUSIVELY USE STERLING SILVER IN OUR SILVER DESIGNS THIS LABEL RELATES TO THE PURITY OF THE SILVER. AGAIN LIKE GOLD IT MUST BE HALLMARKED TO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS WHICH REFERS TO THE NUMBER OF PARTS OF PURE SILVER OUT OF 1000. STERLING SILVER IS REPRESENTED WITH HALLMARK 925 INDICATING 925/1000 PURITY.
IF GOLD IS THE KING OF NOBAL METALS, SILVER IS HIS QUEEN A NATURAL & MORE DELICATE BEAUTY.AS WITH ANY NATURAL MATERIAL, SILVER REACTS TO ITS ENVIRONMENT (WE HAVE FOUND THAT MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE DO TOO!). IT SPECIFICALLY REACTS TO PARTICLES IN THE AIR & WATER.OVER TIME, SILVER WILL TARNISH.
THIS DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOUR JEWELLERY IS DEFECTIVE, FAR FROM IT, IT SIMPLY PROVES THAT IT CONTAINS A HIGH LEVEL OF PURE SILVER. IN FACT WE HAVE SOME DESIGNS WHERE WE HAVE SPED-UP THE OXIDISATION PROCESS TO ADD DRAMATIC BLACK ACCENTS TO THE PIECE.
IT’S VERY EASY TO GET SILVER JEWELLERY BACK TO ITS FORMER GLORY A, LIKE MOST THINGS, THE EARLIER YOU CATCH THE TARNISH THE EASIER IT IS TO REMOVE. WE RECOMMEND BENSIMON JEWELLERY FOAM AND SILVER SHOULD ALWAYS CONCLUDE ITS CLEANING PROCCESS WITH A VIGOROUS RUB WITH A JEWELLERY POLISHING CLOTH. OUR CLOTHS HAVE TWO LAYERS THE INSIDE WHITE LAYER IS STEP ONE FOR SILVER JEWELLERY AND THE BLACK OUTER IS THE FINAL POLISH.
IF TARNISH STARTS TO TURN ANY COLOUR FROM YELLOWY BROWN TO DARK BLACK YOU MAY HAVE TO GET IT PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED WHICH WE CAN HAPPILY ARRANGE FOR YOU WHEN REQUIRED.
PEARL
PEARLS ARE SEXY! PEARLS ARE THE LEAST INTERFERED WITH BY HUMANS, THEY ARE WORN IN THE SAME STATE THEY EMERGED FROM THE SEA OR LAKE. IF YOU HAVE A PEARL JEWELLERY PIECE FROM US IT COMES WITH A WARNING: PEARLS ARE NATURES APHRODISIAC, YOU HAD BETTER UP FOR AN ACTIVE NIGHT WHEN YOU WEAR THEM.
ALL PEARLS REGARDLESS OF COLOUR HAVE A NATURAL LUSTRE WHICH CAN BE COMPROMISED WHEN EXPOSED TO CHEMICALS LIKE CHLORINE, SOAP, CREAMS, PERFUMES, EXCESSIVE HEAT AND PERSPIRATION. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO TAKE THEM OFF BEFORE MAKING LOVE OR ENGAGING IN ANY SERIOUS FUN. ALWAYS STORE THEM IN JEWELLERY BOX OR POUCH, SEPARATE FROM OTHER JEWELS TO AVOID SCRATCHING.
APPLY MAKE UP, HAIRSPRAY AND SCENT PRIOR AND LET IT SETTLE, ONLY THEN SHOULD DRAPE YOURSELF IN NATURES MOST ALLURING GEM. WIPE PEARLS WITH A SOFT CLOTH AFTER WEARING, OCCASIONALLY USE BENSIMON JEWELLERY FOAM WHICH IS GENTLE ENOUGH TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE LUSTRE.
VERMEIL
'VERMEIL' IS A FRENCH WORD USED TO DESCRIBE A COMBINATION OF TWO PRECIOUS METALS; SPECIFICALLY STERLING SILVER & GOLD. THE TERM CAN ONLY BE USED IN THE CASE WHERE JEWELLERY IS COMPRISED OF STERLING SILVER COATED IN GOLD (A MINIMUM OF TWO MICRONS). VERMEIL DOES NOT APPLY TO GOLD OVER BRASS OR ANY OTHER NON-PRECIOUS METAL.
WHEN CARING FOR VERMEIL JEWELLERY, IT'S BEST TO THINK OF IT AS A DELICATE SILK GARMENT IN THAT SALT-WATER, CHLORINE, SOAP, CREAM, LOTION, PERFUME AND TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE THEIR TOLL CAUSING IT TO FADE.
TO PRESERVE VERMEIL & KEEP IT LOOKING ITS BEST FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AVOID CONTACT WITH THESE ELEMENTS WHEN WEARING YOUR JEWELLERY. ALWAYS REMOVE PIECES BEFORE LOVE MAKING AND TRY NOT TO RUN OVER WITH HEAVY VEHICLES.
ALTHOUGH THE PROCESS FOR ACHIEVING VERMEIL IS MORE ELABORATE THAN PLATING, OVER TIME, LIKE PLATED JEWELLERY IT WILL LIGHTEN AS THE GOLD THINS FROM WEAR AND EXPOSURE.
WE RECOMMEND CLEANING WITH A JEWELLERY POLISHING CLOTH. OVER TIME IF YOU NOTICE FADING MOST VERMEIL PIECES CAN BE COMPLETELY RESTORED BY A QUALIFIED JEWELLER FOR A RELATIVELY SMALL INVESTMENT, HOWEVER, IF YOU TREAT YOUR JEWELLERY LIKE YOU WOULD A GOOD FRIEND IT WILL REMAIN LOYAL AND STAY LOOKING NEW FOR YEARS.
