We love our bling. Bling makes us human.

What we wear sends a message and tells our story. Our jewellery are coded symbols, central to the unique ability of human symbolic communication. Our jewellery is an indication of status — available, married, affianced, leader, part of a fraternity, sisterhood or tribe.

Here at My Jewellery Story, we consider jewellery self-care – a reminder we deserve to shine. And wearing sparkly jewellery is a luxury – like a 2-hour bubble bath or adding that shiny trinket to add pop to our sweats or office wardrobe.

They all do wonders for our mind and soul while bringing out the best of ourselves.

🚨 Does the piece list the materials it’s made from?
🚨❓ Is it clear what type of gemstones they are and where they’re sourced from?
🚨 Do the gems come from war zones?
🚨 Is the earth mined in obtaining these stones?

❌ Nickel and lead irritates the owner’s ears or skin and loses value through wear while quickly becoming outdated.

💖 A great jewellery brand clearly states its materials and gemstones, whether lab grown, simulated or nickel- or lead-free.

💖 Experiment. Choose versatile pieces to extend your wardrobe.

💖 Dress to the occasion, as well as your facial structure, skin, hair and eye shades and your outfit, from silhouettes to symmetry, colour, patterns, necklines, sleeves and styles.

💖 Wearing the same jewellery every day means those pieces will need regular cleaning with a gentle bath of warm soapy water every 2 weeks.

💖 Take jewellery off when swimming, showering and going to bed as this causes damage.

💖 Change your jewellery up to add instant sparkle to each day while maintaining their quality and freshness.

❌ Avoid harsh chemicals – especially any cleaning products, perfumes and alcohol.

❌ In the new era of hand hygiene, go easy on the sanitiser and handwashing with your rings.
Take your rings off before you sanitise or wash your hands (just don’t leave them behind!)

💖 With the change of seasons four times a year, schedule in a good jewellery clean of your most important pieces.

💖 If you have regular favourites, a good rub with a cleaning or polishing cloth every week or once a fortnight works wonders – and it’s easy.

💖 Get into the routine of removing your jewellery before washing the dishes, bathing, and showering.

💖 Leave rings behind when doing chores, projects or gardening around the house. The damage can be irreversible, or worse – you could cause some harm to yourself if they get caught on anything or lose them.

💖 When swimming, showering or doing the dishes, it’s easy to dull their sparkle, or worse – lose your pieces. No matter how organic and kind to your body and the environment they are, the chemical residue from detergents, soaps, shampoos and conditioners affects your jewellery.

💖 When it comes to working out, jumping into the pool or heading to the beach, leave your good pieces at home and stick to unfussy jewellery – like studs and huggies – but make sure a good clean is scheduled in to wipe away any build-up of residue and perspiration.

❌ Swimming in chlorine pools and spas weakens gold and discolours silver and gemstones. The sand from the beach with the salty sea dulls gems and erodes metals. And nobody wants that.

💖 Store jewellery in a closed jewellery box, jewellery roll, a special covered and padded container or pouches.

💖 Clasp necklaces when you take them off. This helps them from getting all jumbled or tangled up. Picking at tangled chains is not really a fun job (unless you are OCD and find joy in that kind of thing). If necklace tangles still happen on the daily, hanging them from a jewellery tree or peg will prevent those pesky snarls.

💖 When storing jewellery on a necklace tree, make sure to clean regularly so they don’t collect dust.

❌ Don’t wear dangly sparkly jewellery around children – because curiosity, glitter and little clutching hands makes My Jewellery Story something something.

❌ Don’t store your jewellery collection in a humid, moist area such as bathrooms, or around extreme change in temperatures, such as the kitchen or directly in the sun or exposed to air. Our pieces will suffer from expanding in temperatures, tarnish or get dusty.

❌ Our sparkles are not water babies. If they do get wet, dry with a clean, soft cloth as soon as you can to avoid discolouring and icky build ups.

❌ Avoid jewellery from rubbing against each other, gems or other hard surfaces, causing damage, scratches and scuff marks. Scuffing doesn’t look great on our shoes let along our sparkles.

❌ Avoid harsh chemicals and alcohols – especially any cleaning products, soaps, perfumes and sanitisers.

💖 Take off your jewellery while cooking and cleaning.

💖 Always spray your hairspray, lotions and perfume before popping your jewellery on. This includes putting your ring on after washing your hands and sanitising.

💖 When washing hands, don’t forget your ring on the washing basin. Pretty, sparkly rings are eye-catching and alluring – especially when left behind in public bathrooms.

🚨 Do you know where in the world the pieces are made?

🚨 Are the working conditions ethical?

🚨Are the gems ethically sourced or do they come from war zones?

🚨 Is the earth mined in obtaining these stones?

💖 Supporting independent artists and creatives in the design and craftsmanship of jewellery means a great piece can be well designed and economically priced.

💖 Supporting local business is great for the community, while pieces from small scale manufacturing jewellers with a great reputation – just like us – means a better investment for buyers.

💖 Knowledge is power. The source of materials used in our jewellery impacts us, our communities and environment. If we truly care, paying attention, looking deeper and doing the research means we make better jewellery choices – without costing the earth or our health.

❌ Cheap jewellery products sourced from people working in poor conditions and shoddy workmanship using inferior materials and design results in a poor-quality cheap nickel or lead jewellery products.

❌ Cheap jewellery offers a world of sparkle while leaving behind black or green marks and irritating our skin.

💖 Avoiding cheap nickel or lead jewellery is a better investment because quality designed and crafted pieces lasts longer and look better.

💖 Make the conscious decision to buy well designed jewellery made from materials that aren’t harmful to our health, community or environment.

❌ Bad jewellery cheapens an outfit or turns a simple look into a graceless one. They can make your work clothes look unprofessional or leave your stunning dress looking unfinished.

💖 Know yourself so you can express yourself

💖 Dress to the occasion, the season or your mood.

💖 Understand your facial structure, skin, hair and eye shades so you’ve got the right piece that highlight and set these features to stunning.

💖 Accessorise to you outfit, and think about the silhouette, symmetry, colour, pattern, necklines, sleeves and style.

💖 Choosing your jewellery is all about creating a balanced look to turn heads wherever you go. And you deserve to shine at every opportunity.