Jewellery Care

Caring for your Opal gem

To ensure that your opal retains its original lustre, we suggest avoidance of direct contact with harsher chemicals found in compounds such as soap, detergents, perfumes and the like as these may affect the brilliance of the opal over a course of time.

Lighting Ridge Black Opals, Quilpie & Winton Boulder Opals and, Light Opals, generally possess a robust shape and thicker body profile and rank similar in hardness to gems such as emeralds, pearls and aquamarine. This means that whilst reasonably sturdy, they are not impervious to hard knocks and abrasion. Thus, please ensure that they are worn and stored with a reasonable amount of care.

For opals falling into the inlay category, their flatter nature and thinner profile render them slightly more prone to abrasion and hard impact. These gems typically sit flush within a bezelstyle setting. We recommend that you do not wear your jewellery when performing certain activities (sports, gardening, dish washing etc) to prevent it from being knocked or from coming into contact with harsh substances.

At DM Archipelago, we only use Australian opals in our jewellery. Australian opals do not dehydrate easily and do not need to be moistened, nor do they readily absorb water. This stands in contrast to the properties of hydrophane opals (Ethiopian and Mexican opals) which are highly porous and unstable and, when placed in water, will become more transparent as their colours subdue.

Like most other gemstones however, please ensure that you do not expose your opals to extreme conditions of heat (such as having them near open flame) or cold.

Care guidelines for your jewellery and its metal setting

Often, it is sufficient to wipe your opal jewellery with a damp cloth. You may also use silver and gold polishing cloths or cleaning agents to polish the metal component of your solid gold or sterling silver jewellery.

Not to be confused with regular gold plating, our gold vermeil jewellery consists of a thick layer of 18k solid gold on sterling silver. It lasts longer than regular gold plating and provides the look and feel of solid gold jewellery at a lower price point.

Yellow or rose gold vermeil over sterling silver metals are best cleaned gently with a damp cloth to ensure that the vermeil remains long lasting. Gold vermeil may be restored after a period of wear, please enquire should you require this service.

Opal gems are typically held in jewellery via either a bezel or a claw/pronged setting. For gems set in a claw or pronged setting, we recommend avoiding sustained rubbing or grazing against highly fibrous surfaces (such as yarn, wool) and materials that are in general likely to catch such as loose strings etc. This is to ensure that such fabrics do not lift a claw on your jewellery setting which may result in the gem becoming loose and falling out. This may happen due to the inherent malleability of metals such as silver, gold and platinum. DM Archipelago takes utmost precautions in ensuring the security of gems in their settingbut this does not negate the possibility of gems being lost should a claw give way.

Warranty on your DM Archipelago jewellery

Your jewellery will be under warranty for up to 12 months from the date of purchase. Warranty only covers any defects or faults due to the workmanship of the piece and does not cover damage or loss incurred as a result of wear and/or misuse, accident or mishandling. If you feel that there are any quality related issues with your piece, please email us and arrangements will be made for the piece to be assessed by specialist jewellers to ascertain the origin of any defect. Please note that any unauthorised external servicing or altering of DM Archipelago jewellery pieces will automatically void the 12 month warranty. If you require a third party service for your piece (eg. resizing in your country or location), please contact us to obtain advice and authorisation before proceeding.

If the issue is deemed unrelated to the inherent quality of the piece, the item will be returned to you the purchaser. If however the piece is deemed defective, DM Archipelago reserves the right to offer the purchaser reparations or a replacement within a reasonable time period. The purchaser will not be entitled to a refund on faults which can be adequately remedied.

If the item is deemed faulty, the repaired item or a replacement will be sent back to you without charge. If however the item is not deemed faulty, you will be charged a shipping fee for the item’s return in line with the fees set out in our shipping policy.

Servicing of jewellery outside of warranty

We offer for a fee, services including the repair, restoration and replacement ofpieces outside of warranty. Contact us to enquire or arrange an appointment. Services offered include:

  • Ring or bracelet resizing
  • Professional cleaning and polishing
  • Re-tipping of prongs or tightening of prongs
  • Re-plating of rhodium or re-application of gold, rose gold or white gold vermeil/overlay
  • Chain soldering
  • Pendant bail repairs
  • Clasp repair and replacement
  • Resetting or replacement of gemstones in your jewellery pieces

Out-of-warranty serviced jewellery items will be returned at a shipping charge. Please see our shipping policy for fee structure.