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Good jewelry is made to be worn. Every day, for years, and then passed on. Like leather boots or silk, it asks for a little care in return. Here is everything we know about the metals and stones we work with, and how to keep them looking their best.
We work with 3 metals: Sterling Silver 925, Silver with Gold plating and Gold. All of them are recycled. Each one looks, wears and ages in its own way, so knowing them helps you choose the right piece and keep it for life.
STERLING SILVER 925
Sterling Silver is 92,5% pure silver. The other 7,5% is mostly copper. Pure silver is too soft to wear every day, so the copper makes it stronger.
All our silver pieces get an anti-tarnish bath.
SILVER WITH GOLD PLATING
A Sterling Silver piece covered with a thin layer of gold. You get the warm color of gold on a solid silver base, at a much lower price than solid Gold.
The gold layer on our pieces is 3 microns thick.
GOLD: 14 CT GOLD AND 19,2 CT PORTUGUESE GOLD
In Europe, "ct" measures how much pure gold is in the metal. Pure gold is 24 ct, and it's very soft. Gold is mixed with other metals, like silver and copper, to make it more resistant.
Why recycled
Silver and Gold never wear out as materials. They can be melted and made into something new forever, with the same quality. So we work with metal that already exists, rather than metal freshly dug out of the ground.
A gem is a precious stone chosen for its beauty, then cut and polished to wear. Most grew inside the earth over millions of years, and each one is unique. What makes a gem is a mix of beauty, strength and rarity.
Hard is not the same as strong
Jewelers measure the hardness of precious stones on the Mohs scale, from 1 to 10. But hardness is not toughness: a diamond resists scratches better than anything, yet a hard knock in the wrong spot can chip it.
Examples of stones we work with
Ethical concerns
For our own collections, we buy old stocks of precious stones (like sapphires) to avoid contributing to new mining. For Diamonds we choose lab-grown, where no mine was needed. Custom pieces can be an exception, but we still suggest lab-grown diamonds and checking if you have any unused family jewelry that might hold the right stones for your new piece. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond, it has exactly the same composition as a mined diamond, but it is grown in a lab in weeks rather than formed underground over millions of years.
The best care for jewelry is wearing it. A few small habits do the rest.
Sterling Silver 925
Wear it often. The light rubbing of daily wear keeps silver bright.
A lot of people can wear their pieces every day without much care. But on some skin, silver darkens faster. It’s not a defect, and a quick polish brings it back. If this is your case, you can consider taking it off to avoid contact with soap, chlorine, salt and sweat. Pieces left in a drawer for months darken the most. When you store silver, close it in its box or pouch, away from air and humidity.
Silver with Gold plating
The gold layer is thin, so these pieces need more attention.
Take rings off when you wash your hands, cook or clean. Avoid perfume and cream directly on the piece. Take it off for the pool and the sea, because chlorine and salt wear the gold away faster. A good tip is to rotate your favorite plated pieces, so one piece doesn't take all the friction. When you store plated silver, close it in its box or pouch, away from air and humidity.
Gold
Gold doesn't darken and water doesn't harm it, so 14 ct and 19,2 ct gold can stay on day and night. Of the three options it needs the least attention.
You can take rings off for the gym or heavy activities to avoid them scratching or bending. Chlorine can weaken gold over time, so you might avoid using your pieces regularly in a swimming pool.
Gems
To avoid loss, we recommend taking off your rings when doing certain sports (like weightlifting) or other activities that put extra pressure on the hands, as this can cause the metal to move over time and affect the settings. Store each piece on its own, remember a diamond or sapphire can scratch any other stone or metal. Strong light and heat can also fade a few colored stones over time, so store them in the dark.
A little cleaning at home keeps most pieces bright for years. For deep cleaning and anything that worries you, bring your piece to us.
Sterling Silver 925
Silver is easy to clean with the gentle rub of a polishing cloth. If you don’t own one, you can wash your pieces with warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft toothbrush. Rinse and dry fully with a soft cloth before you put it away. If the tarnish is too dark you can bring your piece to our atelier to be professionally polished.
Silver with Gold plating
Never use a silver polishing cloth or silver cleaner on plated pieces. It will remove the gold layer. Wipe with a soft dry cloth after wearing, and wash gently with water and mild soap when needed. Re-plating: with time, the gold layer wears. It happens first where the piece rubs most. When you see silver showing through you can decide to re-plate. At Bergue, we clean and polish the piece, then cover it with a new layer of gold.
Gold
Soak your piece for a few minutes in warm water with a drop of mild soap. Brush gently with a soft toothbrush, rinse and dry. Small scratches are normal on gold you wear every day. When you want the shine back, we polish it in the atelier.
Gems
Clean stones with warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft toothbrush. Brush under the stone, where dirt hides. From time to time, you can bring your rings in to check if the setting is stable.
Plating wears, chains can break, clasps can open, rings can get scratched, you might lose a stone. It happens to the best pieces, but Silver and Gold can always be repaired.
What we can do
We fix pieces from any brand, not only Bergue.
Our warranty
All our pieces have a 2-year warranty on any manufacturing defect.
How to repair your pieces with Bergue
Bring your jewelry to one of our shops in Lisbon, or send us a photo for a first quote. Our jewelers look at it and tell you what can be done. Not in Lisbon? Write to us first, then mail your piece. We fix it and send it back.
We work with 3 metals: Sterling Silver 925, Silver with Gold plating and Gold. All of them are recycled. Each one looks, wears and ages in its own way, so knowing them helps you choose the right piece and keep it for life.
STERLING SILVER 925
Sterling Silver is 92,5% pure silver. The other 7,5% is mostly copper. Pure silver is too soft to wear every day, so the copper makes it stronger.
All our silver pieces get an anti-tarnish bath.
SILVER WITH GOLD PLATING
A Sterling Silver piece covered with a thin layer of gold. You get the warm color of gold on a solid silver base, at a much lower price than solid Gold.
The gold layer on our pieces is 3 microns thick.
GOLD: 14 CT GOLD AND 19,2 CT PORTUGUESE GOLD
In Europe, "ct" measures how much pure gold is in the metal. Pure gold is 24 ct, and it's very soft. Gold is mixed with other metals, like silver and copper, to make it more resistant.
Why recycled
Silver and Gold never wear out as materials. They can be melted and made into something new forever, with the same quality. So we work with metal that already exists, rather than metal freshly dug out of the ground.
A gem is a precious stone chosen for its beauty, then cut and polished to wear. Most grew inside the earth over millions of years, and each one is unique. What makes a gem is a mix of beauty, strength and rarity.
Hard is not the same as strong
Jewelers measure the hardness of precious stones on the Mohs scale, from 1 to 10. But hardness is not toughness: a diamond resists scratches better than anything, yet a hard knock in the wrong spot can chip it.
Examples of stones we work with
Ethical concerns
For our own collections, we buy old stocks of precious stones (like sapphires) to avoid contributing to new mining. For Diamonds we choose lab-grown, where no mine was needed. Custom pieces can be an exception, but we still suggest lab-grown diamonds and checking if you have any unused family jewelry that might hold the right stones for your new piece. A lab-grown diamond is a real diamond, it has exactly the same composition as a mined diamond, but it is grown in a lab in weeks rather than formed underground over millions of years.
The best care for jewelry is wearing it. A few small habits do the rest.
Sterling Silver 925
Wear it often. The light rubbing of daily wear keeps silver bright.
A lot of people can wear their pieces every day without much care. But on some skin, silver darkens faster. It’s not a defect, and a quick polish brings it back. If this is your case, you can consider taking it off to avoid contact with soap, chlorine, salt and sweat. Pieces left in a drawer for months darken the most. When you store silver, close it in its box or pouch, away from air and humidity.
Silver with Gold plating
The gold layer is thin, so these pieces need more attention.
Take rings off when you wash your hands, cook or clean. Avoid perfume and cream directly on the piece. Take it off for the pool and the sea, because chlorine and salt wear the gold away faster. A good tip is to rotate your favorite plated pieces, so one piece doesn't take all the friction. When you store plated silver, close it in its box or pouch, away from air and humidity.
Gold
Gold doesn't darken and water doesn't harm it, so 14 ct and 19,2 ct gold can stay on day and night. Of the three options it needs the least attention.
You can take rings off for the gym or heavy activities to avoid them scratching or bending. Chlorine can weaken gold over time, so you might avoid using your pieces regularly in a swimming pool.
Gems
To avoid loss, we recommend taking off your rings when doing certain sports (like weightlifting) or other activities that put extra pressure on the hands, as this can cause the metal to move over time and affect the settings. Store each piece on its own, remember a diamond or sapphire can scratch any other stone or metal. Strong light and heat can also fade a few colored stones over time, so store them in the dark.
A little cleaning at home keeps most pieces bright for years. For deep cleaning and anything that worries you, bring your piece to us.
Sterling Silver 925
Silver is easy to clean with the gentle rub of a polishing cloth. If you don’t own one, you can wash your pieces with warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft toothbrush. Rinse and dry fully with a soft cloth before you put it away. If the tarnish is too dark you can bring your piece to our atelier to be professionally polished.
Silver with Gold plating
Never use a silver polishing cloth or silver cleaner on plated pieces. It will remove the gold layer. Wipe with a soft dry cloth after wearing, and wash gently with water and mild soap when needed. Re-plating: with time, the gold layer wears. It happens first where the piece rubs most. When you see silver showing through you can decide to re-plate. At Bergue, we clean and polish the piece, then cover it with a new layer of gold.
Gold
Soak your piece for a few minutes in warm water with a drop of mild soap. Brush gently with a soft toothbrush, rinse and dry. Small scratches are normal on gold you wear every day. When you want the shine back, we polish it in the atelier.
Gems
Clean stones with warm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft toothbrush. Brush under the stone, where dirt hides. From time to time, you can bring your rings in to check if the setting is stable.
Plating wears, chains can break, clasps can open, rings can get scratched, you might lose a stone. It happens to the best pieces, but Silver and Gold can always be repaired.
What we can do
We fix pieces from any brand, not only Bergue.
Our warranty
All our pieces have a 2-year warranty on any manufacturing defect.
How to repair your pieces with Bergue
Bring your jewelry to one of our shops in Lisbon, or send us a photo for a first quote. Our jewelers look at it and tell you what can be done. Not in Lisbon? Write to us first, then mail your piece. We fix it and send it back.
