If you're off to the seaside or abroad over the next few days don't forget to take extra care of your rings and other jewellery.

This time of year we start getting calls from loads of people who have lost their rings, or damaged them while on holiday.

Here's our top five tips for avoiding problems:

1> Don't swim in the sea with your rings on - the cold water may shrink your finger enough to allow the ring to fall off!

2> Avoid wearing rings on the beach - sand is very abrasive and could badly scratch your rings.

3> Never apply sun-screen when wearing a diamond ring - the cream could clog the settings or make the ring slip off.

4> Don't wear your ring in the pool or hot-tub if its white gold - the chlorine can ruin the surface of the ring.

5> Make sure your holiday insurance covers you for loss of jewellery and check that you don't need to inform them if the value is over a certain amount.

Hope that helps! Have a wonderful break everyone ;o)

Smooch - Thank you!!

I've bought a travel ring precisely for this purpose. Grant and I both have matching titanium and diamond rings we can wear while travelling so our rings made of precious metals are safe.

You can also buy 'coin holders' that hang around your neck for the beach - just pop your rings in that if you can't bear to be without them

Wow - that's what I call a sparkler! ;-) Careful you don't knock anybody out with it!

Great advice Smooch, something id not considered!

Xx

gr8 tips :)

any suggestions on how 2 clean the amethyst stone in my ring? :s because of the setting dirt collects at the bottom of it :(

Thanks Smooch :)

The best way is to take it into a jeweller as they will check the setting at the same time as cleaning the ring.

However as with most gemstones they can be cleaned by imersing them in a luke-warm solution of water and gentle soap. Leave theitem for no longer than 5 minutes to soak the dirt and flim that has built up and then VERY CAREFULLY use a soft toothbrush to loosen any remaining dirt or particles. Rise the item under running waater - but be carful to leave the plug in - just in case the stone falls out! Then allow the item to dry on a paper towel - or if you are in a real hurry you can use a hair dryer - BUT ONLY ON the COLD SETTING to remove the water faster.

You can also buy 'ultra-sonic' jewllery cleaning kits from places such as Argos but they are not always very succesful.

Water and washing up liquid are fine to clean the ring. If the ring is really soiled or has a lot of build up from cosmetics and soap you can add a couple of drops of household amonia which is available from Boots and other stores.

However this won't cure the yellowing that occurs with some white gold. The only way to overcome the yellowing is to have the ring 're-rhodiumed'. This is because 'white-gold' is really never quite white so it is coated with Rhodium to make it pure white. Unfortunately the plating is very thin and wears off.

Sometimes it can be just a few weeks until the yellow starts to show through but usually its a few months and up to a year if you're lucky. Recent developments have produed an 18 carat white gold that doesn't yellow, due to its high Palladium content.

This is the 18 carat gold that we use.

thanks for the tips Smooch