Cufflinks are a fun and beautiful piece of jewellery, but it’s important to care for them properly so they last your entire lifetime, and beyond! Our guide below gives you some tips for to care for and clean your cufflinks.

If paying for a professional isn’t your preferred method, you can easily do most cleanings at home. However, the best way to care for your cufflinks is to wear them mindfully.

• Keep your cufflinks in a clean environment, separate from other jewellery. A cufflink box is ideal for keeping the cufflinks separate and clean.
• Don’t take your cufflinks for a swim, chlorine can damage sterling silver and gold.
• Keep a silver or gold polishing cloth in your desk drawer to wipe away office dust that may mark your cufflinks.
• Don’t run over your cufflinks in the Ferrari, or drop them in a glass of G&T!

Sounds like some good advice!

If you have cufflinks made of gold or silver, you can use a professional gold or silver cleaning solution or warm, soapy water and a soft cloth to gently clean them. You can use an old soft-bristled toothbrush or professional cleaning brush to get into nooks and crannies, if necessary.

Clean sterling silver with a soft polishing cloth.

If you also have precious stones or pearls, you can use the same method, but be careful not to let them sit too long in the water.

If your cufflinks are enamelled or stainless steel, avoid using cleaning solutions because it could ruin the solvents used to create them. Instead, use a soft polishing cloth to gently rub them clean. These items don’t generally require frequent cleaning, though.

Taking care of your cufflinks, long-term, is easiest if you keep them in a jewellery box. This helps prevent oxidation and tarnishing, which occurs as a reaction to oxygen. This also helps to keep them away from heat and sunlight, which can also cause damage. Ideally, you want to keep each pair in segmented compartments so they don’t scratch other jewellery items. We have a large selection of cufflink boxes here and a selection of jewellery boxes here.

If you take care of your cufflinks properly, and if you wear them frequently, they will be a wonderful heirloom to pass on to your future generation.