News

Knowing how to store jewellery is the difference between pieces that look new in ten years and a tangled drawer of scratched chains and dull silver. At Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC, most of the damage we repair didn't happen while jewellery was being worn. It happened in storage, when a diamond ring sat loose against a gold chain, or a silver bracelet spent a humid summer in a plastic bag. Good storage is cheap and simple once you understand the few things that actually cause damage. Separate pieces by hardness This is the single most important rule, and the...

Hypoallergenic jewellery matters because nickel is one of the most common causes of allergic skin reactions, and a lot of jewellery sold cheaply contains it. At Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC, we see customers come in with red, itchy ears or fingers after wearing a piece that looked fine but turned out to have nickel in the mix. This guide explains which metals are genuinely safe, which ones to question, and what to ask before you buy or get pierced. It is general information, not medical advice. If your skin reacts, see a doctor. Why nickel is the usual culprit...

Opal jewellery care comes down to one fact most people do not know when they buy their first piece: opal holds water inside it, and that makes it more fragile than almost any other popular gemstone. Treat it like a diamond and you will eventually crack it. At Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC, opal repairs are some of the saddest jobs that cross the bench, because most of the damage we see was avoidable. Here is how to care for opals so yours stays whole. Why opal is so much softer than it looks Opal sits at roughly 5 to...

Gold jewellery tarnishes because of the metals mixed into it, not the gold itself. Pure gold does not tarnish, rust, or corrode. The dullness, the dark film, the faint grey on your skin all come from the other metals in the alloy reacting with sweat, air, and the products you put on. At Vanhess Jewellery in Coquitlam, BC, this is the question we field most at the repair counter, usually from someone holding a chain that looked fine last year. Here is why it happens and how to actually stop it. Pure gold doesn't tarnish. The alloy does. Gold is...

Pearls are the only gem grown inside a living animal, and most of what gets sold under the word "pearl" is one of four very different things. If you're buying for yourself or a gift, the difference matters — both for what you pay and for how the piece looks twenty years from now. Here's how we think about pearls at our bench in Coquitlam, and what we tell customers who come in deciding between a $180 freshwater strand and a $4,000 Akoya one. The four pearls you'll actually be choosing between Cultured pearls — meaning a human-inserted bead or...