Gardening and jewellery - are they compatible? Maybe, maybe not. I do tend to garden while wearing my rings, but then again I wear gardening gloves most of the time and seem to get through them relatively quickly. This summer it’s been a necessity though as i’ve struggled to get my rings off most evenings, given the temperatures.
I used to take them off and always put them in the same place in the house, but after a scare when they were moved, with good intentions, by MOH I decided some mud was probably my best approach, even though gardening is often messy. I hope that by wearing gloves I’m less likely to damage my rings, or cause them to lose their sparkle.
Photo by Eco Warrior Princess on Unsplash
So how can we protect our jewellery
Take it off
The sure fire way of preventing jewellery being damaged while gardening is taking it off prior to gardening, the issue then becomes, remembering where you’ve put it, or in my case where MOH moved it to, thinking he was helping. Luckily he remembered where he’d put my rings, or there would really have been trouble. As I said before my rings are generally quite tight, but if the jewellery was quite loose I think I might reconsider my approach. It’s surprising how easy it is to lose rings for example, when you’re busy weeding or planting flowers, and I’m not sure I’d want to be combing our garden for a lost ring.
We lost a spare key once a good few years ago, we think while gardening, and we’ve not found it yet…
Wear thick well-fitting gardening gloves
Wearing gardening gloves helps protect your jewellery if you can’t or prefer not to take it off. If you’ve invested in expensive high-quality pieces, you’ll need some protection over them. However, you’ll want to focus on the type of gloves you’re wearing. You don’t want them to be too tight, but you do want them to be tight enough to hold your rings in place.
There’s a staggering number of different types of gardening gloves out there - mine are always coloured, you’ll not be surprised to hear that, I’m sure and I tend to buy some for MOH which are plainer and less fancy, mainly so he wears them. I’ve recently switched brands of gardening gloves, mainly because I seemed to be getting through gloves at an alarming rate. I recommend something that is rubberised, so your hands don’t get wet when the gloves do and searching for the best gardening gloves online is easier than you think.
Get a professional to repair any loose stones
If your jewellery has any loose stones, you’ll know the name of the law that they’re bound to come out somewhere where you’re least likely to find them - remember my key? While it’s annoying, especially if the pieces are precious to you, it’s a good idea to get them repaired by a professional. Prevention is always better than a cure isn’t it, and it’s definitely worthwhile if your jewellery is expensive. It costs far less to repair a loose stone than it does to replace one.
Overall, looking after your jewellery while gardening is crucial if you want to avoid damaging or losing it. Hopefully the tips above will help you to enjoy your favourite hobby without risking the beauty and condition of your jewellery.
** This is a collaborative post, but all views remain my own.