Gold-plated jewellery lasts a long time if you treat it like jewellery and not like part of your skin. Four habits do most of the work.
1. Put it on last
Perfume, deodorant, hairspray, moisturiser and sunscreen are the main causes of a plating going dull. Get dressed, do your hair, spray whatever you're spraying — then put the mangalsutra on.
2. Take it off for water
Showering, swimming, washing up and sleeping. Chlorine and salt water are the harshest; sweat over a long night is not far behind.
3. Wipe it after wearing
A soft dry cloth, ten seconds. This is the single highest-return habit — it removes the skin oils and sweat that dull a finish over weeks.
4. Store it dry and separate
Keep it in its pouch or a lined box, away from damp. Storing plated pieces loose in a drawer with other jewellery causes scratching, which is what actually wears plating through.
What not to do
- Don't use silver polish, toothpaste, or ultrasonic cleaners on plated pieces — all three strip plating.
- Don't soak it in anything.
- Don't pull the chain to fasten it. Use the clasp.
How long should the finish last?
Worn daily and cared for the way described above, expect the finish to hold well for around 6 months, and often considerably longer. Worn through perfume, sweat and water and stored loose in a drawer, the same piece will dull in a fraction of that time. The difference is almost entirely in the four habits at the top of this page — not in the piece.