With love, meghan

Please don’t cook with Cartier

Published September 5, 2025

First, I have a confession to make. I have watched With Love, Meghan. Both seasons, all episodes. Flower sprinkles and scented guest towels hold no secrets for me, and I have been making apple butter by the gallon this last week. But although the show is soothing, relaxing and comforting, there is one thing that makes me really, really anxious as a jewellery person. And that is, you guessed it: the jewellery. With more than my average annual income on her hands (chunky engagement ring with Botswana diamond and gold Cartier tank watch, just to name a few), Meghan happily kneads dough, moulds clay, rinses vegetables… while I watch in rising horror. Because here’s the truth: jewellery is not indestructible, and wearing it while cooking or cleaning can cause damage that even the most skilled conservators cannot always undo.

Why cooking in your jewellery can cause damage

Even pieces made of metal and gemstone – materials that feel solid and enduring – are surprisingly vulnerable to daily wear and tear. Gold, for example, is a relatively soft metal, especially in its higher karat forms. When you rub it against hard surfaces like countertops, or plunge it repeatedly into water, you’re encouraging surface scratches and slow erosion. Stones can loosen from their settings. Clasps weaken. Chains stretch. Prongs bend.

Wearing jewellery while cooking is especially risky. Think of all the small particles of flour, spices, or oils that can work their way into tiny crevices of a ring or a bracelet. Dough in particular is notoriously sticky and persistent – I’ve seen old rings with decades of residue built up beneath the bezel, hardened into something that looks like concrete.

Even washing vegetables can pose a risk. A moment of distraction, and a ring slips off under running water, vanishing into the sink drain before you even notice. I mean, it happened to the Romans: dozens of ring stones were found in the drainage pipes of a bath house in England.

There’s also the issue of sudden temperature changes. Heating and cooling can cause tiny cracks or stress points in certain stones.

Pearls can be dulled by exposure to vinegar or lemon juice, both common kitchen staples. If you’re marinating a salad with your hands, your pearls probably shouldn’t come along for the ride. Or actually, any jewellery.

Jewellery as heritage: why taking care of it matters

But apart from the technical reasons, there’s something deeper at stake here. Jewellery carries history. Even if it’s not antique, every piece becomes a witness to our lives – and not all events should leave their mark. When I see someone wearing an exquisite ring to mould clay, I don’t see luxury, I see loss: the slow withering of stories that could have lasted generations.

And it’s not just emotional sentiment. From a conservation perspective, unnecessary handling of jewellery is a real concern. Museums and collections across the world maintain strict protocols for handling historical jewellery. Gloves are worn not to protect the person, but to protect the piece – oils and acids in human skin can corrode metal, dull gemstones, and cause tarnish. Jewellery conservators avoid even touching stones unless necessary. We know from decades of experience how easily surface damage can accumulate, even when wear feels gentle or casual.

Even more, once damage is done, repair isn’t always straightforward. Restoring a ring that has lost its setting or replacing worn enamel is a skill in its own right – and one that often comes with compromises. Original details might be lost in the process, or replaced with modern materials that don’t quite match. In the world of historical jewellery, ‘untouched’ often carries more value than ‘restored’.

For contemporary jewellery, you might think that repair is easier – and often it is – but some designs, especially from luxury brands, are difficult to repair without sending them back to the maker. Repairs are not just pricey, they’re slow, and often restricted to authorised centres. Damage caused by misuse can even void warranties. Just saying.

A suggestion for With Love, Meghan

Of course, jewellery is meant to be worn. That’s the whole point of it, and one I advocate as well. It lives best when it is close to us, part of our daily rituals. But part of wearing it well, is understanding when not to. Jewellery doesn’t need to be treated like it’s made of spun glass, but neither should it be expected to survive a kitchen workout or a pottery class unscathed. I do wish we’d think twice before whisking cake batter in our grandmother’s engagement ring. It’s not a harmless choice: it’s slow damage, and professional jewellery care and preservation are sometimes as easy as taking your jewellery off at the right moment!

So next time you reach for the flour or the dish sponge, think twice before your jewellery joins in. Because caring for jewellery today means preserving its story for tomorrow.

Also, if I could offer a suggestion to the show: removing one’s jewellery before taking on any crafting or cooking goes a long way to elevating the everyday and lowering my heart rate . Thank you!

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