‘I’ve been wearing waterproof jewellery non-stop for two months – here’s my honest review’

Working for the Good Housekeeping Institute, lots of products with interesting claims pop up my inbox or come across my desk. And as someone who loves a gold accessory, when I heard about waterproof jewellery, I knew I needed to try it out and see if it lived up to its bold “tarnish-free” claims.

I’ve always wanted to be the sort of person who wears their jewellery to the gym, or for lounging on the beach. There’s just something so nonchalantly glamorous about it. But without the budget to ensure all my jewellery is sold gold (which is a genuinely waterproof metal), the fear of tarnishing makes me wary.

Let's be honest, the excitement that comes with buying a new necklace or ring quickly disappears when it starts staining your skin and looking rusty within a matter of wears.

So, to see if waterproof jewellery really is all that, or if its lustre would fade quickly, I tried a few pieces from Hey Harper and gave them the good old fashioned GHI treatment at home. You'll find my honest review below, but first...

What is tarnish-proof gold jewellery?

Plated jewellery can lose its colour because the base metals used react to water, your skin and general wear. To make plated accessories that don't leave a green tint on your skin or lose their coating after approximately one wear, brands have developed a clever technique called PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition).

Generally, there's still a stainless steel base, but it's coated in a more resistant and sturdy way to maintain the colour for longer. In fact, Hey Harper says it’s ten times stronger than the traditional techniques, and the brand is so confident about this that it offers a lifetime colour warranty. Big claims.

How did I test it?

It was a rainy Saint Swithin's day when I started trying out my new jewellery, and when I went on a very damp run that evening, I feared that rain would prove its main nemesis. Luckily, the weather picked up (a bit), so I managed to test the accessories in a range of conditions, from sweaty late-summer days to autumn showers.

My "scientific" study involved wearing several pieces of jewellery for a couple of months. I tried Hey' Harper’s Daphne Ring, Meg Necklace and Dove Huggie gold hoops. I’ve barely taken the earrings off (apart from when I absolutely had to wear a different pair for sartorial reasons) – I’ve slept in them and showered in them. With the ring and necklace, I’ve also worn them consistently, on runs and in the shower, but not overnight.

And then taking inspiration from the expert testers I work with day-in day-out, I left all three pieces submerged in a bowl of water for a full working day, to see if they survived.