Nirav Modi’s tips on caring for your expensive jewels

Fancy diamantes that cost a fortune need tender love and care.

Ask Nirav Modi, billionaire jewellery designer from Mumbai, whose masterpiece — an 85-carat diamond neckpiece — was picked up by a Chinese client at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong on Monday.

The client, whose identity has been withheld, reportedly paid over Rs 50 crore for the piece. Twenty of Modi’s creations have be en pa r t o f Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions in the past four years.

His newest entry, made of 17 highquality diamonds from Russia, took nearly 1,500 man hours to create. The largest stone is a 10-carat diamond while the smallest is a two-carat one.

Here are Modi’s tips on caring for your expensive jewels:

- Pamper your jewels. Never ignore what makes you look like a million bucks.

- Store expensive jewellery separately, preferably in the original packaging.

- Make sure the diamonds/stones do not touch one other while you handle them.

- Be very comfortable while you are putting the piece on or taking it off.

- Never ever clean it with toothpaste. A lot of people do that thinking it will add sparkle. That’s not true.

- After every couple of years, it must be taken to the jeweller for maintenance. It is like those supercars in your garage that require regular servicing.

- You never know how many people are eyeing your possession, so get it insured.