Jewelry Care

General Jewelry Care and Keeping:

Metals are awesome because they're durable and beautiful- but it takes proper care to keep them looking their best. Jewelry is affected by moisture, oils from your skin, your body chemistry, and your environment. Metals are soft and scratch easily by exposure to harder materials- if you use steel tools or abrasive materials, take off your jewelry first!

The best way to care for jewelry is to keep it clean and dry, away from humidity and harsh chemical-filled spaces. Never store your jewelry in your bathroom, and do not wear it in hot tubs or chlorinated pools! Best practices for jewelry is to take off your jewelry when you: cook, clean, shower, swim, sleep, garden, work out, do yard work, lift heavy things, and apply hand sanitizers and lotions.

Something we are asked regularly is, “Can I wear this all the time? I like to live in my jewelry,” ...and the answer is yes, but understand that this means you will have to do more to maintain and repair your pieces from rough and endless wear. Also please note that showering in your jewelry does NOT clean your jewelry, and it's very important to periodically remove and fully clean your pieces to maintain and restore them.

You can remove oils and bring back the shine to most jewelry by cleaning it with dish soap, water, and a soft bristled toothbrush. We sell Lavish, an all-purpose jewelry cleaner, safe for all jewelry including very delicate stones such as opals, pearls, and turquoise. When you need a deeper clean for your jewelry, visit our shop! We offer professional deep cleanings and polishing to completely restore your pieces.

Treating Tarnish:

Tarnish happens when copper in the metal alloy reacts to moisture and chemicals in the environment, creating a dark haze on your jewelry. Yes, copper is in many types of jewelry alloys; it's added to to make the metal more workable. Tarnish is common with silver, and can also happen with gold. Tarnish is completely normal and not a bad thing at all, just something to monitor and maintain. It often sets in when the jewelry is stored instead of worn, because regular wear allows your body to absorb the excess copper (a perfectly normal and healthy process) instead of allowing it to react. Please note that tarnish is NOT the same as when costume jewelry fades to a brown/green color with heavy wear. Tarnish is a completely fixable and manageable problem to deal with, and is actually a sign that your piece is made with quality materials, not the opposite.

Need a quick at home fix? We recommend Connoisseurs Silver Jewelry Cleaner, dip your piece for 10 seconds (never ever leave it in longer!) and rinse in water to remove all tarnish and leave your jewelry looking brand new again! If you ever experience a strange result from at-home tarnish treatment, such as frosty or grey finishes on your pieces, come visit our shop! We can use our professional cleaning and polishing strategies to restore your pieces to a beautiful shine.

Solid Gold or Silver:

Solid metals are the easiest to maintain. Luster can be restored by using our Lavish cleaner. Minor scratches can be removed using a polishing cloth to keep your jewelry always looking pristine. Need a bigger overhaul? We can clean and polish your jewelry in our studio to remove all scratches and make it look brand new, whether it came from our studio or somewhere else.

Plated Finishes:

Plated jewelry takes a little more sensitivity and maintenance than solid jewelry. The trade off is that you get a high end look at a much lower price. The final gold or platinum finish on your jewelry is a thin layer bonded to the Sterling Silver underneath. Because it is thin, it is susceptible to scratching and wearing away. Avoid abrasives and moisture to prevent this, and never use polishing cloths on plated pieces. Plated finishes do not last forever and will wear away eventually to the silver underneath (which is a beautiful and durable metal in itself), but they can be re-polished and re-plated in our studio. Another benefit of our plating process is that you can change the final finish of your pieces whenever you choose, so if your tastes change from Yellow to Rose gold, or Rose Gold to silver... come visit us to freshen the finish, and bring brand new life to your favorite pieces!

Our plated finishes are of the highest quality materials and use the most environmentally friendly processes. We LOVE our customers and are here to help solve any jewelry problem you may encounter!

Yellow/Rose Gold Fill

We offer many designs in Yellow and Rose Gold Fill for a durable and more affordable alternative to solid gold. Gold fill is a thick layer of 14k Yellow or 14k Rose Gold chemically bonded to a brass core. This is a very thick layer of real gold, amounting to one twentieth (1/20) of the weight of the total piece, and is thick enough to last a lifetime with proper care.

For gold fill pieces, it is imperative to follow general jewelry care procedures such as removing jewelry prior to chemical and moisture exposure. Damage to gold fill, such as extremely deep scratches that penetrate through the gold layer, cannot be restored with traditional metal maintenance methods like in our solid gold and plated silver pieces, and mus be replaced when severe damage occurs. Never use a polishing cloth on gold fill pieces.

Gold fill is much more challenging to work with from a maker/production standpoint, which is why it is rare to see jewelers use these materials in the way that we do, but we have spent years testing and developing reliable strategies for working with gold fill because we strongly believe in offering beautiful and durable gold options at a variety of price points.