Jewelry Care

Water

To ensure the lasting quality of your piece(s) avoid wearing your jewelry while in water, such as when swimming, bathing, or even doing dishes. Exposure to water, especially salt water, will speed up the oxidizing process of both copper and silver, and can potentially damage or react with certain stones and crystals (for example softer gems such as pearl, malachite, calcite, etc).

If your jewelry does get wet, use a soft cloth to remove excess moisture and allow to dry fully. If wet with salt water rinse with fresh water before drying.

 

Impact

You will also want to protect your jewelry from impacts as this could damage glass, stone/crystals, or cause wire work to become damaged or misshapen.

Lampwork glass is a relatively strong material, but even after annealing to remove thermal stress and strengthen beads, they can still chip, crack, or break if dropped from a height or after sufficient impact with a hard surface, so please treat with care.

 

Cleaning/Polishing

Over time the silver or copper in your jewelry will darken and develop a patina (tarnish) as it oxidizes. This is a natural reaction that occurs when these metals come into contact with oxygen in the air, moisture, and the salt and oils present on skin. This is also why some people experience staining on their skin after wearing certain metals, particularly copper. It is a harmless reaction caused by an individual's personal body chemistry and should wash off with warm soapy water.

The best way to help keep the polished appearance of your jewelry is to wear it. When worn the natural friction where the metal contacts clothes and skin helps slow patina from building up.

For pieces that need heavier polishing, or that don't make a lot of contact with skin/clothing, you can use either a soft cloth and jewelry polish (following manufacturer recomendations), or you can use a specialty micro abrasive cloth like the Sunshine polishing cloth, which contain micro abrasives to help bring shine back to your jewelry without the use of a polish. If you choose micro abrasive clothes, be mindful that the abrasives could be potentially damaging to softer stones and pearls if you are not careful.

For very dirty jewelry that has dust/dirt build up in addition to tarnishing, gently clean with lukewarm soapy water and if needed a soft bristle brush (such as an old toothbrush). Then dry completely and polish as usual.