Jewelry Care & Cleaning Tips

Stuff that actually works!

All my pieces are created with natural metals and stones, which makes them a little more vulnerable to their external environment, because I don’t use chemicals to coat them for extended protection.

That’s a good thing! Good for the environment, good for you (AND good for me as the maker).

But of course, it will require you to be a little more careful. Below I’ve listed some ways to make light work of anything to do with taking care of your precious pieces.

Generally speaking: to keep your jewelry beautiful for as long as possible, avoid showering or excessive sweating while wearing them (this goes for most jewerly BTW).

I would also invite you to avoid all chemicals and acidic compounds that could corrode the metals and semi-precious stones and damage pearls or corals in your pieces. Meaning - avoid directly exposing your pieces to perfumes, creams, hand sanitisers, chlorine in pools. Anything you wouldn’t eat should stay away from your jewelry.

Ideally, store them in a closed container

An enclosed pouch or box is fab, as all metals react with air and water particles over time.

You’ll receive your piece from me inside a plastic zip-lock pouch with an anti-tarnish strip inside for that reason (certainly not because it makes it attractive – sorry). If you can keep your pieces inside those – it should stay tarnish free for longer.

Cleaning tips that actually work

Here are a few easy cleaning tips for when you do need to clean your jewelry:

• Each piece you receive from me will come with a shining/cleaning cloth that you can use to clean from time to time. It’s great for a quick clean. Use the cloth as is. DO NOT WET it as it will get ‘gummy’. It will clean pretty much all types of metal with moderate tarnish as it has a mild abrasive compound already in it. It will last a while, so keep it – it’s a good tool to have on your side.

• When cleaning your pieces – be careful – don’t be too harsh with the stones. These can move or break.

• Consider using an old toothbrush to get in all the little corners.

• Should you need to clean copper with more serious tarnish: use a salt : vinegar : water paste in roughly 1:3:3 parts ratios. Immerse the pieces (try to avoid dipping the stones for too long), and gently scrub with a toothbrush into the more intricate areas. This is a fantastic cleaner for copper – also a great party trick :o) If you want to protect the stones, instead of immersing the whole piece in the solution, just use the toothbrush to rub the solution on the copper parts, then rinse as usual. Finally dry with a paper towel, and leave to airdry (ideally in the sun). Then put away to store as usual.

• To clean your gold-like brass pieces: use a bit of ketchup. This is starting to sound like a ‘fish ‘n chips’ story… But seriously – ketchup works fantastically well and fast. Take an old toothbrush, immerse your piece gently for about 15-30seconds. Use the brush to get into any intricate areas. Then wash the piece thoroughly. If it smells of ketchup – it’s not fully washed yet (I speak from experience). Finally dry with a paper towel, and leave to airdry (ideally in the sun). Then put away to store as usual.

Reshaping your jewelry if it bends

As you already know, everything I make is 100% hand-crafted.

Because of that some parts of your jewelry may at times get bent out of shape through normal wear. That’s nothing to worry about. Just try your best to bend it back into shape – GENTLY :o)

If you get stuck, please reach out to me through the chat here and I will do what I can to help you out. But if you’re gentle – you shouldn’t have an issue.

But whatever you do - PLEASE WEAR YOUR JEWELRY! Enjoy it. Don’t keep it in a box for a ‘special occasion’. That’s how jewelry dies!

The special occasion is every day you get - so make it wonderful and joy-filled.