Jewelry can last a lifetime, but preventative care is of utmost importance. We have prepared industry standard instructions for you to follow according to the piece you have chosen, and we always recommend ultrasonic cleaning as your best solution to long-term cleaning.

Sterling Silver (.925) Jewelry Care

Since tarnishing is caused by oxidation of the metal when the silver comes in contact with the air, keep your jewelry in its anti-tarnish bag, or in a fairly airtight container like a velvet-lined jewelry box. If the jewelry does begin to tarnish, lightly scrub the surface with a thick paste of baking soda and water using a soft bristled toothbrush, or we recommend the use of personal ultrasonic cleaners that are not as abrasive as many heavy polishes. If the tarnish is more severe, try a silver cleaner like Wright's Silver Polish. 

   Wendy's "unglamorous" but functional tip: Use ziploc baggies! It keeps earrings from scratching one another, and most importantly, you know they are air-tight!

Sterling Silver Matte Finish Tips

14K Gold Vermeil Jewelry Care

Our vermeil is an overlay of 14K gold on .925 sterling silver. This ensures a quality metal as opposed to base metals under your gold. We also do not use any nickel to avoid any potential allergy.  Again, preventative care is the most important tool against tarnish so we always recommend keeping your jewelry in its anti-tarnish bag or an air-tight jewelry box.  With vermeil earrings, hanging them in a jewelry box is also a great way to avoid having them scratch themselves.

The gold plating is sensitive to scratching and cleaning so if you need to polish your jewelry, use only a dry, soft clean cloth. DO NOT use a silver polishing cloth as it will remove the 14K overlay from the silver. If your jewelry has a water spot, spray Windex on a soft cloth and wipe the spot. For severe tarnish or cleaning, you can lightly use a gold polishing cloth, but repeated use will ruin the surface of the jewelry.

Over time, if you find you'd like to remove the gold as it begins to age, you can actually polish your vermeil items to have a beautiful sterling silver surface underneath.

14K & 18K Fine Gold Jewelry Care

Fine Gold is often considered to be care-free for the wearer, but all jewelry deserves a little tender loving care.  Pamper your gold in its anti-tarnish bag just as you would any other jewelry to prevent scratching or damage to the metal's surface and/or gemstones. 

Because 14K and 18K gold are alloys, meaning the 24K gold is mixed with other metals to accomplish the desired karat designation, they still have the potential to have minor tarnishing over their life-time. More importantly, the crevices of the jewelry can begin to accumulate lotions, make-up, and more from the skin as you wear the item.  While these are very minor issues that most people do not notice, it doesn't mean you can't easily treat and rectify the problem.  Gold is easily cleaned (espcially rings that tend to accumulate more soap than others under the gemstones) in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.  There are also gold polishes available and should you notice a slight deterioration of the luster, you can always use a gold polish or polising cloth to return the initial luster to the piece.  Matte finish pieces can also be restored with a light Scotch-Brite pad treatment as noted for sterling silver as well.

Diamonds & Gemstone Cleaning

DIAMONDS are extremely resilient and should not be affected by the standard cleaning procedures of silver and gold jewelry. 

Most beads and gemstones are also resilient , and you should not have to be concerned except in a few unique cases. Specifically organic and dyed gemstones should be well cared for when cleaning as noted below. 

ORGANIC GEMSTONES can be ruined by polishes, ultrasonics and abrasives.  Organic gemstones are natural porous materials originally created by plants or animals. Their porous composition can often absorb the polishes and abrasives causing them to be ruined.  For example, Turquoise is an organic gemstone which is often coated to protect it's porous surface from the outside environment, but a polish can strip it of it's lusterous coating. 

Common Organic Beads Found in Jewelry:
   Turquoise, Pearls, Mother or Pearl, Coral, Jet, Amber and Ivory

DYED GEMSTONES are rarely used in our line, but sometimes there are a few gemstones that can be dyed on occassion to enhance their natural color.  Most commonly, they might be garnet, iolite, or purple jade.  While they should avoid being cleaned or put under water, they won't be ruined by these elements. Their color should only be become slightly lighter in appearance if exposed to them.

Wood Care

Wood is a fragile, organic material and needs no cleaning. Any polish or water will remove the lacquered finish. If your wood jewelry has chain on it, follow the cleaning recommendations above, avoiding the wood.