Jewelry Care 101
Cheers! Congratulations on your new jewelry!
We believe jewelry is meant to be worn every day. Most of the jewelry we sell requires very little care — just wear and enjoy. We do recommend taking off your jewelry when swimming, gardening, doing contact sports, seriously messy cooking, and moving heavy objects. That said - it depends on your lifestyle, your aesthetic preferences, how often you lose things (taking jewelry off regularly seems to be the biggest culprit in loss!).
With that in mind, here are some helpful tips to keep your jewelry looking its very best!
Jewelry Care 101
GOLD
Mix a small amount of mild dish detergent with warm water in a bowl. Put the jewelry into the bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Use a soft toothbrush (like a baby tooth brush) to gently scrub the jewelry. Remove item from soapy water, rinse it and dry thoroughly with a soft polishing cloth.
You can also use a jewelry polishing cloth for extra shine and to remove any tarnish. (Sometimes 14k gold can tarnish a bit - particularly on earrings and the inside of rings - depending on your skin chemistry, but it is a very easy fix.)
You can also bring your gold jewelry to a reputable jeweler and ask if they can put your piece in their ultrasonic cleanser. A small at-home ultrasonic is also a great, fairly modest investment, especially if you are very keen on keeping your jewelry at its most sparkly.
SILVER
Silver tarnishes quite quickly when it comes into contact with oxygen or sulfur. Happily, the best measure to prevent this is wearing your silver jewelry often. The oils in your skin help prevent tarnish. (This varies depending on your own body chemistry.)
When storing your silver jewelry, use an airtight plastic bag (like a Ziploc) and if you can, put in a piece of chalk or a silica gel (the little packets in new shoes) - these will help prevent tarnish while you are not wearing your silver.
If your silver is tarnished the best way to clean it is with a jewelry polishing cloth. (Here is a video example, but they are widely available!)
There are also many viable home remedies for cleaning silver online. Just remember that silver is very soft so use something like a very soft baby toothbrush to avoid scratching.