Care

Jewelry care is simple and easy. Follow the tips below to keep your pieces looking their best. 

Always store jewelry away from sunlight, heat, and moisture. You may wish to blot your jewelry with a soft dry cloth after wear to ensure no moisture from the skin or atmosphere is retained. 

Nylon:

Nylon jewelry can be cleaned with diluted dish soap and water. Allow the piece to air dry thoroughly before putting away. Do not submerge nylon jewelry in water for a sustained period of time. 

Steel - Natural/Stainless and Bronze Finish only:

Natural/Stainless Steel and Bronze Steel jewelry can be polished with Mother's Mag Polish ($4 - Auto Zone or Amazon) and a polishing pad ($2 - Auto Zone or Amazon). (In terms of a polishing pad, basically you just need a low to no texture cloth. A chamois, microfiber cloth, or shop towel will work.) Once polished to your satisfaction, you will want to remove the thin layer of compound residue that will remain on the piece. You may do so by scrubbing the piece with a super soft toothbrush, diluted dish soap, and warm water. Pat dry and allow to air dry thoroughly before putting away. To retain the color of the metal, do not clean or polish steel pieces in a stainless steel bowl or sink. Use a plastic, ceramic, glass, or porcelain container, or an enameled sink instead. 

Steel - Gold or Dark Grey Finish:

Do not attempt to polish Gold Finished Steel or Dark Grey Steel pieces. Doing so will scrub off the finish coat. Clean these pieces, when necessary, very gently with diluted dish soap and water using only your finger tips. 

Gold-Plated-Brass:

Likewise, the finish on Gold-Plated-Brass can be damaged by polishing or by aggressive cleaning. Clean gently with diluted dish soap and water. To polish, gently rub with a soft chamois cloth (a screen cleaner or lens cloth will also work). 

Sterling Silver:

Tarnishing is part of the natural life cycle of all Sterling Silver jewelry. But the beauty of this material is that it can always be refreshed to it's former shine, so tarnishing is no cause for concern. The amount of time it takes a piece to tarnish will vary based on environmental factors. To extend that time, store silver away from moisture, heat, sunlight, and circulating air. Storing thoroughly dry pieces inside a jewelry pouch, sealed in a ziplock bag, and then put away in a drawer, will help the shine last as long as possible. When the piece does accumulate tarnish, polishing it back to a shine is easy to achieve with the following steps. 

Pour Tarn-X Tarnish Remover into a disposable cup - just enough to cover the piece when submerged. Deposit jewelry into cup *unless the piece contains pearls - if their are pearls, carefully apply Tarn-X with a q-tip to the silver portions only*. Swirl jewelry around in cup. Let it sit for a maximum of two minutes, usually less. Remove piece and rinse with clean water. Pat piece dry. Take a tiny dab of Mother's Mag Polish on the end of a q-tip. Gently dab the Mother's on to the outward facing surfaces of the piece - just on the silver, not on any pearls or stones. Rub the piece against a buffing pad. This last action will leave black streaks on the buffing pad. The polishing process will be complete when it becomes increasingly difficult to produce a black streak on the pad. (Any no to low textured cloth or shop towel may be substituted for a buffing pad.) For the longest lasting polish, take the final step of scrubbing the piece with a soft toothbrush, diluted dish soap, and warm water. This will dissolve any remaining residue from the polishing compound and will prevent a white film from later forming on the piece.

You don't have to wait for a piece to become fully tarnished to polish it. So, if one tarnished piece is bothering you, you can knock out all of your silver jewelry polishing in one sitting - the shine life will be the same. 

Sterling Silver Chains:

There is always a temptation try to speed up the polishing process by pulling a tarnished chain through the buffing pad. Chains are delicate things and are susceptible to breakage under excessive force. Take care to be gentle to keep your chain intact. If that doesn't work out, feel free to contact us about purchasing a replacement chain for your item.  

A Note About Ultrasonic Cleaning:

Ultrasonics are wonderful tools for removing makeup, lotions, and other buildup on jewelry. But not all pieces are suitable for this method of cleaning. Read below to see if ultrasonic cleaning is appropriate for your item.

Nylon: No
Steel (Stainless/Natural and Bronze finish only): Plastic tank ultrasonic only. Do not place in steel tank.
Steel (Gold or Dark Grey finish): No
Gold-Plated-Brass: No
Sterling Silver: Yes. Both plastic and steel tanks are fine. 
Pearls: Never. Ultrasonics will etch pearls.
Sapphires: Yes. Always position so that the stone is not in contact with the tank walls or any other jewelry items. For example, if earrings, suspend from post. 

*Ultrasonic cleaners should always be used with the appropriate accessories. Jewelry should never be in direct contact with the main tank or etching and marring may occur.