Materials & Care

​Materials

Our silver jewelry is made of SOLID STERLING not plated base metal. We use de-oxidized .925 sterling silver grain in our castings (at minimum), which means our pieces take 6 times longer to tarnish than standard sterling silver jewelry. We want you to spend time enjoying your jewelry, not polishing it.

 

Care

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

Storage:

Always store jewelry away from sunlight, heat, moisture, and circulating air. 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. Storing thoroughly dry pieces inside a jewelry pouch or sealed in a ziplock bag, and then put away in a drawer, will help the shine last as long as possible. (I have several silver rings that I have worn on a weekly basis for the past 30 years and through following the tips above have not had to remove tarnish once during that time.)

Removing Tarnish:

If your jewelry does accumulate tarnish, it is no cause for concern. 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. The amount of time it takes a piece to tarnish will vary based on environmental factors. To extend that time, store jewelry following the methods above.

Heavy Tarnish:

When jewelry has heavy tarnish, polishing it back to a shine is easy to achieve with the following steps.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 towel may be substituted for a buffing pad when the above compounds are used.)
4. 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.

Light Tarnish:

If there is only light tarnish, follow only step number three in the above list. Buffing pads are small foam pads with a fine textured finish that feels somewhat like a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

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.

*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.