Jewelry Care
ALL jewelry, especially handmade jewelry, has an element of delicacy to it. Most people aren’t aware that some very popular gemstones - including turquoise, malachite and pearls - are extremely porous and can be damaged by something as simple as the chlorine in your tap water. Do your homework on metals and gemstones to keep your beloved jewelry in great condition. Meanwhile, here are some good general rules to follow.
The chemicals can damage and dull your stone and precious metals, either very quickly or over time. Apply these things before you put your jewelry on or after you take it off.
Avoid direct contact with perfume, hairspray, lotion, etc.
Sometimes it’s totally fine. Other times it will break your sparkly thing. Do you really want to take that chance? I thought not. Bonus points: get yourself a cute little bowl to put next to the bed for nights you forget until the last minute.
Remove jewelry before bedtime.
Direct sunlight is not great for a lot of gemstones, and it will cause sterling silver to tarnish quicker. Also, very cold temps can cause stones to crack. If it’s super hot, cold, and/or humid, keep your jewelry outta there.
Avoid extreme temps.
Avoid prolonged exposure to water.
This includes swimming, showering/bathing, hot tubs and ESPECIALLY hot springs. All these waters will include chemicals that will make your jewelry unhappy. Bonus points: take your rings off when you wash your hands.
Not only is it super easy to break a piece of jewelry during most types of workouts, jewelry really doesn’t enjoy being sweat all over. This means even a long walk or gardening is good cause to remove your jewelry.
Remove jewelry when exerting yourself.
A lot of my jewelry can just be thrown into a liquid silver cleaning solution, which I totally recommend. HOWEVER, some of those more porous stones will require a jewelry cleaning cloth. When in doubt, use a cloth.
Clean jewelry often, with caution and care.
Don’t throw your jewelry in a heap. Store your jewelry like it matters. Hang chains to avoid knots and breakage. The more air-tight the container, the slower it will take for sterling silver to tarnish.
Be kind to your jewelry when storing.
Treat your jewelry like it matters SO much to you. Like you want to have it the rest of your life. Like you want it to be around for generations. And I guarantee you…it will stay in great shape.
In a nutshell…