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How to care for and clean your jewelry

How do I clean and care for my sterling silver jewelry?

Avoid exposing your sterling silver jewelry to harsh chemicals such as chlorine, cosmetics, hair spray, and perfume.

 To avoid tarnishing, periodically wash with mild soap, not detergent, and water.  Dry thoroughly before storing.

How do I clean and care for my stainless steel jewelry?

Stainless steel is an alloy of iron and chromium and does not tarnish and will not rust. However, over time it may lose its luster. To restore the shine to your stainless steel you can follow the cleaning instructions for brass and bronze.

 

Chlorine can pit stainless steel, so avoid exposing your stainless steel piece to chlorinated products such as chlorine bleach and chlorinated swimming pools. If your piece does come in to contact with chlorinated products, rinse throughly and dry it off as soon as possible.

How do I clean and care for my bronze jewelry?

Bronze is an alloy of copper and, usually, tin. Like brass, bronze will natually tarnish over time. Follow the cleaning and prevention instructions of brass.

 How do I clean and care for my brass jewelry?

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and will naturally tarnish when exposed to oxygen. Some people like the patina of tarnished brass and the tarnish is actually a protective layer for the brass, but if you want to get the shine of the new brass it's pretty easy to do with some typical household products.

 

If the tarnish isn't too pervasive take about 2 tablespoons of baking soda and add drops of lemon juice - from concentrate is fine - until you have a nice paste. The lemon juice will bubble and fizz as you add, don't worry it'll stop after a second or two. Take an old toothbrush and apply the paste to your piece and scrub. Let it sit in the paste for about 30 minutes and then rinse it with water and dry it thoroughly.

 

If the piece is heavily tarnished or the above doesn't work, you can place the piece in vinegar and let it soak for 30-60 minutes and then scrub it with an old toothbrush. Once clean, rinse it with water. This cleaning method is more aggressive and may leave the piece more "raw" looking - it won't have as warm of color until the patina rebuilds.

 

Oils from your skin and the oxygen in the air are what accelerate tarnishing. If you want to slow the tarnish process, wipe the piece with a soft cotton rag after wearing and store in a plastic bag with an anti-tarnishing strip. You should have received one of these with your piece.

 How do I clean and care for my aluminum, niobium, and titanium jewelry?

Keep your aluminum, niobium, and titanium jewelry away from corrosive chemicals like chlorine, bleach, acids, and drain cleaning solutions to prevent your jewelry from oxidizing and losing luster.

 

To clean wash with a gentle dish soap, like Dawn (not a harsh detergent), and water, then pat dry with a clean cloth. Also, it is recommended you wipe down the jewelry after wearing it with a clean cloth and store in a plastic bag when not in use.

Materials

 

Information about the different materials we use

 

What is the difference between solid gold and gold plated?

Solid gold rings are just that, rings made completely out of gold. However, solid gold is very soft and very expensive.

Gold plated is a process of coating a base metal with gold. This coating is very thin and protect the jewelry for a long period of time.

 

What is the difference between plating, anodizing and enameling?

Enameling is the coating of a metal with a non-metallic substance - plastic in the case of enameled copper.

 

Plating is a thin coating of a metal on another metallic substance - such as silver plated copper.

Anodizing changes the surface of a metal through an electrochemical process without changing the composition of the metal.

 

What is bronze?

Bronze is an alloy of copper (90% or more copper) and tin. Bronze has a redder color than brass and is harder and more durable than copper. Because of the copper, bronze will tarnish over time but can be cleaned to restore its original finish.

 

What is brass?

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. There are two main types of brass - yellow brass and red brass (also called jeweler's brass. Brass will tarnish over time but can be cleaned to restore its shine and color.

 

What is stainless steel?

Stainless steel is a steel alloy that does not rust or corrode and is compose primarily of iron with 18-20% chromium and 8-10% nickel. Stainless steel is shiny but with a slightly darker hue than aluminum or silver that will darken over time. Because stainless steel contains nickel, those with nickel allergies usually cannot wear stainless steel.

 

What is the difference between copper and enameled copper?

The copper rings we use are 99.9% copper. Copper will tarnish over time turning a reddish brown and eventually green if left unchecked. Enameled copper is copper that has been coated in a colored plastic and also prevents tarnishing. However, because enameling is a plastic coating of the wire, this coating can be scratched if care is not taken.

 

What is .925 sterling silver?

 

.925 Sterling silver is a silver alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. The copper makes the silver harder and more durable but also causes the silver to tarnish over time. Ivonne’s works almost exclusively with sterling silver for silver pieces.

 

What is Rhodium plated?

 

Rhodium is an extremely rare and valuable metal. The Rhodium Plate that is added to rings is much thinner than the width of a human hair. Rhodium plate on jewelry pieces can be anywhere from around 0.10 to 1.70 microns. (An average human hair is 100 microns thick). Rhodium does increase the durability of the metal it is plated over, but rhodium can only offer so much protection against scratches and dents.

A few other special care considerations for rhodium plated that can help:

Remove jewelry before performing any activities that could expose it to scratches or dents.

Avoid getting the jewelry wet.

Take the jewelry off when washing your hands or during your bath

Avoid exposing the jewelry to chemicals and to cosmetic products including hairspray, lotions and soaps.

 

What types of metal can you use?

Most of our jewelry is made with either brass, stainless steel, sterling silver; rhodium plated, gold plated, aluminum, copper and bronze. Our jewelry is Nickel free and Lead free



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