Jewelry Maintenance

All jewelry should be put on last, and taken off first. This will help avoid snags and excessive contact with the moisture from perfumes, lotions etc. To reduce oxidizing, keep your piece in a dark cool place. Use a soft polishing cloth to wipe clean. Take off your jewelry before bathing, swimming, showering or immersing in water. 

 

Jewelry Material

 

  • Zinc Alloy- Zinc alloy is lead-free. Lead is the toxic substance that makes some jewelry unsafe to wear. Zinc is highly reactive to oxygen in the presence of moisture, so it is very important to keep your piece dry to reduce oxidizing (changing colors).
  • Sterling Silver- Sterling silver is known as a metal alloy. This means that sterling silver is a combination of metals instead of just one single metal, like pure silver. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% alloy. This 7.5% is usually made of copper or zinc. Sterling silver is easy to tarnish because of the alloy metals within sterling silver. Sterling silver is also stamped to indicate that it is true sterling silver. These stamps are usually "925" or "92.5" or ".925" to indicate the purity of the silver within it. However, you can also sometimes see "ss" as a sterling silver stamp as well. Sterling silver still looks just as nice as fine silver, which means you can get affordable, timeless pieces for a lower price. There's also the durability factor. Sterling silver is much more durable compared to fine silver because of the added metal alloys. This can help your piece last and stay looking the best it possibly can for longer. Store it in a dark place away from air and water exposure. You can also clean your silver items with anti-tarnish liquids and a soft cloth.
  • Stainless Steel - Stainless steel is a metal compound of iron, carbon, and chromium. This metal is great for jewelry as it is corrosion and heat-resistant, hard to scratch and can even withstand being immersed in water. Chlorine, however is not a friend of stainless steel and jewelry should be removed prior to entering chlorine pools.
  • Cubic Zirconia- Cubic zirconia is a man-made gemstone. It’s a crystalline form of zirconium dioxide that is hard and colorless. This lab created stone gives off an aesthetically pleasing rainbow of colored light that closely resembles diamonds. You can get cubic zirconia wet, but repeated exposure to water will damage the stone. It’s best to take off cubic zirconia jewelry when doing water-related activities like washing dishes, bathing, and swimming. If you wear your jewelry for years doing these activities, the quality of the cubic zirconia will deteriorate. Elements in the water can impact your stone, such as chlorine, saltwater, and certain minerals. Cubic zirconia does not rust, but the jewelry setting can. Inexpensive metals such as brass, gold-plated alloys, and sterling silver often rust over time due to exposure to oxygen in the air and water.
  • Gold Plated- Gold is an elemental metal. This means that pure gold is made up of nothing but gold atoms. Gold plated jewelry is not gold jewelry. Gold plated jewelry is jewelry made of a base metal like copper, stainless steel or silver that has a very thin layer of gold applied to the top. When buying gold plated jewelry, you should consider the gold plating as nothing more than a coloring (an aesthetic attribute) – there is almost no inherent value to the gold applied. It doesn’t matter if it’s 24K, 14K or 18K.
  • Gold Filled - 14k gold-filled jewelry is a beautiful, affordable alternative to solid gold. This jewelry has a thick layer of solid 14k gold over a jeweler’s brass core.  It looks the same as solid gold and is hypoallergenic.  Although gold-filled won't  have the same longevity as solid gold, it is still highly durable and resilient. With proper care, it can offer years of wear.
  • Solid Gold - Solid gold is the best quality of gold there is. It can literally last forever! This makes it great for everyday wear. You can shower, swim, and bathe without it tarnishing or fading. It is also hypoallergenic. Since the whole piece of jewelry is made of gold, it can be very expensive.  In the United States, any gold that is 10k purity and above is legally considered “solid gold.” (10 out of the 24 parts are pure gold = 10k)