Recommendations for the care and storage of jewelry

Both gold and silver are fairly soft metals and love care, just like your favorite woolen sweater.

We have compiled a list of the most important recommendations that will help your rings, earrings, bracelets and other jewelry last as long as possible:

• It is useful to wash the jewelry in soapy water once a week to wash away accumulated dust and grease. But do it gently and easily, without applying force. If you wear jewelry without removing it, dirt accumulates at the point of contact with the skin, which leads to oxidation of both silver and gold.
• Take off jewelry at night to protect yourself from injury and jewelry from deformation.
• Keep the products clean and separate from each other. Each product must have its own bag or box.
• Do not allow contact with chemicals, otherwise the silver may oxidize, become stained, and the enamel may be damaged.
• You should not lift a barbell, wash dishes or pick pebbles on the beach if you have rings on your fingers. Do not forget about any other physical work. All this can lead to deformation and scratches.
• From time to time, return the jewelry for cleaning or surface renewal.

Jewelry with enamel coating differs from other products not only in original design, but also in specific care.

To preserve the original brightness and safety of the enamel coating, you must remember:

• It is important to avoid contact of enamel with acids, alkalis and chlorine, i.e. with any detergents, powders and cleaning gels. Also, enamel can be damaged from interaction with cosmetics (creams, lotions) and sea water.
• Jewelry with enamel must be protected from direct sunlight and temperature changes. Otherwise, the coating may fade or crack.

Why does gold oxidize and silver darkens?

Does gold oxidize and what can be done about it?

If you have a 100% gold bar, it won't oxidize, right.

But most gold jewelry is made with impurities of other metals, such as silver, copper, nickel, for practical reasons.

Why does gold darken?

• The first and main reason: because the product contains other metals that interact with the environment and oxidize. There is no gold itself, but there are impurities. Therefore, for example, we can observe oxidation on gold at the base of the stud of an earring or on the inside of a ring if worn without removing them.
• When jewelry interacts with iodine, it destroys the molecular structure of the outer layer of the product.
• Cosmetics, detergents, some medicines contain substances that negatively affect the appearance of jewelry made of gold and other precious metals.

Silver darkens - what are the reasons and what to do?

Silver jewelry darkens. And that's normal.

Silver darkens from external stimuli:

• And there are a lot of them: sulfur (which is contained in sweat, in cosmetics, in air and water), sebum, minerals (for example, in sea water). The more the jewelry is on a person who does sports, uses cosmetics every day and swims in the sea, the faster it will darken.
• Improper care.
• In short: take care of each piece of jewelry separately, remove it in the activities listed in the first point and do not clean the products with a toothbrush and paste. This activity will create microcracks, which will later be clogged with dirt even more.

About rhodium plating

Yes, the rhodium coating protects the silver surface from tarnishing. But there are several nuances: it wears off over time and does not look good on a matte surface. Rhodium itself does not give the jewelry shine, as many people think. It repeats the surface on which it is applied. And on matte jewelry, rhodium looks dull and unfriendly. Everything is fine on the gloss, the color of the decoration acquires a colder blue tint.

What to do so that your favorite jewelry does not darken?

• remove jewelry when taking a bath or shower,
• remove when using household chemicals;
• keep each product separately: in its cell or box;
• remove all jewelry during sports;
• do not wear it when swimming in the sea;buy a cleaning agent and just put your jewelry in order from time to time, like your favorite blouse;
• periodically take the jewelry to the master for cleaning.

And most importantly: treat each of your rings, each pair of earrings with love and care - and then they will last a long time ❤️