Caring For Your New Jewelry Purchase
Below are several tips to help keep your beaded jewelry and gemstones beautiful for years to come.
General Instructions
- Try to store your jewelry separately so it doesn’t scratch other jewelry (be sure to save the pouch your purchase came in for storage). Store your item in a soft cloth bag, or wrapped in a soft cloth and put into a re-sealable plastic bag. This will prevent it from becoming tangled with other pieces of jewelry, which could possibly cause beads and any exposed threads to weaken or break.
- Take care to avoid tossing your jewelry or dropping it onto hard surfaces to prevent gemstones or crystals from chipping.
- Jewelry should only be put on after washing and applying any makeup, hair spray, gels, lotions or perfume. These agents may cause gemstones to dull.
- Try to protect any jewelry from harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures and sunlight. Some vintage beads and gemstones may fade with prolonged sun exposure and are particularly prone to damage from heat and moisture as well.
- Wipe gemstone jewelry with a clean, soft, damp cloth after wearing to enhance the luster and assure that your jewelry is clean before being stored.
- Always try to store your beaded necklaces or bracelets flat.
- Be careful not to wear beaded jewelry while doing household or outdoor chores.
- You should never wear any jewelry when swimming or showering. The chlorine can cause damage to various gemstones and gold.
- Do not expose your gemstone jewelry to salt water or harsh chemicals such as chlorine or detergents. These chemicals may slowly erode the finish and polish of gems.
- Do not use jewelry cleaner as it will cause damage to the gemstones. There are many safe soft jewelry cleaning cloths on the market which are ideal for buffing silver / charms to a nice shine.
- Try not to clean your item in the sink. Murphy’s law dictates that loose beads will roll towards the drain!
- Store your jewelry in a clean, dry place.
Sterling Silver
All silver tarnishes naturally. To help prevent tarnishing, store your beaded or sterling silver jewelry in a cool, dry place or inside an air-tight plastic bag. Some jewelry boxes are lined with anti-tarnish fabric.If a jewelry piece should tarnish, you can clean off the tarnish using a regular cloth or special anti-tarnish cloth. Clean the silver carefully — avoid polishing any other beads. Using a cloth should not damage the dark oxidation in the recesses of the silver. Do not use jewelry cleaner on any beaded or sterling silver jewelry.
Repairing Your Item
Due to the nature of some of the materials we use in our jewelry items, most notably stretch cord, you may need to have your items restrung or repaired in the future. We recommend finding a local jeweler who more than likely offers this service. Additionally, should you need to restring a bracelet with a stretch cord base, you can buy elastic stretch cord in the beading department at Hobby Lobby (or similar retail outlet). After restringing the bracelet and tying a double know, we recommend adding some glue (or clear fingernail polish) to the knot to keep it secure, and then gently pull the knot inside one of the beads to hide it. Hope that helps!
Questions?
Please send us an email should you have any further questions. Thank you.
