I know what you're thinking... How Can I Best Care for My New Jewelry?
In general here are some good rules of thumb for trying to take the best care of your jewelry- especially pieces with handmade gemstone, clay, or real pearl elements.
- Don't store jewelry in anywhere that things can rub up against them constantly. The bottom of a purse, for example, is not a good place for your jewelry if you want it to stay in perfect condition.
- Don't wear it in water. Unless it is gold filled, jewelry should not be worn in the shower, pool, etc...
- When traveling, be careful storing jewelry together. Jewelry stored together while traveling can rub up against other jewelry pieces or metal and can scratch or damage more fragile jewelry components (such as pearls and clay). Packing them separate, or using a felt lined jewelry case, are great solutions.
- Avoid getting makeup, hair products, sunscreen, etc... on your jewelry. Life happens, I get it. But try to put on jewelry and accessories after applying these products to avoid getting jewelry dirty.
Let's talk about how to best take care of the various styles and metal types we offer here at Rose & Clay:
Gold Filled- Gold Filled jewelry is extremely high quality, and the lowest maintenance material. Because of its high gold content, it is resistant to tarnishing and can even be worn in water. If gold filled jewelry gets dirty, it can easily be cleaned with any jewelry polish or polishing cloth.
Real Gold Plating- All of our real gold plated items (indicated by a carat grade) are very high quality and especially when taken care of, can last a long time. Avoid getting these pieces wet wherever possible. Do not take them swimming or in the shower. If some water does get on them, just dry it off using a towel or something similar as soon as you notice.
Clay: Polymer clay is such a great medium for jewelry because it is durability and flexibility. They are quite durable and are not so fragile that they will shatter or break if dropped. Clay can get scratched by metal or other objects, so take care to not store them where they will be in direct contact with these materials. Take special care of this with any piece that has a lot of detailing or 3D elements.
If clay gets dirty, you can easily clean by using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Rub gently to remove dirt/imperfections, and a little bit of rubbing alcohol goes a long way.
Handmade Gemstones: All of our handcrafted gemstones are made with a special type of translucent polymer clay. Please follow all guidelines for general clay care.