Jewelry care instructions for:
Bead Woven Jewelry Care Instructions:
Exposing bead woven jewelry to sun and water repeatedly will weaken the threads and cause the piece to fall apart. Limit exposure to sun and water as much as possible.
If your piece needs a little TLC from constant use, gently wipe clean with a cloth made for cleaning eyeglasses or sunglasses. Because most beads are made of glass, these cloths work best for gently removing fingerprints and film from your beaded piece without scratching the beads or requiring any harsh solutions. Do not use solutions to clean your piece. The cloth alone is sufficient.
If your piece becomes soiled, I find the best solution is a little liquid Dawn. Mix one pea sized drop in about one cup of lukewarm or cold water. Gently wash your piece, rinse thoroughly in cold water, and dry with a cotton cloth. Do not use paper towels as this will scratch the glass beads. Allow to air dry in doors, on a flat surface, and out of the sun completely before wearing. This does contradict the above tip to keep your piece out of water, so it is best to do this sparingly and when wiping your piece doesn’t get it sufficiently clean.
Semi-Precious Metals Jewelry Care Instructions:
Cleaning metal Jewelry can be tricky, especially if your pieces are oxidized or antiqued. Most of my handmade metal jewelry is antiqued, so cleaning your piece with jewelry cleaners is not recommended as the antiquing will be stripped away leaving behind bare metal.
The best ways to maintain the antiqued look in your copper, brass, or silver pieces and maintain its shine is to wipe with a plain polishing cloth or clean with a brass brush. A brass brush can be found in any hardware store and is inexpensive. Do not use the brush on glass or gemstone beads and plated metal components, only use on pure metals. Most of the metal components I use such as beads, spacer beads, and bead caps, are plated metals.
Another alternative is to simply use an eyeglass cloth. These cloths are gentle and perfect for removing prints and film, and won’t strip pure metals and plated metals or scratch beads.
If your piece is still not as clean and shiny as you would like it to be using the methods above, I’ve found using liquid Dawn to be the best solution. One pea sized drop in about one cup of cold water is all you need. Gently wash your piece and wipe dry with a non-abrasive cloth or eyeglass cloth. If you have a soft toothbrush handy, scrubbing it lightly in the soapy water will restore brilliance to your piece.
If your piece is sterling silver, a polishing cloth with rouge on one side like the Fabulustre cloth, is the best thing to use. Your piece should be completely dry before polishing with this type of cloth. These cloths can be found in most jewelry supply stores or Google “Fabulustre polishing cloth” to find web sites that sell this cloth online (Amazon sells the Fabulustre cloth).
Avoid using liquid cleaners on your jewelery, especially if your piece has beads or semiprecious stones!
Care Instructions for Plated Pieces:
Your piece is a combination of plated and true metals. Plated metals should never be scrubbed with abrasives. I find using a cloth for eyeglasses is the best for maintaining the shine of metal and removing prints. Do not use any solutions.
If your piece becomes soiled, use a gentle solution of Dawn and cold water (a pea sized drop per 1 cup of cold water) and gently wash clean with fingers only. Liquid Dawn will bring back luster to your metal piece without stripping the plate. Rinse and dry with a non-abrasive cloth, like an eyeglass cloth. Dry your piece immediately and do not dry outdoors or in sunlight. Wash sparingly; overexposure to water may also strip the plate.
Enjoy wearing your jewelry!