Jewelry Care
Most of our pieces are made with a copper or brass base metal, stainless steel, sterling silver, and plated with 14k-24k gold depending on the piece.
Gold plated jewelry is made by bonding a thin layer of gold over another metal. Because we use stronger base metals your jewelry should not tarnish if properly cared for.
Each piece of jewelry is carefully handcrafted with love and should be taken good care of.
Basic care will help preserve and protect your jewelry for years to come. Here are some useful tips for taking care of your lovely pieces.
1) Avoid contact with acidic substances and chemicals, such as perfume, soap, bleach, cosmetics, etc, which could affect the brightness and color of the jewelry.
2) Take off your jewelry when sleeping, bathing, swimming, gardening, cooking, moving heavy objects, and applying creams & lotions.
3) Keep away from salty waters, especially seawater, hot spring, and sweat.
4) When taking your jewelry off, gently clean it with a piece of soft cloth to remove fingerprints & grease. For jewellery with plating layer, you should be careful, don't scrub too hard, but be thorough.
5) Always store your jewels in a clean, dry place away from natural sunlight and heat. It's better to keep them separately in a fabric-lined jewelry case, or in a box with numerous compartments and dividers.
6) Do not wear jewelry in conditions where friction or pressure may wear down the color or cause scratches on the surface.
7) If you mix and match different styles, try not to wear too many pieces of jewelry on one part of your body in case they scrape against each other, causing abrasion and scratches.
You may have various kinds of jewelry, which differ in care because of different materials.
Silver jewelry
Silver is an active metal that easily reacts with sulfur in the air, and can tarnish quite quickly. It should not be worn in a place with strong chemical gas. After contact with sulfur, it must be washed and dried immediately. Chloride in sweat also has a bad effect on silver.
Silver and gold jewels cannot be worn together, because the movement of molecules will make silver jewelry turn yellow.
The oils in your skin help prevent tarnish and keep it luster. (This also varies depending on your own body chemistry. Very few people's sweat contains ingredients that make silver black.)
You should store your silver jewels properly and it is better to use a ziploc plastic bag to prevent the silver surface from contacting the air and tarnish.
Don't wash the jewelry with dish detergent frequently. The best way to clean it is with a jewelry polishing cloth. Just remember that silver is very soft so use something like a very soft baby toothbrush to avoid scratching.
Gold jewelry
Gold is very soft and when pulling tightly on the skin, it is easy for it to change shape. You should be careful when wearing and taking off gold jewelry.
Gold plating is a layer or gold applied to a base metal. The base is metal and the gold is essentially dipped over the outside of that base (there is no gold inside the piece). Our gold plated pieces are plated with 3x the amount of normal gold plating because quality is our #1 priority!
Gold vermeil is genuine sterling silver that has been expertly plated with a thick layer of gold. The difference here is the base must be sterling silver. These pieces are great for individuals who may have sensitive skin or allergies to base metals.
To clean mix a small amount of mild dish detergent with warm water in a bowl. Put the jewelry into the bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Use a soft toothbrush (like a baby tooth brush) to gently scrub the jewelry. Remove item from soapy water, rinse it and dry thoroughly with a soft polishing cloth.
You can also use a polishing kit for extra shine and to remove any tarnish. (Sometimes 14k gold can tarnish a bit - particularly on earrings and the inside of rings - depending on your skin chemistry, but it is a very easy fix.)
Stainless steel jewelry
Avoid harsh chemicals which can damage the surface of the jewelry.
Use a polishing cloth to polish and dry your pieces to shine them.
Keep stainless steel jewelry separately from that made of other metals. It is best to keep them in individual bags or boxes.
Brass jewelry
Brass jewelry may tend to darken with wear and time depending on body chemistry. Take off your jewelry when you are likely to sweat, which could speed up the process.
Clean your jewelry with a soft cloth or warm, soapy water. Do not using polishing cloths or polishing liquids.
Avoid contact with harsh chemicals like Chlorine, perfume, body sprays or lotions.
Store your jewelry in a clean, dry and airtight container. Humidity and moisture can speed up the tarnishing. Keep pieces separate from one another after you wear them.
Pearl jewelry
There are many tiny pores on the surface of the pearl. So it's easy to tarnish and turn yellow in places with dust and other chemicals.
Take them off when swimming, hairdressing, cooking, doing chores, sleeping or applying cosmetics.
Don't rinse the pearls with water, which could enter into the small holes and may destroy the pearls. For daily care, just moisten a velvet cloth with pure water, then wipe the surface of the pearl gently.
Don't touch the pearls. Lots of people like to rub the pearls with their hands unconsciously. This actually affects the luster and brightness of the pearls. Oils on skin could adhere to the pearls and make them yellow.
Wear pearl jewelry frequently. Pearls need to breathe and their luster and glow will only improve when worn regularly. They love being worn.
if you have any further questions, never hesitate to contact us at info@belencreations.com