Jewelry Care Information
You’ve probably heard this before: avoid the 5 “S’s”: shower, sleep, sweat, spray and swim. In short, remove your jewelry before bedtime, showering, or swimming; apply lotions and sprays before donning your gems and don’t wear your jewels to the gym, or while performing tasks that might expose them to water, chemicals or extremes of temperature.
Most gemstones can be cleaned simply with warm water, a gentle dish soap and a soft brush. Mechanical means of cleaning should generally be reserved for hard stones such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires and spinel (and even then, avoid ultrasonic cleaning unless you are certain that the stones and settings can withstand it.) A soft damp cloth is all that should be used on soft stones such as carnelian, pearls, turquoise and resins (including amber).
Gemological societies such as the GIA provide tips on cleaning jewelry at home and the International Gem Society has a handy chart for cleaning some of the more common stones:https://www.gemsociety.org/article/gemstone-care-guide/
A few notes about some of the jewelry sold by Brooklyn Eye Candy Ltd.:
High karat gold:
Even when I work in silver, I usually incorporate elements of high karat gold into my designs. I most often work in 22 karat gold (pure gold is 24 karat), which I believe has an unparalleled lushness of color, warmth and luster. Found in Paleolithic caves 40,000 years ago, gold has been revered by humans through the millennia. However, unlike those ancient gold artifacts, most modern commercially made jewelry uses less expensive, but harder alloys. (For example 14 karat gold is only 58.3% pure gold.) What is seen by some as a disadvantage of high karat gold -its relative softness- is, I believe, part of its beauty. With use, it will acquire a fine patina, reflecting the life of the wearer.
Eye Pendants:
If you acquire one of my eye pendants, please note that with a few exceptions, the “eyes” are mixed media pieces that include some combination of: polymer clay, plastics, glass, resin and other materials. So, as you would be gentle with a more delicate stone, be mindful that resin can scratch and use appropriate care.
Opals and other delicate stones:
Some of the most beautiful stones are just a bit more delicate than others. Not an exhaustive list, but especially treat your amber, opals, emeralds, pearls, sphene, tanzanite, moonstone, labradorite, lapis and turquoise with a bit of extra loving care ( see above re: water, chemicals, impact and extreme temps.) Note that in the past people were sometimes advised to store opals in or near water to prevent them from drying out; however, many of the opals mined today from Ethiopia are hydrophaneopals, which means they may absorb water. This can change their color, so soaking would be ill advised.
If you have any questions or concerns about the care of any piece you acquired, please reach out to me at: laurie@brooklyneyecandy.com.