Jewelry Care

One of the most common questions is about gold fill. Everyone is always curious about what it is and how it's different from gold plated jewelry. So here's a little run down about what it's made of and and some pro-tips on how to care for your gold filled pieces.

What is 14kt Gold-Fill?

Gold-fill jewelry is different from gold plated jewelry. Unlike gold plating, gold filled jewelry is tarnish resistant and won’t turn your skin green. Gold filled jewelry is composed of a solid layer of gold mechanically pressure bonded to a base metal of quality jewelers brass or sterling silver and contains 5% gold by weight. That’s 100% more gold than gold plating. Gold filled is much more valuable and tarnish resistant if taken care of properly. It’s high in quality so with proper care and storage you will have affordable jewelry that will last for years to come Our 14kt gold filled jewelry is also lead and nickel free, which are the most common materials for allergic reactions to jewelry, so even those with sensitive skin can wear our 14kt gold filled jewelry. Most people who wear gold can wear gold filled without any worries of any allergic reaction to the jewelry.

How long 14kt gold-filled lasts comes down to three things:

1. What touches it, chemicals and oils from the body end up on the jewelry from wearing it

2.What stays on it for longer periods of times between cleanings

3.How it is stored - more airflow = more chance for oxidation

Care Tips to Make it Last,

Perfumes hairspray, and other types of lotions may contain harsh chemicals that can tarnish your jewelry over time. Avoid rough wear to prevent damage and slow down the natural process of ‘wear and tear’. When storing jewelry keep it away from humidity and keep clasps closed to help stop knots and tangles. Wipe gently with soft cloth to clean, never use abrasives to clean jewelry they can cause irreparable damage to any metal. For a deep cleaning get a bowl of warm water with a touch of gentle soap & let soak for about a minute, then give it a soft scrub with an ultra soft toothbrush to get into the links of the chain, rinse with warm water and let it dry completely before storing.

Sterling Silver

Sterling silver, also called .925 silver, is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver an 7.5% by weight of other metals (usually copper) to give it more strength an durability. Sterling Silver loves to be worn and will stay brighter and beautiful for you while you wear it. Sterling silver is susceptible to tarnish which is a natural reaction to chemicals and environment. If your sterling silver begins to look dull it's time for a quick polish. If you need to give it a bit of extra shine our favorite and easiest methods are to use a polishing cloth or a sterling silver liquid jewelry cleaner. Polishing cloths - these are very soft cloths that have a polishing compound already in them, the less abrasive the better, any that say they are compatible with silver should be fine. Be gentle and use as needed, harsh or excessive polishing can be damaging over time, the black on the polish cloth is from the cloth being activated and is not all from the dirt/tarnish from the jewelry. Polishing liquid - be sure to choose one that is meant for sterling silver, it only takes a few seconds in the liquid cleaner basket then remove, use a soft brush to clean inside the links of the piece and rinse very well with lukewarm water and dry completely with a soft dry cloth. Storage is pretty much the same as with gold filled jewelry. Be sure the piece is clean and in a low humidity environment, we love our zip bags, and keep those clasps fastened while storing it makes a world of difference for knots and tangles.

My Personal Experience

I will be very honest and say I am definitely not the best and most responsible person when it comes to proper care of my jewelry. I pick pieces that I love and just live in them to enjoy their sparkle and have them with me on all of my adventures. Those of you who know me have seen me in the same pieces for so many years I should be embarrassed, but I just adore them so much so I still wear them and think that’s the point of having jewelry. My current collection of pieces I am wearing have been on me ranging from almost a year for a collection of bracelets I’ve been ‘testing’ out to my OG blue topaz necklace that’s been with me for 8 years. My pieces do all of the things with me, go for my runs, swim, I sleep in them and I do shower in them as I think it helps clean them and they make me happy every day. They all still look great and if I really compare them to new pieces I’d say they’re at about 90-95% of their original sparkly glory compared to the 100% of the bra