CARE
TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR JEWELRY
1.
Polish/clean your jewelry after every use (with a specific jewelry soft cloth)
This will help to remove makeup, cream, moisture, oil and oxidation.
Especially important at the first sign of tarnishing.
2.
While sleeping – take of your jewelry.
3.
When not wearing - storage your jewelry safe in a jewelry box preventing it
from having scratches etc.
4.
Do not store your jewelry box in the bathroom due to the humidity.
5.
Avoid any contact with water (when washing hands, bathing, cleaning, swimming etc.)
6.
Avoid contact with chemicals, such as soaps, cleaners, lotions, oils, perfumes, hairsprays etc.
7.
Avoid contact with salt.
Remove any rings if you are handling salty stuff like chips, salted nuts and when cooking with salt or swimming in the ocean.
TARNISHING
Sterling silver consists of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. Typically copper.
The reason not to use 100% silver is because it is far too soft for jewelry making.
The small addition of copper makes the silver more durable and suitable for jewelry making, hence making your jewelry longer-lasting.
All Sterling silver jewelry is marked with ”925”.
Brass is made of copper and zink. Typically 62% copper and 38% zink.
Copper oxidizes, and the fact that sterling silver and brass contains copper means that any Sterling silver or brass jewelry will tarnish over time.
It will gradually darken and become less shiny and it might appear with small dull, grey or black spots.
This also concerns goldplated jewelry made on a base of sterling silver or brass.
Tarnishing has nothing to do with the quality of the jewelry piece !
The main reasons are:
1
The facts that the alloys undergoes a chemical reaction with the sulfur-containing substances in the air
2
The chemical reaction with the wearer’s body chemistry (content of moist and oil).
Silver and brass tarnishes faster in areas with high humidity and air pollution. Chemicals like hairspray, perfume, deodorant, body lotion, bleach, etc. - will speed up the tarnishing process.
GOLDPLATING
All our gold plated jewelry is made with a 3 micron layer, 18 carat gold plating.
”Micron” is an internationally accepted measure of the thickness of a plating.
Standard platings are usually around 0.5-1.0 micron. Flash platings are even less.
3 micron , which we use in STUDIO LOMA, is a good quality.
In Europe and in the United States you may define it as "gold vermeil" when plating is minimum 2.5 micron and made on a base of Sterling.
The quality and the thickness of the STUDIO LOMA gold plating is excactly the same 3 micron, whether made on Sterling silver or brass.
On Sterling silver we name it ”gold vermeil”.
On brass we name it ”heavy goldplating”.
Though our jewelry is made with a 3 micron layer, it is impossible to avoid, that the gold plating will wear off over time.
How long time the plating will last on the individual piece of jewelry, very much depend on the wearers chemistry, how much the jewelry piece is worn and how good it is taken care of.
Gold platings on rings wear off faster than on earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Are goldplated rings worn next to each other, it will increase the wear off.