Jewellery Care

Proper care is key to keeping your jewellery in pristine condition for years and enjoy a lifetime bond with your favourite piece. These instructions will guide you through simple, yet important steps, essential for any jewellery owner.

 

  • Store silver jewellery in a jewellery box, velvet pouch or drawer. Avoid crowding the pieces, especially those made of different metals, as it may cause surface scratches or chain damage. Chose dry and clean place for the box, consider purchasing anti-tarnish strips and sealable plastic bags for long term storage. Gold and stainless steel jewellery is less demanding and more scratch resistant than silver – do not expect air or moisture born oxidising, yet avoid getting gold in contact with iodine solutions.

  • It is recommended to remove silver, gold, stainless steel and bronze jewellery before intense exercise, bathing and working with household chemicals, paint solvents or while cooking. Avoid perfume and body lotions getting in contact with chains, as intricate links have a tendency to collect dirt and fatty cream residues combined with sweat might cause chains to acquire unpleasant odour and loose its shine.

  • Wash jewellery with a soft grade tooth brush or a gentle sponge in warm water and basic hand soap on a daily basis, do not leave in the bathroom or in any other wet environment – dry the pieces with a towel and leave them on a night stand, vanity or a dish overnight. You may purchase a special precious metal polishing cloth for mirror polished surfaces. It is recommended not to sleep with jewellery on, however it is not strictly forbidden – unless it is a delicate chain that might get damaged or a sharp pendant that could injure the owner.

  • We strongly advice not to attempt fixing, adjusting, re-polishing or deep cleaning artisan jewellery at home, as some of the online advices might cause more harm than good. Artistic surface finishes are best retouched by the creator or, if that is not convenient, by a local trusted goldsmith. It is a good idea to bring jewellery for an ultrasonic clean up once or twice a year to remove dirt build up and inspect functionality of clasps and stone setting durability.

  • Artisan silver jewellery usually comes with a patina finish – colourful oxide on the surface. This is a thin layer that occurs after chemical treatment and is quite sensitive to wear and other abrasives, therefore, will gradually wear off with time from those surfaces that experience intense rubbing. Bronze creations may also partially lose their blue verdegris color, revealing reddish metal underneath. Bright and colourful oxides on stainless steel pieces are so far the most durable ones and are expected to last a very long time on pendants and brooches. It is not an execution flaw, rather a natural evolution of the piece.

  • Do not wear rings with stone settings if you are a tattoo artist or work with vibrating or rotary tools – the vibrations are likely to disturb the stone setting or even cause fracture in some natural stones of brittle nature.

  • Enamelled silver, fossil group gems, bone, opal, pearl and meteorite jewellery requires special care, therefore it is best to do more research before considering a purchase. Please read the article on unconventional material care below for more information.

  • With each Bricabracomania piece the buyer will receive a customised explicit memo on how to take proper care of their new piece and general information about the materials and stone care (if present).

 

  

Sizing recommendation

 

 

There is plenty of information online on how to find a proper ring size and visual representations of chain length. When buying artisan jewellery, it is important to be aware of the fact that some pieces might not have the desired fit. Wider rings may not fit as well as a slimmer ones of the same size, certain necklaces might appear shorter or longer on the buyer due to differences in body shapes. Bangles and earrings might cause discomfort for petite clients and brooches can be tricky to open for left-handed individuals. No wonder, the list of nuances and issues can go on and on… As much as we desire to provide a universal sizing guide, every client is different and it will take more than reading an online guide to be a confident buyer. Therefore, our best advice is to consult your local goldsmith on this topic. A true professional will have no difficulties taking all the actual measurements for a successful online purchase, however even this precaution will not 100% guarantee that the online purchase will fit flawlessly. Therefore, most of the reputable online jewellery boutiques have a 14 day return policy, which allows clients to return the purchase in case of poor fit.

 

 

Back to About Jewellery