At Jóias, we want your jewelry to live a long and happy life. It is normal for jewelry to take bit of a battering without us realizing. It might get damaged by excess wear, neglect or by environmental factors. Although the metals and materials we use are high in quality and designed to be durable, many of our pieces are handmade and must be treated with care.  

As with all your jewelry, it is important to put them on last when getting dressed and take them off first at night to avoid snagging on clothes. Jewelry can obtain dents, scratches and become tarnished with time, which is normal wear and tear and unfortunately cannot be avoided.

Tarnishing may be caused by uncontrollable environmental factors, such as humidity, moisture and air pollution. The acidity of a person’s skin; perfume, hair & skin products can also have an effect on metals. Cleaning products including bleach and chlorine can cause a breakdown in the metal alloys, leaving your jewelry beyond repair. Contact with perspiration, rubber, or any substances which contain sulfur (e.g., mayonnaise, eggs, mustard, onions, latex, wool) will cause corrosion and tarnish. Salt/sea water can also have a distressing effect on your jewelry.

To keep your jewelry at its best:

• Do not wear in the shower
• Make sure to keep it dry it all times
• Do not swim with your jewelry
• Store it a in cool dry area, moisture might cause discoloration
• Remove before washing hands
• Best not to wear it when doing sports
• Remove pieces before applying hand lotion/cream or perfumes
• Avoid wearing when doing strenuous work with your hands
• Do not store your jewelry in the bathroom
• Keep it away from direct sunlight
• Do not sleep with it on, when we sleep, we tend to move around, our jewellery, can be pulled, bent and stretched

 Did you know that Sterling Silver loves to be worn? It’s true! The natural oils in your skin 'clean' the surface of the silver! However, if it needs a bit more maintenance here are some tips for cleaning your jewelry:

• Sterling silver may be polished regularly with a soft microfiber cloth. Remember, if your piece features antiqued detail, black that makes the feature stand out, only clean gently to avoid rubbing this off. Do not use anything rough like tissue or paper towel incase the fibers in these products cause scratching.
• For heavily tarnished or hard to clean places you can use a mild soap and water, drying with a soft cloth. Use a silver polishing cloth for final shine.
• Bicarbonate of soda in hot water will also lift the tarnish from hard-to-clean places but can only be used for plain silver jewelry, without gemstones, gold, pearl or shell. Put a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in hot water, immerse your silver and check after 20 minutes. If it’s clean, you can dry it with a soft cloth and finish it off with your silver cloth.
• Never use toothpaste to clean silver jewelry, as it is very abrasive
• Gold plated pieces must be treated very gently so as not to rub off the gold plating. Wash in lukewarm water and dry with a soft cloth. We do not advise using a silver cloth.