MATERIALS
Every piece of Whirls of Pearls jewelry is thoughtfully designed and intricately hand crafted. Follow these simple guidelines to ensure your jewelry will stay beautiful.
- Apply all beauty products, such as perfume, hairspray or deodorant, before putting on your jewelry.
- Jewelry should be removed prior to swimming or doing household chores which involve the use of abrasive cleaners or chemicals.
- It is not advised to clean your jewelry with abrasive cleaning products or even proprietary jewelry cleaning products to restore pieces; doing so may damage the jewelry. Recommend using a rouge cloth which will keep your metal clean and shiny.
STERLING SILVER
Sterling silver is a beautiful bright white, warm shiny metal. Fine/pure silver is generally too soft for producing functional objects; therefore, the silver is usually alloyed with copper to give it strength while preserving the ductility and beauty of the precious metal. I use bright white sterling silver metal in my jewelry range which has good strength properties and eliminates fire-scale, this means that it has a lower tarnishing (surface oxidization/blackening) rate and a beautiful warm silver finish. Due to sterling silver being alloyed with other metals like copper, this means that it tarnishes over time. Especially when exposed to oxygen, salty air or water and will react by tarnishing. To avoid the rate of oxidization/tarnishing to your silver jewelry it is recommended to store them in a zip lock bag to prevent the acceleration of this process. In order to clean or bring the sterling silver back to it's beautiful bright white state there are a couple of ways to do this. I recommend the use of a rouge cloth to clean your sterling silver. Also, felt material is a very good polishing tool. It will safely buff the silver and leave a bright finish to the metal. Avoid using chemicals to clean your silver, as these can be poisonous and if the wrong chemicals are used, this could damage the piece. A great alternative that I would also recommend is toothpaste (not gel type). Simply apply a small amount on a brush with a bit of water and lightly scrub the piece to clean your silver perfectly. Once cleaned you can run it under the water and dry.
OXIDIZED SILVER
Oxidized sterling silver has a lovely matte black surface with a gun metal luster. The process of oxidizing silver turns the metal's surface black. I use liver of sulphur to oxidize the sterling silver. This treatment is called a patina which is just a surface treatment and does not change the internal characteristics of the metal. As any surface treatment it will wear off over time and use. With wear, oxidization rubs back, exposing the true metal colour beneath. This will happen at varying speeds depending on how regularly the piece is worn and how much it rubs against clothes and skin. Rings and bangles tend to wear the fastest, pendants a little slower, and earrings the slowest, but they will all wear back eventually. When you own an oxidized piece, expect it to wear back and polish up, so relax and enjoy the way it's surface evolves with time. If you need to clean your oxidized jewelry, use a soft sponge or cotton ball with a dab of methylated spirits and wipe gently to remove any grease or due. Do not rub too hard and do not use an abrasive surface or solvent.
COPPER
The healing properties of copper are an enzymatic chemical reaction positively involving the body’s own chemistry. For this to happen, copper must come into contact with the body’s skin oils and acids, so coated copper will not work. When copper is in direct contact with the skin, the micro-nutrient properties of copper enter the bloodstream through the skin as a copper salt, resulting from a mix of body oils and acids, and the chelated copper picked up from the copper source. It is very important to use pure copper, which is defined as 99.9% copper with trace elements of tin and zinc, which are also beneficial metals. All copper used in my jewelry is pure, and is manufactured in the United States.
Occasionally, copper jewelry or the skin of the wearer can turn green. This happens when the metal interacts with sweat and is referred to as copper chelates. The chelates assimilate to the body and are absorbed, and many wearers expect this to happen as proof that the copper is working with their body. Green coloring on the skin comes off with soap and water, and polishing copper jewelry is as easy as using 0000 steel wool by rubbing the surface lightly. An alternative method involves finding an acidic item in the kitchen. Lemon and ketchup are both excellent for cleaning copper jewelry. Simply place the piece of jewelry in a small bowl and cover with your choice of cleaner. Let it soak for no longer than 20 minutes. If necessary, use a soft toothbrush to reach into crevices on the jewelry. Use mild soap and water to wash the acidic cleaner off the jewelry and pat dry with a soft cloth. The piece of copper jewelry should regain its shine and look new again.