Caring for your jewellery.

Generally speaking, we recommend a few things to avoid that will help your piece stay at its best for the longest time. That said, we embrace the ‘tarnish’ here at Tarnish and Pearl, so use your own discretion to decide what’s right for you.

Both silver and brass will naturally tarnish over time, if that look isn’t for you it’s easy to bring them back to their original shine using a polishing cloth and a small amount of elbow grease.

Our recommendations

  • Avoid wearing whilst swimming – chlorine, salt water etc. can push metals and materials to tarnish.

  • Avoid wearing if you’re going to be building up a sweat – sweat can also cause items to tarnish and the physical movement on items can also put additional strain on the connectors.

  • Treat these items like the treasures they are; a little care and attention here will ensure your items stay looking at their best. Think soft surfaces and avoid tangling necklaces to help you steer clear of frustrating untangling sessions and chipped stones.

  • These guys are beautiful already (as are you), so we recommend applying scents and cosmetics before you put on your jewellery to avoid layering them up with products that may cause them to tarnish – keep them ‘au natural’.

Pearls

Pearls are organic and so sensitive to chemicals, acids and abrasion, which means they need a little care and attention to stay at their best.

  • They are best kept away from hard jewellery such as rings and bracelets to prevent them from being scratched.

  • Wipe down your pearls regularly, using a damp soft, lint-free or microfibre cloth if needed with a little mild soap solution. Gentle wipe the pearls to remove any dirt, oils or residues that may have accumulated and dulled their lustre.

  • Pearls aren’t keen on strong heat, so avoid wearing whilst sunbathing, and we would recommend removing pearls before a bath or shower as this can weaken the thread they are strung on.

  • We recommend removing pearls before swimming as the chemicals in the water can cause some serious damage to the organic material (nacre) that makes up the pearls.

  • Lastly, wear them often! A pearl will benefit from being worn regularly, the natural oils from your skin can help to maintain their lustre, it allows them to absorb moisture and prevents them from drying out.

Gemmed Pieces

Our stones have endured a lot. The nature of the casting process means that they have endured immense heat to get to where they are.

This can sometimes mean they have picked up some signs of their journey in the way of internal cracks within the stone. This tends to be seen in larger cubic zirconia stones, sapphires and other gemstones used in our pieces handle the heat with pernach.

We carefully check each piece to ensure that the stones in place are secure and stable before they come to you, with the patterns formed adding to the beauty of the piece. We do recommend, however, that you avoid (when at all possible) dropping pieces to avoid additional shock to the stones.