How to take care of your jewelry

FaCad’oro jewelry has been designed to last for many years, but all precious jewelry will wear, tarnish, and appear dull if not properly cared for. Always protect your jewelry from bumps, scratches, chemicals, sunlight, and heat/cold to minimize these effects.

Below you will find a complete guide to always keeping your favorite jewelry beautiful and shiny!

1. Usage

• Avoid using creams, cosmetics, and any disinfectants, cleaners, and generally chemical substances, even shampoos or soaps, while wearing your jewelry. Their contact with chemical substances will irreversibly damage them and discolor metals, while also dulling precious stones.
• Do not wear jewelry while performing tasks or exercises that will cause sweating, which affects metals and stones almost as much as the chemicals mentioned above.
• Both saltwater and chlorine found in pools and spas are also enemies of your jewelry.
• Intense and prolonged exposure to sunlight as well as high temperature conditions will also cause dullness and discoloration. Precious stones in particular will lose the natural moisture that largely contributes to their shine and will change color, develop small cracks, while pearls can even shatter if they lose their moisture.
• It goes without saying that we should be careful with scratches and falls, which can cause stones to come loose.
• Also, continuous rubbing of metal or stones with hard fabrics or materials, and even continuous rubbing against our skin, will cause them to become dull or discolored.

2. Cleaning

• We never use household cleaning products, nor disinfectant wipes or alcohol.
• Every time we take off our jewelry, we always wipe it well with a dry soft cloth.
• Depending on the use, jewelry may need some more systematic cleaning. You can let them soak for a few minutes in moderately warm water with a mild detergent such as dishwashing liquid. Then, gently brush them with a very soft toothbrush. Once they dry, you can gently rub them with paper to remove any water marks. These tasks should not be done in sinks, washbasins, or anywhere your jewelry is at risk of falling onto a hard surface.
• If a piece of jewelry has not been cleaned for a while and you notice some strong marks, stains or traces of dirt, especially at the points where the stones are joined to the metal, it is preferable to send it for cleaning to a specialist.

3. Storage – Long-term maintenance

• We do not place all jewelry together in boxes or jewelry boxes to avoid scratches from rubbing against each other.
• We ensure that the storage space is dark and closed so that it is not exposed to intense light and dust.
• It is ideal to place them in the packaging in which they were purchased, such as the special packaging of FaCad’oro, or in jewelry boxes that you can purchase from specialized stores.
• Safe deposit boxes or bank vaults are not suitable for long-term storage in the case of precious stones, due to the very low humidity, which we mentioned its negative effects.
• Silver jewelry can be stored in fabric pouches such as bags, for example.
• White gold jewelry, especially rings that are subject to greater friction, should be plated every 2-3 years approximately, if we want to maintain their shine. It is good to take all gold or white gold jewelry, especially rings, to a specialist for polishing every few years.
• Jewelry with stones that are frequently used, especially bracelets and necklaces with precious stones and especially with pearls, are recommended to be taken to specialists for restringing.

Remember to consult experts if you notice any damages or if the maintenance of a precious jewelry is necessary after long-term use or an “accident”. There are specialized, fully equipped workshops with experienced technicians, such as the Service department of FaCad’oro, who can maintain, repair or adjust any of your jewelry according to your needs. A piece of jewelry retains its value and shine as long as you take care of it and pay attention to it. Because do not forget that apart from its material value, it usually has another more precious and invaluable for you: the emotional one.