ALUMINIUM/ALUMINUM
Aluminium (or Aluminum for my North American and European friends) is a silvery coloured lightweight metal that is a great alternative to Sterling Silver. In it’s “natural” state, it won’t tarnish or turn your skin green like copper or brass can. While Aluminium jewellery is easy to care for, it can be quite soft and scratch easily.
I recommend that you don’t wear your aluminium jewellery when in spas or hot-pools, or expose it to any chemical such as cleaning products. It is very forgiving, but it will definitely benefit from a bit of care and attention. The best way to accentuate the polish of your aluminium jewellery is with a soft polishing cloth.
COPPER
Copper is a naturally occurring earth metal with a beautiful warm tone and is a great alternative to rose gold. Copper has been used in jewellery for centuries and is currently enjoying a resurgence of popularity due to its beauty and affordability. Traditionally copper is considered to have antibacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.
An important factor to understand when you choose copper jewellery is that copper with tarnish and develop a patina. Tarnishing is a natural process, and happens when the raw metal is exposed to oxygen, to oils from your skin or hair, or when exposed to some chemicals (for example, hand sanitiser!!). I do not coat the jewellery before you receive it, and encourage you to enjoy the developing patina over time – it’s like learning about a new friend! If tarnishing is a problem for you aesthetically, you can lightly spray your copper with a clear varnish, or use nail varnish.
The best way to clean and care for your copper is to gently wash it in soap and water. For example, wearing your jewellery in the shower with you (providing you don’t use heavily perfumed or died soaps, shampoos or conditioners, or even essential oils).
If your copper jewellery becomes heavily tarnished (after exposure to chemicals or natural/sulphur spa pools etc), a simple and effective way to clean it is to soak it in a mixture of lemon juice and table salt for about 5 minutes, then rinse and gently wash with soap or toothpaste. Dry it and gently polish it with a soft cloth and store in an airtight container.
Copper CAN turn your skin a green colour. This is a temporary reaction of your skin to the metal and happens to pretty much everyone. Some people will also experience skin discolouration with sterling silver and this is because sterling silver has a small component of copper, which some people are more reactive to. Again, this discolouration of the skin is temporary and can be easily removed with soap and water.
BRASS & STERLING SILVER
Both Brass and Sterling silver are alloy metals. This means that they are made up of more than one kind of material.
Brass is comprised of copper and zinc. Sterling silver is made up of 92.5% pure silver and the remainder is copper. This is the reason why sterling silver is stamped 925.
Because both of these metals have some copper (brass is mostly copper), they are both prone to some tarnishing. Brass in particular will develop a patina similar to copper and over time can take on a darker colour. As with copper, I do not coat your brass before it is sent to you and I encourage you to learn about it’s patina and enjoy this natural process. If your piece is exposed to oily skin, hair, chemical, cosmetics and perfumes, it is likely to tarnish much more quickly. This can be countered by gently washing with soap and water, or use a lemon juice/table salt soak (for no more than 5 minutes) and then a rinse and gentle polish with a soft cloth.
Sterling silver may also discolour over time due to the small amount of copper present. It will usually turn a darker grey and become dull. This is normal and natural, and you might find that if you live close to the ocean or in high humidity environments, your sterling silver will tarnish more quickly. Your silver jewellery will react to body and hair oils, chemicals, perfumes and cosmetics much the same as Brass, and can be cleaned the same way.
For both Brass and Sterling Silver, if you really don’t like the changing colours, you can lightly spray your jewellery with an acrylic varnish or use nail varnish to protect the surface. Just please be aware that this will need to be reapplied over time, especially if you wear your jewellery a lot.
Brass in particular may turn your skin a green colour on contact (rings, bangles etc). This is a natural reaction to the copper in the piece and not dangerous. Some people react in a similar way to the copper in Sterling Silver. This discolouration of your skin can be easily removed with soap and water.
YELLOW, ROSE & WHITE GOLD
Largely speaking, you can care for and clean your gold pieces of jewellery the same way as your silver and other metals. It is worth noting that your gold won’t tarnish to quite the same extent as other metals, but it will dull over time. This is due to small scratches on the surface rather than any tarnish, and can be gently polished out to restore the piece.
A note here about white gold. The white gold I use in my designs is notably more “grey” than you may be used to seeing at main-stream jewellery stores. This is because it is NOT coated in rhodium which makes it more “white”. The reason I choose not to use rhodium plating is that it wears off over time and needs to be reinstated, which for some pieces of jewellery, is not possible. It is also yet another chemical process that I choose to avoid in my business.
GEMSTONES
Care of gemstones in your jewellery is important. The size of the gemstone will impact the level of care you need to take – the larger the stone, the more care will be needed.
Gemstones that are cast-in-place are generally finished as a “rub-over” style, which means they don’t stand up over the metal
If you have chosen to have your own stones reimagined into new jewellery, it is very important to understand that these stones may have microscopic cracks and defects. This is common, especially with older stones, and the stresses of removing them from their old setting and placing them into new settings may cause the stone to crack and even break. Sometimes this can happen after you have been wearing the jewellery for some time. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to prevent.
There are steps you can take to minimise the chances of this happening, however. Don’t wear your remodeled gemstones while doing tasks like gardening or when using chemicals, when lifting heavy weights or doing any physical work such as building. Don’t expose your gemstones to extremes of temperature and keep an eye on them for cracks or chips. Often, if you notice a chip, the stone can be repaired or replaced without being lost.