Jewelry Care
The enduring brilliance of your jewelry is ensured by a few mindful, daily practices. These principles are about creating a conscious relationship with your treasured pieces, protecting them from the elements of everyday life.
1. A Sanctuary for Your Jewelry
Store your pieces in a clean, dry environment, ideally a fabric-lined jewelry box or individual soft pouches. This practice is the simplest way to safeguard them from incidental scratches and prevent the delicate dance of tangling.
2. The Final Adornment
"Last on, first off." Your jewelry should be the final touch, applied only after lotions, perfumes, and hairsprays have settled. This minimizes direct exposure to the chemicals within these products, which can dull the gold's luster over time. At the end of the day, it should be the first thing you remove.
3. Mindful Removal
While solid gold is resilient, it is not impervious. We recommend removing your jewelry before swimming in chlorinated pools, entering hot tubs, or using harsh household cleaners. Repeated exposure to these potent chemicals can react with the alloys in the gold and compromise its brilliant finish.
Scratches & Patina
No fine jewelry is impervious to life. When your piece comes into contact with a harder surface, it may acquire a minor surface mark. This collection of subtle marks, known as a patina, is often cherished by connoisseurs as a soft, unique glow that tells the story of a piece's journey with you.
Addressing Scratches
1. For Minor Scuffs & The Enhancement of Patina
A professional-grade jeweler's polishing cloth can be used at home. These cloths are treated with a micro-abrasive that can gently buff away the slightest marks to restore a high shine.
2. For a Return to Flawless Luster
A professional jeweler can easily restore your piece to its original, brilliant finish using a high-speed buffing wheel. This process removes a microscopic layer of the surface, completely erasing any scratches. This is only possible because the piece is solid gold to its core; attempting this on a plated item would strip the superficial gold layer off entirely.
Tarnish
Pure 24K gold, a noble metal, is inert and will not tarnish. However, the alloys in 14K gold, specifically copper and silver, can, in rare instances, react with sulfur compounds, chlorine, or even an individual's skin pH. This subtle reaction is, in fact, an affirmation of the authenticity of your piece and the precious metals within its alloy.
At Elyssienna, we champion the authentic beauty of true precious metals, and tarnish is simply a manageable characteristic of that integrity.
Addressing Tarnish
Tarnish on solid gold is never permanent. It is a surface-level issue that is always completely removable.
1. The Practice of Prevention
The most effective strategy is to avoid prolonged exposure to harsh chemicals, particularly chlorine in pools and hot tubs.
2. For Light Dulling
The simple ritual of cleaning with a soft brush, mild soap, and warm water is typically sufficient to remove any light tarnish and restore brilliance.
3. For More Persistent Tarnish
A dedicated, non-abrasive liquid "dip" cleaner formulated specifically for gold can be used. A brief immersion, followed by a thorough rinse and dry, will chemically dissolve the tarnish without harming the gold.
4. For a Pristine Restoration
A jeweler's ultrasonic cleaner and steam clean will remove every trace of residue from even the most intricate crevices, returning your piece to its showroom condition.