Walking Primrose’s jewellery is made with the highest quality materials and care but each piece is delicate and requires a bit of love and looking after.
To help keep your jewellery wearable and at its best for as long as possible, I would thoroughly recommend the following:
Removing your jewellery before bathing, showering, swimming, using saunas or any other activities where your jewellery can get wet. Water (and salt water) can tarnish and damage the jewellery, especially chlorine in swimming pools.
After bathing or showering, waiting until you are completely dry before putting your jewellery back on.
It would be best to put your jewellery on after you’ve applied your makeup, lotions, perfume, hair products etc. and they’ve settled as some chemicals in their ingredients can tarnish and/or damage it. If your jewellery does come in contact with these products, use a soft, lint free cloth or a microfibre cloth (one generally used for cleaning glasses or phone screens) to gently wipe it down. Any additional cleaning products or polishes are not needed when you do this, using a cloth on it own will be enough.
Additionally removing your jewellery when you take part in activities that can cause you to sweat or where the jewellery can be knocked or moved about quite a lot as again, there is risk of tarnish or damage from this.
Avoiding having your jewellery in direct sunlight for long period of times, and removing it if you are sunbathing too.
And finally, taking off your jewellery before you go to bed. I would recommend storing your jewellery in a lined jewellery box or an airtight gift box/bag/pouch, it isn’t best to just ‘chuck’ it in your jewellery box with your other pieces as the friction of rubbing against other jewellery can cause damage or the precious metal to tarnish.
Gold Vermeil:
Continuous wear can cause gold plating to start to wear away after 6 months time, this is something that happens naturally and is determined as normal wear and tear. This is not a fault on my behalf and unfortunately I will not be able to accept returns or issue refunds for this reason.
If your gold plated jewellery does become a little tarnished, we would recommend using soft, lint free cloth or a microfibre cloth on it (one generally used for cleaning glasses or phone screens). Please avoid any abrasives such as a toothbrush, baking soda or gold/silver polishes to clean your piece! All of these are likely to remove the layer of gold as you are cleaning/buffing it.
Again, I would recommend properly storing your gold plated jewellery to avoid friction that can wear away the gold layer.
Sterling Silver:
Sterling silver is prone to tarnishing, as most precious metals are, but this is not a fault and it is less likely to happen as quickly if you regularly wear the jewellery. If it has no gemstones, sterling silver jewellery can be cleaned gently with warm soapy water regularly to help keep tarnish at bay, ensuring that it is thoroughly rinsed and dried quickly before storing or wearing it. Alternatively you can regularly polish your silver jewellery with a soft, lint free or microfibre cloth to help avoid tarnishing.
Again, storage is key! I would recommend putting your sterling silver jewellery when it is not in use in a lined jewellery box, an airtight pouch/bag separate from other pieces or in the box that it came in.
Gemstones:
Being in direct sunlight for any amount of time can cause gemstones to fade in colour and shine.
It isn’t best for the gemstones to come in contact with water so I would removing your jewellery when you take a bath, shower or any partake in any other activities that involves being in water. Water, chemicals such as Chlorine, soap and liquid cleaners can dull the radiant colour of the gemstones and can cause erosion so it is ideal to avoid all of these.
Be careful to avoid any knocks or bumps to minimise the risk of damage to the gemstones, it is best to remove your jewellery before exercising or taking part in activities like housework.
For a quick clean, wipe over the stones with a soft, lint free or microfibre cloth.
