Care Guide

Polish your jewelry with a lint-free, 100% cotton cloth. Gentle cleaning with lukewarm water, soap, and a soft toothbrush is also recommended. Always check the tightness of stones before and after cleaning, especially when using a steam cleaner. Never use an ultrasonic cleaner on micro pavé stones, Soft, pores stones such as: opals, emeralds, or turquoise. Do not brush turquoise—use your fingers to clean. We offer specially formulated HEIRLOOM PAVÉ jewelry cleaner than is available for purchase. Fine jewelry should be stored securely in fabric-lined or leather-lined boxes. 

When do I need to remove my jewelry? 

*  Exercising -any strenuous activity including cardio, yoga, lifting weights, swimming, etc. These activities, particularly ones using your hands, put pressure on your pieces, causing them to bend, warp, or for stones to become loose in their settings. Chlorinated water can also react chemically with metals, changing the color, weakening settings, or pitting gold. Something as simple as extended time in water can harm jewelry, even if the damage is not immediately apparent.

* Showering or bathing- Hard water, shampoos, and conditioners can become stuck behind settings, causing damage to your pieces. Soap scum can be hard to remove and causes jewelry to look discolored and grimy.  

* Sleeping - The extended heat and pressure that occurs during sleep can wreak havoc on delicate and fine jewelry. We recommend keeping a jewelry-appropriate container next to your bed so that you can remove your pieces every night. 

* Applying perfumes, lotions, oils, makeup or hair products - Products can build up on the jewelry, damaging certain stones, dulling their appearance, and requiring more frequent cleaning.

* Cooking, baking or doing the dishes - These activities can cause debris to become lodged in settings and diminish the appearance of your pieces.

* Cleaning, especially with bleach or other harsh chemicals - Harsh chemicals such as bleach can pit metals and weaken settings, causing stone loss.

* Gardening - The pressure from holding gardening tools can cause damage to settings even when wearing gloves. Removing your pieces before gardening also ensures that they remain free from dirt and debris.

What if my earring backs are too loose from wear? 

If your earrings are a “push back” you can gently squeeze the backing together and it will form a tighter fit around the post. 

We do offer free service on our earrings and replace push-back posts for screw backings at an additional cost. 

Checking for loose gemstones for any pieces with stones, especially rings, we recommend having the tightness of the stones checked regularly by a professional. Depending on the amount of wear the piece receives, stones should be checked once to twice a year at minimum. Stones should also be checked more frequently at home. You can use a simple pinhead to gently tap the surface and sides of the stone and see if they move. We also recommend listening for loose stones by holding your piece between your thumb and middle finger next to your ear while gently striking it with your index finger. We are happy to provide a virtual demonstration for these techniques upon request. If even one stone is moving, refrain from wearing the piece until it can be tightened. We are happy to provide a virtual demonstration of this method. 

Micro pavé set stones require extra care from their owner to prevent loss. Stones should be checked at least every month, until you get used to the frequency with which your piece requires service. Never wear a micro pavé piece that has a loose or missing stone, as it’s highly likely that there is at least one other loose stone. 

Precious stones are ordered in ascending levels of hardness from 1 to 10 on the Mohs' scale. Opals and turquoise, which range between 5 and 6.5 respectively, are more easily scratched, whereas diamonds, at 10, are more likely to do the scratching. The Mohs' scale is not a linear scale. Instead it ranks gems on a relative scale based on their scratch hardness; so although a sapphire is a 9, a diamond at 10 is many times harder. Being aware of the relative inclination towards scratching/being scratched is important when wearing and storing your jewelry.