Jewelry Care Guide

Jewelry is one of the most personal and cherished adornments that become part of us like a second skin. Before wearing your new jewels we strongly recommend please reading and following the care instructions in this guide to protect your treasured jewels and keep them in excellent condition for many generations to come. If you have any questions or need assistance please contact us at info@mareinewyork.com. 

GENERAL JEWELRY CARE

• Store Separately and Safely. Jewelry should be carefully stored in a soft lined jewelry box when not being worn. Please use the jewelry box provided and keep your pieces separate from other jewels so they do not scratch each other and cause damage.
• Wear With Extra Care. Even though fine jewelry is made of metal, all precious metals are delicate. Yes, even our fiercest pieces should be worn with extra care. Please take care and do not bang, scratch, scuff, bend, dent, or drop your jewelry.
• Keep Away From Abrasive Surfaces & Substances. Keep away from all hard, rough, and abrasive surfaces such as sand, cement, glass, and stone, as well as other types of metal objects, including other pieces of jewelry, etc...
• Know When To Take Your Jewelry Off. Please avoid wearing jewelry while cleaning, gardening, or performing sports activities such as hitting the gym, lifting weights, doing yoga, swimming, rock climbing, etc... this will damage your jewelry. 
• Jewelry Is Not Made For Sleeping In. Always take off your jewelry before going to bed. Do not sleep wearing rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets as this may cause damage such as bending, warping, bend, and breakage of your jewels.
• Avoid Exposure To Hand Sanitizers. Please keep your hands clean but avoid exposing your jewelry to hand sanitizers and other chemical disinfectants. These liquids contain harsh chemicals that can eat away at all precious metals, damage plated jewelry, and may also cause irreversible damage to gemstones - especially pearls. Please remove all your jewelry before applying hand sanitizer or working with chemical disinfectants and detergents. Allow hand sanitizer liquid to dry completely on your skin before putting back on jewelry.
• Professional Cleaning & Maintenance. We advise taking your fine jewelry to a professional jeweler at least once a year for a thorough cleaning and a thorough inspection.

JEWELRY CLEANING GUIDE

Platinum, gold, and silver jewelry of any karat can be cleaned lightly using a soft cloth. To help maintain their brilliance, use a jewelry cleaner specifically designed for jewelry containing diamonds or gems. You can also clean your jewelry with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Soak the jewelry in soapy water for about 10 minutes and gently scrub the jewelry with the brush. Rinse it with cool water to remove any dirt and soap residue. Pat dry jewelry with a soft cloth.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR JEWELRY IN EXCELLENT SHAPE

To keep your jewelry from misshapen or damaged, remove them - especially rings - before you do manual labor or physical labor, such as working out or handling heavy objects. Bending jewelry can make it lose its shape or fracture the metal and could cause the metal prongs to loosen and may eventually lead to lost gemstones.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR DIAMONDS & OTHER PRECIOUS GEMSTONES SHINING BRIGHT

Diamonds have the greatest hardness of any natural material, which means they resist scratches better than any other gem. Although highly resistant to scratches, diamonds are susceptible to damage from physical blows. Therefore, please be extra careful when handling jewelry with diamonds or other precious gemstones.

To help maintain their brilliance, use a jewelry cleaner specifically designed for jewelry containing diamonds or gemstones. You can also clean your jewelry with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Soak the jewelry in soapy water for about 10 minutes and gently scrub the jewelry with the brush. Rinse it with cool water to remove any dirt and soap residue. Pat dry jewelry with a soft cloth.

Diamonds and other precious stones are delicate. To maintain their quality, avoid any harsh blows or extreme changes in temperature, as this could cause the stone to fracture. Sudden temperature changes may also change the color of the gemstone.

Keep your precious gemstone jewelry free from harm by storing it safely in a soft cloth or padded container, away from other pieces of jewelry and sharp or abrasive objects.

To maintain brilliance, remove any grease. Precious gemstone jewelry is best cleaned with warm, mild sudsy water and a tightly woven microfiber or a soft chamois cloth. Take all your fine jewelry to a professional jeweler at least once a year for a thorough cleaning and inspection. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, abrasive liquid cleaners, chemical cleaners, or detergents.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMSTONES

Some of the most beautiful natural semi-precious gemstones, such as onyx and turquoise, are quite fragile. Keep them safe and away from exposure to extensive force or severe impacts. Keep your jewelry in pristine condition, store it away from other pieces in the supplied box or another protective soft-lined case. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, abrasive liquid cleaners, chemical cleaners, or detergents.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PEARL JEWELRY

Make sure your pearls last long to achieve heirloom status by following these maintenance tips. 

Keep away from all abrasive surfaces, sharp objects that may cause scratching, denting, and scuffing including other jewelry.

Never clean pearls with steam or ultrasonic jewelry cleaners. Both of these methods are likely to damage the outer layer of the pearl. After every wear, wipe your pearls with a soft cloth. This will help prevent any buildup of oils or other substances that may have come in contact with your jewelry throughout the day. Clean with a damp cloth only as needed. If your pearls are visibly stained, you can mix a solution of lukewarm water and mild dish soap, dip a soft cleaning cloth in it and wipe the pearls. Let it dry all the way before storing. Take your pearl jewelry to your jeweler once a year. Make sure to have your jeweler check the integrity of your pearl jewelry about once a year. They can also give them a thorough, safe cleaning. 

Pearls should be the final touch to your outfit. Avoid applying makeup, hairspray, lotion, or perfume once your pearls are on. Soft pearls are prone to scratches, please store them separate from other jewelry or abrasive objects in a soft fabric-lined compartment. Pearls do best in a moist environment, wear your pearl jewelry frequently to keep them from drying out.

CRYSTAL GEMSTONE CARE: BLACK ONYX, PYRITE, TIGERS EYE

These beautiful natural gemstones have a crystalline structure, and therefore are very fragile, and must be protected from harsh impact. Take extra care to avoid any direct impact and sharp blows to your gemstone jewelry to prevent damage or fracture to the gemstones. When not worn, safely store your jewelry in the jewelry box supplied or another soft-lined box away from other jewelry to prevent any impact from getting crushed, scratched, or damaged. 

PRECIOUS METAL CARE: PLATINUM & GOLD 

Keep away from all abrasive surfaces, sharp objects that may cause scratching, denting, and scuffing including other jewelry.

• Platinum is a naturally occurring and highly prized precious metal that is "white" in color. It is rarer than gold, and much heavier and harder. Because of its hardness, platinum can be used in an almost pure form at 95%. 
• Gold is a naturally occurring and highly prized precious metal because of its attractive color, its rarity, resistance to tarnish, and its many special properties.
• Regular Professional Cleaning. Professional cleaning is recommended at least once a year. In between professional servicing, you can also maintain your gold and platinum jewelry at home by using a gold, platinum, and gemstone safe non-abrasive cleaner as well as the soft polishing cloth provided. 
• Avoid Harsh Jewelry Cleaners. Gold and platinum jewelry can be cleaned at home with warm, mild soapy water and a tightly woven microfiber or a soft chamois cloth or a soft baby's toothbrush. If using steam and ultrasonic cleaners or liquid jewelry cleaners please read the manufacturers product description first to make sure that it is safe to use on the metals and gemstone of your piece - not all jewelry cleaners are safe to use. Never use toothpaste, baking soda, or other abrasive materials to clean your jewelry.
• Regularly Inspect Your Jewelry. We encourage you to carefully examine your jewelry regularly to make sure the prongs are intact and the clasps are working properly. Weakness in timeworn prongs and clasps can result in the loss of a gemstone or the entire piece of jewelry. Over time the surface of silver, gold and platinum jewelry may become slightly dull, this is due to tiny micro scratches on the surface from normal wear. We recommend very occasionally professionally polishing your jewelry - however, no more than once a year as this removes a thin layer of metal each time. 
• Wear With Extra Care. Gold and platinum are precious metals that will last forever but please keep in mind that precious metal jewelry is delicate and should be worn with care. Gold is a soft metal and can get scratched, dented, bent if treated roughly or exposed to abrasive surfaces and substances.
• Know When To Take Them Off. The best way to prevent your jewelry from bending, warping, scratched, dented or any other kind of damaged is to take them off when you do any kind of intense activities or manual labor. Please avoid wearing rings while doing any kind of manual labor or activities such as (but not limited to) exercising, weightlifting, handling hard or abrasive materials (metals, sand, concrete, glass), handling heavy objects, painting, gardening, handling chemicals, sanding, sports, chopping wood, etc... 
• Keep away from abrasives. Keep away from all rough and abrasive surfaces such as sand, cement, glass, stone, and other metal objects, etc... 
• Avoid All Chemicals, Bleach, & Chlorine. Avoid exposing gold and platinum jewelry to household cleaners, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and bleach. Bleach will cause discoloration and damage to the metal and gemstones. Chlorine may also damage fine precious metals. Repeated exposure to chlorine can weaken gold's structure, eventually leading to breakage. Please keep your jewelry away from pools and jacuzzis.
  
  
  

PRECIOUS METAL CARE: STERLING SILVER 

Keep away from all abrasive surfaces, sharp objects that may cause scratching, denting, and scuffing including other jewelry.

• Sterling Silver is a precious metal alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other trace metals, usually copper. 
• Tarnish Is A Natural Occurrence. Our sterling silver pieces are usually finished with a white rhodium plating to help reduce tarnishing. However, tarnishing is a natural occurrence that happens to all silver metals as a result of oxidation caused by the exposure of silver with certain elements such as oxygen, sulfur, salt, certain acids, and chlorine. Wearing your silver jewelry may actually help prevent oxidation, so we recommend wearing your silver jewelry every day. Tarnishing can be gently removed by using a sterling silver safe jewelry cleaner, or by polishing the tarnish off with a silver jewelry polishing cloth. If you want jewelry that will not tarnish, we recommend investing in platinum or 18-karat gold jewelry.
• Store Silver Jewelry In Airtight Storage. Keep your silver jewelry stored in a dry airtight ziplock bag or inside an airtight jewelry box to help reduce tarnish. 
• Know When To Take Them Off. The best way to prevent your jewelry from bending, warping, scratched, dented or any other kind of damaged is to take them off when you do any kind of intense activities or manual labor. Please avoid wearing rings while doing any kind of manual labor or activities such as (but not limited to) exercising, weightlifting, handling hard or abrasive materials (metals, sand, concrete, glass), handling heavy objects, painting, gardening, handling chemicals, sanding, sports, chopping wood, etc... 
• Keep Away From Abrasive Surfaces. Silver looks tough but is actually a soft precious metal and should be worn with care to prevent damage and scratching. Please avoid abrasive surfaces, liquids, materials and objects, etc... 

• Avoid All Chemicals Such As Bleach & Chlorine. Avoid exposing all jewelry to household cleaners, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and bleach. Bleach will cause discoloration and damage to the metal and gemstones. Chlorine may also damage fine precious metals. Repeated exposure to chlorine can weaken gold's structure, eventually leading to breakage. Please keep your jewelry away from pools and jacuzzis.

ENAMELED JEWELRY CARE:

• Enameled Jewelry Must Be Worn With Extra Care. Enameled jewelry is delicate and should be worn with extra care to help preserve the integrity of the plated surface. Please keep away from liquids such as lotions, oils, heavy perspiration, perfumes, alcohol, acetone, hand sanitizers, hair products, makeup, chemical cleaners, etc... Exposure to these liquids can weaken, and damage the enamel. Enameled jewelry is not scratch-proof. Please keep your plated jewelry away from all abrasive surfaces and objects that may scratch, dent, or chip the enameling. Take care not to rub your plated jewels on rough textiles such as leather and damage the enameling. 
  
• Know when to take your jewelry off. Please avoid wearing jewelry while showering, cleaning, gardening, performing manual labor, engaging in sports activities such as hitting the gym, lifting weights, doing yoga, swimming, rock climbing, carrying heavy items, etc... this will damage your jewelry. We also strongly recommend removing all your jewelry before going to sleep.
• Avoid abrasive surfaces and hard blows. Keep jewelry away from all hard, rough, and abrasive surfaces such as sand, cement, glass, stone, as well as other types of metal objects, including other pieces of jewelry, etc. Avoid sharp blows as this may cause the enamel to crack or chip.
• Avoid extreme heat and cold temperatures. Avoid placing your enameled jewelry near heat or extremely cold temperatures as this can cause discoloration, deformation, or chipping. 
• Cleaning enameled jewelry. Simply wipe clean with a soft dry, non-abrasive cloth to clean. You may occasionally use water and mild dish soap on the enamel and gently rub clean with your fingers. Do not scrub. Dry with a soft cloth. Never steam clean or use ultrasonic cleaners on plated jewelry. Do not polish your plated jewelry as this may remove the plating. 
• Avoid exposure to hand sanitizers. Liquid hand sanitizers contain chemicals that can eat away at precious metals and damage enameling. Chemicals used in hand sanitizers may also cause irreversible damage to your gemstones - especially pearls. Take off your jewelry before applying hand sanitizers or chemical disinfectants.
• Avoid exposure to all chemicals. Avoid exposing all jewelry to household cleaners, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and bleach. Bleach will cause discoloration and damage to the metal and gemstones. Chlorine may also damage fine precious metals. Repeated exposure to chlorine can weaken gold's structure, eventually leading to breakage. Please keep your jewelry away from pools and jacuzzis.

PLATED JEWELRY CARE: GOLD VERMEIL & BLACK RHODIUM

• Plated Jewelry Must Be Worn With Extra Care.
• All plated surface treatments are delicate and should be worn with extra care to help preserve the integrity of the plated surface. Plated jewelry is not waterproof therefore all plated jewelry should be kept dry at all times. Please keep away from all liquids such as water, lotions, oils, sweat, perfumes, alcohol, acetone, hand sanitizers, hair products, makeup, chemical cleaners, etc... Exposure to liquids can weaken, damage, and may eventually even remove the plated surface treatment. Plated jewelry is not scratch-proof. Please keep your plated jewelry away from all abrasive surfaces and objects that may scratch, dent, or chip the plating. Take care not to rub your plated jewels on rough textiles such as leather and denim, as this may rub off or damage the plating. 
  
  
• Know when to take your jewelry off. Please avoid wearing jewelry while showering, cleaning, gardening, performing manual labor, engaging in sports activities such as hitting the gym, lifting weights, doing yoga, swimming, rock climbing, carrying heavy items, etc... this will damage your jewelry. We also strongly recommend removing all your jewelry before going to sleep. 
  
  
• Avoid abrasive surfaces. Keep jewelry away from all hard, rough, and abrasive surfaces such as sand, cement, glass, stone, as well as other types of metal objects, including other pieces of jewelry, etc...
  
  
• Avoid heat. Avoid placing your plated jewelry near heat as this can cause discoloration and deformation. 
  
  
• Avoid exposure to liquids. Keep it clean by gently wiping it with a soft and dry, non-abrasive cloth. Do not expose to water. Never use steam or ultrasonic cleaners on plated jewelry. Do not use abrasive polishing cloths or liquid jewelry cleaners on your plated jewelry as this will remove the plating.
  
  
• Avoid exposure to hand sanitizers. Please keep your hands clean but avoid exposing your jewelry to hand sanitizers and chemical disinfectants. These liquids contain chemicals that can eat away at precious metals and plating. Chemicals used in hand sanitizers may also cause irreversible damage to your gemstones - especially pearls. Take off your jewelry before applying hand sanitizers or chemical disinfectants. 
  
  
• Avoid exposure to all chemicals. Avoid exposing all jewelry to household cleaners, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and bleach. Bleach will cause discoloration and damage to the metal and gemstones. Chlorine may also damage fine precious metals. Repeated exposure to chlorine can weaken gold's structure, eventually leading to breakage. Please keep your jewelry away from pools and jacuzzis.
  
  
• Slow down the effects of silver tarnishing. All plated silver jewelry may tarnish over time due to the natural oxidation of silver metals when exposed to air. To help slow down the effects of tarnishing, you will want to keep your plated silver jewels dry at all times. After each wear, simply wipe your plated silver jewelry with a soft dry cloth and store your jewelry in an airtight container such as a closed jewelry box or ziplock bag. You may also place an anti-tarnish strip into the sealed container.
  
  
• Cleaning plated jewelry. Simply wipe clean with a soft dry, non-abrasive cloth to clean. Never steam clean or use ultrasonic cleaners on plated jewelry. Do not polish your plated jewelry as this may remove the plating. 

JEWELRY REPAIRS & SERVICING

Repairs are for Marei New York jewelry only. For jewelry repairs, professional cleaning, and servicing please contact us at info@mareinewyork.com for an assessment and quote. 

JEWELRY INSURANCE

We do not currently offer insurance plans however we recommend insuring your valuable jewelry using Jewelers Mutual insurance coverage or insuring your jewelry under your home insurance plan. 

HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED ADVICE ON JEWELRY CARE?

If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact us at info@mareinewyork.com. We are glad to assist you.