Providing a brilliant shine and high-quality glamour, the everyday fine jewelry at Common Alloy includes timeless classics that should be an accessorizing staple. But before you start building out your collection, make sure you know how to properly care for your new pieces. Plated with rhodium and gold, your pieces will require special care and attention to keep their beautiful luster for years on end. 

From daily wearing tips to cleaning instructions, learn how to maintain gorgeous, long-lasting jewelry with these easy tricks and techniques.

Do Jewelry Metals Tarnish?

Just like the other items in your everyday routine, natural wear and tear can also affect your jewelry. When exposed to substances such as chlorine, sulfur, perspiration, cosmetics, household cleaners and other strong chemicals, jewelry metals can tarnish.

But as the metals at Common Alloy are plated, our jewelry just does not tarnish as quickly as regular sterling silver jewelry.

The plating we add on top of our silver jewelry makes it look and feel like real gold jewelry. When you buy real 18k white gold jewelry, you probably don't know that there is a layer of rhodium plating on the outside. We do the exact same for our sterling silver jewelry in silver color. This makes the piece durable, very tarnish-resistant, and capable of lasting a very long time. The gold plating we add on top of the silver is very thick gold, so it is also tarnish-resistant.

But if your pieces have lost their pristine gleam, there’s no reason for worry. Your everyday fine jewelry can be easily renewed back to its shining luster. 

How To Clean Fine, Everyday Jewelry

Every item that you love and cherish needs some TLC. If your jewelry has been exposed to a tarnish-causing substance, here are some tips on how to successfully clean your jewelry and restore shine:

1. Mix a few drops of mild, environmentally-friendly dish soap with warm water.
2. Dip a soft cloth in the solution and use it to rub the jewelry to remove oils and any tarnish. 
3. Rinse with cool water and buff dry with another soft cloth.

It is easier to remove tarnish before it builds, than to remove it after it occurs, so keeping a regular cleaning routine will ensure your jewelry keeps its beautiful shine for years to come. If you are unable to remove the tarnish, send it back to the manufacturer to repolish and replate.

If your jewelry includes another organic substance, like pearls, do not rinse or submerge your jewelry with water and soap. Instead, only wipe with a soft cloth.

5 Tips For Fine Jewelry Care

• Enjoy wearing your jewelry. When your jewelry lays dormant in a jewelry box, it can actually tarnish over time while being exposed to oxygen or sulfur particles in the air. When constantly worn, however, the natural oils our skin produces help keep your pieces shiny and bright. 

• Put your jewelry on after you get ready. Cleansers, moisturizers, hair spray, and lotions - there are many products we use everyday that can amount to tarnishing. Avoid exposing your pieces to all this by putting on your jewelry last.  

• Remove during household and outdoor chores. From bleach and other household cleaners, to dirt and perspiration, there are a lot of tarnish-causing substances we come into contact with everyday when doing household or outdoor chores. 

• Take it off before swimming and showering. While pure water does no harm to sterling silver, most of the water we’re exposed to in our daily lives is not purified and can accelerate the tarnishing process. Plus, you don’t want to lose your precious jewelry to the drain or the sand shores. Before swimming, showering, or bathing, remove your jewelry and store in a safe place.

• Maintain proper storage. When not in use, store your jewelry in a safe, dry place. Your pieces should also be stored individually in an air-tight container to keep exposures to tarnish causing-substances at a minimum. When stored with other jewelry, they can receive scratches or damage when jostled. When you receive your Common Alloy Jewelry, they can be stored in a plastic bag inside of the complimentary pouch.

Proper care and maintenance is needed for any fine jewelry. When you follow these jewelry care tips, your pieces will retain their brilliant shine for years to come. 

Ready to add to your collection? Shop Common Alloy.