Caring for your Jewelry  
jewelrycare  

We know you'll enjoy wearing your Moonrise Jewelry for years to come, and we have a few tips to make caring for it easy:

  • Wear it! Jewelry that's worn frequently will tarnish less than pieces that sit out exposed to the open air for a long time. 
  • To reduce tarnishing, we recommend storing your jewelry inside a sealed plastic bag or an airtight jewelry box. 
  • Keep all your pieces separate from each other to prevent scratching, especially during travel.
  • Let your jewelry be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off. Minimize contact with chemicals like hairspray, perfumes, lotions, household cleaning supplies, or chlorine.
  • Don't wear jewelry while swimming, in the shower, or in a hot tub. 
  • Protect your jewelry from too much humidity and over-exposure to direct sunlight.  Don't store it in the bathroom because of the moisture in the air. If you keep your jewelry near a window, make sure it's shielded from the sun or inside a box to keep the colors vibrant for years to come.

Remove Tarnish & Bring Back the Shine!

Nothing keeps your jewelry looking new like removing the tarnish that dulls its shine. The best defense against tarnish is to store your jewelry out of the open air in a zippered plastic bag or jewelry box whenever you're not wearing it. Once your jewelry does get tarnished, the best way to restore the shine depends on the materials that it's made from. 

Since many of our designs feature Freshwater Pearls, Semi-precious Gemstones, and Real Orchid Flowers, you'll want to use a tarnish remover that's gentle enough not to damage these delicate materials. To protect our Real Orchid Necklaces, we always suggest keeping the flower dry, and just polishing the other parts of the necklace that look tarnished. Here are a few other recommendations:

Our Favorite! Jewel Brite Tarnish Remover & Professional Jewelry Cleaner Kit

This easy-to-use product is non-toxic, biodegradable, and complete free of harsh ammonia, acid, and alcohol. It's gentle enough to use on all of our jewelry and effectively removes tarnish from all metal types including silver, gold, copper, brass, and plated items. Jewel Brite is the only jewelry cleaning product we sell because we think its the best formula on the market for safely polishing mixed-material artisan jewelry like ours. We've used it for years to keep all our jewelry in sparkling condition with great results, so we feel confident recommending it to you for use at home. A little goes a long way, so this will be the last jewelry cleaner you need to buy for a long time.

Directions for Use: Apply a small amount of the Tarnish Remover paste with your fingers or cotton swab to the metal parts of the jewelry that look tarnished. Let it sit for a second then drop it into the pink Jewelry Cleaner solution. Swish the jewelry around in the basket, then use the included brush to remove any of the paste that remains on the piece. Rinse and dry your jewelry thoroughly, then it's ready to wear! (We don't recommend immersing wood or leather, so if your piece has any of those components take care to keep them out of the Jewelry Cleaner solution.)

Jewelry Polishing Cloths

Pre-treated jewelry polishing cloths are good for quick touch-ups on Sterling Silver jewelry, but we haven't found them to be as effective as liquid cleaners like Jewel Brite for deep-cleaning items with a lot of tarnish. Polishing cloths only shine the surface of your jewelry and won't reach tarnish that's in the tiny crevices of each piece. They also contain micro-abrasives which can damage silver or gold-plated items with repeated use. Polishing cloths are a good alternative for removing tarnish on jewelry that contains wood, leather, or suede components that would be damaged if they got wet. Use light pressure and only rub the polishing cloth on the metal areas that look tarnished; it won't do anything to clean or polish the gemstones. Let the cloth do the work for you; if your arm starts to ache, you’re pressing too hard.

Tarn-X Commercial Cleaner

We prefer a more gentle formula like Jewel Brite, but Tarn-X is an effective cleaner for some metal types and is widely available at many grocery stores. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to polish brass and gold-plated metals, taking care to avoid contact with delicate Freshwater Pearls, Semi-precious Stones, and our Real Orchid Blossoms.

Jewelry Cleaners in your Kitchen

Even though homemade jewelry cleaners are non-toxic, you should still use them sparingly to prevent damage over time to delicate gemstones or plated metal components. They're not as effective as products that are especially-formulated to clean jewelry, but in a pinch these recipes may help:

  • Copper will darken and develop a natural patina rather quickly once it's been in contact with your skin. Some people find this look desirable, but if you want to restore the original shine give Ketchup or Worcestershire Sauce a try. Lightly rub a small amount on the tarnished spots, let it sit for a few seconds, then rinse and dry thoroughly. This technique will help shine brass jewelry as well.
  • Sterling Silver can be lightly polished using a paste made from Baking Soda and Water. Apply it just to the tarnished areas with your fingers or a cotton swab. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse and dry thoroughly. We don't recommend this method if your jewelry is made with silver-plated components, however, as it is abrasive and could damage the plating.
  • Gold-plated jewelry sometimes gets dirty, making it appear dull and dingy. You can remove the dull film with a gentle jewelry cleaner like Jewel Brite or using soap and water or rubbing alcohol. Use a soft cloth to carefully clean the item, then rinse with lukewarm water and dry completely.
  • Bronze jewelry can be shined with a paste made of Baking Soda and Lemon Juice, applied with a soft cloth. Rub until the item is clean. Wash the mixture off with running water, then dry and buff with a clean cloth.

Travel Care

To protect your jewelry from damage or theft during travel, we recommend packing your jewelry in your carry-on luggage whenever possible. Better yet, wear it! When you pack your jewelry for travel, make sure you pad and protect it from being crushed under the weight of your luggage. (Don't put it at the bottom of your suitcase, please!) The Moonrise Jewelry gift boxes that come with you order will also work well to protect your jewelry when you travel. 

If you hate opening up your jewelry case to find your necklaces all twisted and tangled, try this jewelers' tip. Place each necklace individually inside a zippered plastic bag. Don't just drop it in there, but leave the clasp ends of the necklace hanging outside the ziplock bag. Then seal it up as much as you can, so the clasp stays hanging outside the bag. Do this for each of your necklaces and they'll arrive at your destination ready to wear! This is also a good way to store them at home since the plastic bag will retard tarnishing as well.