Jewelry care

BlotMani jewelry is handcrafted and requires proper care and attention. Air pollitants, dust, perspiration, perfumes, and other natural elements can dull the apperance of gemstones or precious metals. The recommandations below will help you preserve them in their original condition.

Ensure that you remove your jewelry when washing your hands, putting on lotion, perfume or face cream, working out, doing sports, hoursework, gardening, swimming in the pool, at the beach, shower etc.

Avoid contact with any household products, cosmetics, and any chemical products, rough surfaces, extreme temperatures, avoid knocks which can scratch and damage the stones. 
Some of the «softer» stones we use are Turquoise, Amber and Jade, Pearls etc which are more fragile and need to be cared for gently. Remove jewelry before doing any rough work and keep them in a dry environment (jewelry box or pouch).

Take your regular activities into account when choosing your jewelry.

We often work with mixed metals such as silver and gold molten together, or silver with gold details and Shibuishi metal mix for our jewelry. 
Below you will see information on how to care for our jewelry;

Dark patina/mixed metal patina; the darkened (almost black) on our mixed metal pieces will brighten with wear. The dark patina will hold in areas that are stamped/Hallmarked and have texture. Over time the jewelry will develop it’s own patina/unique texture. We mix precious metals by allowing the metals to interact with each other, we create one-of-a-kind precious objects to last a life time. It can be brought back to its original darkness with a dip in Liver of Sulphur, we have written a blog entry about this in our blog so that you can simply do this at your home.

Silver has always needed ongoing care, and our jewelry is no different, but it’s care is in the oposite direction. We use the materials of fine jewelry, but we approach the procession with fire and sand, to cast every piece one-by-one. This will make every piece unique, a one-of-a-kind piece. We look to capture the nature of the texture after the metal has been molten and then poured by hand into the sandcast, this gives every piece a unique and beautiful but different texture. We finish our mixed metal pieces with Liver of Sulphur, which will darken/blacken the silver to show off the stones and gold, and we want our pieces to look dark instead of bright shiny silver color.

All of our jewelry is 100% nickel free, we use 935 Argentium silver or gold for all of our ear wires in our standard earrings. We also cut and polish many of our stones, but we do it with different set of priorities in mind. We look to capture the nature of the stone, and preserve its inherent textures, color patterns, and light qualities, rather than transforming them info a sparkly made object. We/Nat fabricate everything from scratch, so there is no duplications made and this will make sure that every object is a true one-of-a-kind, as unique as you are.

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR GOLD JEWELRY: Dilute dish detergent in a small bowl of warm water and soak each piece for a 3-5 minutes. Gently clean your item by using a soft bristle toothbrush. To ensure you removed all of the diluted dish soap, rinse your jewelry under warm running water and pat dry with a soft lint-free cloth. Be sure to dry your jewelry completely before wearing again.

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR SILVER JEWELRY: Sterling silver tarnishes in the precense of common everyday items that contains sulfur, such as leather, rubber, chlorine, and perspiration. Other elements to be mindful of are air pollutants and saltwater. Use a clean cotton cloth and mild dish detergent to the clean cotton cloth and rub the piece in one direction. Try to avoid circulat motions. We do not recommend silver polish or dip-style cleaning solutions. When not in use, store your jewelry in a jewelry box or pouch. This method is to keep the silver bright and shiny, we want our jewelry to be blackened to fit in with our design.

To remove heavier tarnish, wash your silver jewelry with warm water and mild soap. Never use anything but a clean, rub-free cloth or flannel cloth. If more thorough cleaning is required, we can help you to a small fee or you can seek out your nearest jewelry shop to clean your piece/s and to restore them to a like-new-condition to a fee. We advise against using an ultrasonic cleaner, steamer or other «at home» jewelry cleaning chemicals (including bleach, ammonia, and baking soda) on gemstones. They should only be cleaned with diluted mild dish soap and warm water (see above for cleaning instructions). 

PATINA: Patina is a natural process that happens to objects with long expose to open air and a discoloration appears due to oxidation. We use a chemical application of Liver of Sulphur to apply a patina finish to our jewelry. The silver is instantaneously oxidized and achieves a blackened color. Each piece is oxidized by hand and slight variations in finishes may occur and should be expected. Oxidized silver is affected by wear, moisture, and oils in the skin and will fade over time, take extra care to keep these pieces dry and extend their finishes. If you notice that the blackened oxidation is starting to be removed, snd wish to re-blacken your piece again; we have written a blog entry in our blog on how to re-blacken your piece with some easy steps in your own home.

DIAMONDS: Diamonds can break, crack and chip. Diamonds grow and crystallize with cleavage lines, if struck at the right angle and the right amount of impact, diamonds can actually separate. Cleavage lines are the diamonds weak spots, diamonds are cut and shaped following these lines. Diamonds can chip at the edges. The edges are the weakest part of the diamond. A good strike at the right angle can take a section of the girdle away. Sometimes a good hard strike can fracture your diamond and turn it into pieces of cloudy sections.

PEARLS: Pearls are an organic gem and they require a specific care that will protect them for a very long time. They can be harmed by contact with many chemicals found in household cleaners, perfumes, cosmetics and hair care products of all kinds. Always store your pearls wrapped in a soft cloth or pouch and protected from all abrasive objects. Wipe your pearls with a soft cloth moistened with water. Never place your pearls in an ultrasonic or use a jewelry cleaner not made for pearls.

AMBER, JADE AND TURQUOISE: When wearing Amber or/and Jade (Turquoise as well), be careful not to hit or drop the stone as it may easily crack or chip. Chlorine is harmful to Jade; do not wear Jade or/and Amber swimming (same with your Turquoise jewelry). Jade, Amber and Turquoise can be scratched by harder gemstones and metals. Keep your Jade, Amber and Turquoise stored separate from other jewelry. Clean Jade, Amber and Turquoise with water only on a soft cloth.

TURQUOISE CARE: Like many gemstones, keep Turquoise away from heat, chemicals such as perfumes, cosmetics and oils. As Turquoise is porous, it is important to keep it away from any lotions, alcohol, perfume, hair spray and other cosmetics and never wear your Turquoise jewelry in the shower or when swimming in the pool, at the beach etc. It’s safe to clean Turquoise jewelry with warm soapy water, but it should never be cleaned with steam or ultrasonic cleaners! Some Turquoise is treated to improve its surface apperance. Heat or solvents can damage the treated surfaces.

RE-BLACKEN (black Sterling/Argentium silver): We have writtena blog entry with information and pictures on how to re-blacken your jewelry at home. There’s also a list with equipment needed. So if you wish to re-blacken your silver, please read our blog entry called; Re-blacken your silver jewelry at home.