Our customers are always asking about proper medical jewelry care. Here are some tried and true jewelry tips and tricks from the experts!

• Jewelry should be the last thing you put on, and the first you take off – There are many things that harm and tarnish jewelry. Some of the main offenders? Your hairspray, lotion, perfumes and even your makeup! Hold off on donning you gems until after you’re finished beautifying yourself.

• Don’t swim with your jewelry on (unless the jewelry is chlorine/water safe, or your bathing suit is made of 24k gold) – Chlorine can cause stress fractures in your jewelry and water causes quick tarnishing. Harsh chemicals can also easily discolor gemstones and salt water causes rapid erosion. Be careful in natural hot springs, as high sulfur content will turn your gold rapidly!

• Renaissance wax your silver! – Renaissance wax can be rubbed onto silver to create a barrier between the metal and the air, preventing tarnishing. Just be sure to buy your necklace a drink first.

• Clean your jewelry using a specialized cleaning cloth- Sticky Jewelry’s polishing cloth is soft, safe and effective. It has non-scratch micro-abrasives that safely clean all metal types. They remove fingerprints, tarnish, grime and oils quickly and without force. You’ll notice that these cloths can turn black quickly, and that’s ok. They’re still working! Once they don’t seem to clean your jewelry any longer, it’s time to replace. These cannot be washed!

• Remove jewelry before gardening, washing dishes or cleaning – When performing manual tasks, remove your jewelry to prevent physical damage or exposure to chemicals or cleaning fluids. Some tasks that should be avoided when wearing jewelry include kitchen work, gardening, cleaning the house and other common tasks.

• When storing jewelry, keep in airtight box/container/bag – the reason jewelry “tarnishes” is the metal is reacting to oxygen and chemicals in the air. No air, no turn.