Care guide

HOW TO CLEAN YOU JEWELLERY

Jewellery with hard stones and diamonds can be cleaned as described here:

1. Mix some dish soap into some luke warm water. NB: Do NOT use soap on pearls!

2. Soak the jewellery in the water for around 5 minutes.

3. Use a soft brush (toothbrush) to clean under stones or use your fingers to rub.

4. Dry the jewellery with a clean soft cloth. Do not use paper, as it can scratch the jewellery.

OXIDISED SILVER JEWELLERY

Silver can get oxidised and in some cases it will travel through the plating and show as a discolouring of the goldplating. If you see a light discolour, you can use a silver polishing cloth and rub on the area until it is gone.

If your jewellery shows heavy signs of oxidisation, we recommend you dip a polishing cloth into some silver cleaning solution and rub on the affected areas. This works brilliantly. Do NOT dip the jewellery into the silver clean solution, as it can damage elements like, pearls, rubber, stones etc.

After cleaning, rinse the jewellery in water to remove any leftover chemicals.

DISCOLOURED GOLD JEWELLERY

Oxidised or discoloured gold jewellery can happen in rare cases. Gold from 9K to 18K have metals like cobber and silver in the alloy, which are natural oxidants. If you see a light discolour, you can use a gold polishing cloth and rub on the area until it’s gone . 

If your jewellery is showing more heavy signs of oxidisation, we recommend you dip a gold polishing cloth into some gold cleaning solution and rub on the affected areas. Do NOT dip the jewellery into the gold clean solution, as it can damage elements like, pearls, rubber, stones etc.

After cleaning, rinse the jewellery in water to remove any leftover chemicals.

CARE GUIDE

• Store your jewellery in our jewellery box and keep the silica gel bag in there. If you need to store your jewellery over a longer period, we recommend you put the jewellery in the provided ziplock bag.
• Never store your jewellery in the bathroom as the moisture can cause rapid oxidisation. If you live in a moist climate we strongly recommend you store the jewellery in a ziplock bag with the silica gel bag inside.
• Exercise common sense and remove jewellery before strenuous work or sports. You should also remove jewellery before jumping in the pool or ocean.
• Avoid getting chemicals from perfumes, household remedies etc. on the jewellery

MATERIAL KNOWLEDGE

SILVER JEWELLERY

All Maria Black silver jewellery is made from sterling silver. You will find a stamp with the alloy mark 925 and our makers mark BLACK, registered with Force Technology, which is the official Hallmark auditor in Denmark.

GOLD JEWELLERY

Maria Black gold jewellery is made from 14K gold unless otherwise is stated. You will find a stamp with the alloy mark 585 and our makers mark BLACK, registered with Force Technology, which is the official Hallmark auditor in Denmark.

NICKEL

Our jewellery is nickel safe, we do not add nickel to any of our silver or gold alloys. Nickel is however a trace metal so in some cases you might find a trace of nickel if you use extremely sensitive equipment. We care greatly to protect our customers from any allergic reaction, so we aim to stay below the EU Nickel Directive (REACH) and we test our jewellery regularly.

WHAT IS A GOLD PLATING?

A gold plating means a layer of gold is deposited on top of another metal-in our case sterling silver. Therefore the silver will become visible, if the plating wears off. We plate with a 22-23.5K gold alloy and have adjusted the colour to resemble a 14-18K colour. A pure 24K plating would appear very orange and is not as durable.

The way to measure the thickness of a plating is in Microns. We have a 2 micron plating on necklaces and earrings and a vermeil 2.5 Micron plating on rings and bracelets as these items are more exposed to wear and tear. High micron levels can be misleading, as a higher micron does not necessarily mean a longer lasting plating. The durability of the plating is affected by the quality and strenght of the bath used and whether you use a base plating between the gold and the silver. We use palladium or white rhodium as a base plating to strenghten the plating and reduce oxidisation and our plating is from one of the worlds leading manufacturers.

DURABILITY OF GOLDPLATING

It is difficult to accurately predict how long a goldplating will last. It greatly depends on how often you wear it, where on the body it’s placed and how active you are. Our plating on earrings and necklaces last longer than 2 years. Rings are exposed to more wear and tear than earrings for example, so you can expect the plating to wear of quicker. You will notice this on the bottom of the shank and on exposed edges. We strive to provide a high quality of plating and if you feel your plating wore off too quickly, please contact our customer care team.

STONES, PEARLS AND DIAMONDS

We use natural stones unless otherwise is stated. Remove your jewellery whenever you do sports, hard labour etc as natural stones can chip if you knock them and a hard blow can crush even a diamond. Natural stones can vary in colour, as mother nature intended, so a stone can look different from the product picture.

Our diamond quality is GH S/I unless otherwise is stated. Diamonds attract grease and dust, so you should clean your diamonds regularly with water and dish soap.

Settings should be checked regularly, as prongs holding stones may become loose over time. Your local jeweller can assist you or you can contact our customer care so we may help you. Read more about repairs and returns HERE.

Remember pearls are sensitive to chemicals so only water to clean pearls.