General Care
Keep jewelry away from household cleaners and chlorine.
When not wearing your jewelry, store each piece in its own resealable bag or soft fabric bag. Keep in a dark place. This reduces tarnish, keeps softer metals from being scratched, and preserves colored rings longer.
Always handle your jewelry gently. Remember that most chainmaille links are not soldered closed, and can therefore be pulled open. Treat your chainmaille just as you would handle a delicate pearl necklace or crystal bracelet.
Your jewelry can pick up dirt, oil, and even odors. To clean most metals (argentium silver, stainless steel, aluminum, niobium, and gold), soak jewelry in soapy water (use non-lotion dishwashing soap) for several minutes. Then lather with soap and gently but briskly rub the jewelry between your palms. Rinse with warm water and let air dry, or use a blow dryer on lowest and coolest setting.
You can polish most chainmaille in a tumbler. Use stainless steel shot, or simply add a bit of water and non-lotion dishsoap. If not using shot, make sure to tumble several pieces at once so that there is enough friction to shine the rings.
Refer to the guidelines below for additional care and cleaning details for specific metals.
Anodized Aluminum
To create the brilliant colors found in my pieces, regular rings are dipped into electrically charged solutions. The electricity causes the outer layer of the ring to change colors. By varying the voltage, literally a rainbow of colors can be achieved. Niobium (element 41) is anodized in this manner. Aluminum is anodized to prepare the metal, and then dyed.
Anodized rings may fade with time. For most jewelry pieces this won't happen for a very long time. However, with pieces that often encounter high-friction situations the process will happen faster. Storing your jewelry in a resealable or soft fabric bag helps minimize discoloration.
NEVER use polishing crèmes or cloths because they may remove the color from anodized rings. Follow cleaning instructions under General Care.
Argentium Silver
Fill a small bowl with warm water and add dish washing soap. Mix the soap into the warm water.
For Argentium Silver jewelry with gemstones / pearls / crystals, dip the cloth into the soapy water and use it to gently scrub and wash the Argentium Silver parts of the jewelry taking care not to get the soapy water on the gemstones / pearls.
For Argentium Silver jewelry that doesn't have any gemstones / pearls / crystals, place the jewelry into the soapy water and leave it to soak for a few minutes before using the soft cloth to gently scrub the surfaces.
Rinse your soft cloth and wipe the soapy Argentium Silver surfaces clear of any soapy water.
Immediately dry the Argentium Silver surfaces of the jewelry with the second soft cloth to avoid water marks being left behind.
Optionally, you may use a clean silver polishing cloth every now and then to help maintain Argentium Silver’s luster and shine. (Please make sure the polishing cloth is soft and clean otherwise it could damage the surface luster of the Argentium Silver. Do not use “dip” polish on Argentium Silver.)
Bronze
Bronze can tarnish quickly. Like Brass, bronze may also be cleaned with any commercial jewelry cleaner safe for brass.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, which is why aged bronze is nearly indistinguishable from copper. Bronze is, however, stronger than copper.
Bright Aluminum
This alloy is shinier and stronger than regular aluminum but it is still a soft metal, so be extra gentle.
Bright Aluminum doesn't tarnish, but it will pick up oils and dirt, causing it to become dull. Follow cleaning instructions under General Care. Over time, aluminum will corrode slightly, losing a bit of shininess. It stops corroding once its surface layer has corroded.
You may notice a black rub-off where the aluminum touches their skin. (How much of a rub-off may depend on the acid content of your skin; several people who have reactions to copper also react to aluminum.)
It is widely accepted that aluminum is very poorly absorbed through the skin, so you do not need to worry about metal toxicity.
Copper
Copper quickly turns from a shiny orange-brown to a deep chocolate color. Exposure to air and light speed this process. Leave your piece out if you want it to tarnish quickly. Otherwise, store it in its own resealable bag.
To clean tarnish: Soak it in white vinegar for 10-20 seconds. After removing the bracelet from the vinegar, lather with non-lotion dish washing soap and water, and rub the jewelry briskly but gently between your palms. Rinse thoroughly. Pat dry with a towel or use a blow dryer on lowest setting. Make sure the piece is fully dry before you return it to its resealable bag.
It is worth noting that repeated vinegar cleaning can strip rings of their luster as the process creates microscopic pitting in the surface of the rings. This can be buffed out via tumbling, however if you don't have access to a tumbler, it is recommended to limit the use of this process.
Another alternative is Ketchup believe it or not the acid in the tomatoes is great for removing the tarnish and keeping the shine.
Copper is very soft, so be extra gentle with copper jewelry.
Gold Filled
Gold and Gold-fill rings may develop a subtle patina with time. Follow general cleaning instructions under General Care.
Gold-fill is a layer of 14k gold surrounding a base metal core. This layer is 20% the thickness of the wire—about 1000 times thicker than gold-plating—so the gold won't flake off.
Niobium
To create the brilliant colors found in my pieces, regular rings are dipped into electrically charged solutions. The electricity causes the outer layer of the ring to change colors. By varying the voltage, literally a rainbow of colors can be achieved.
Anodized rings may fade with time. For most jewelry pieces this won't happen for a very long time. However, with pieces that often encounter high-friction situations the process will happen faster. Storing your jewelry in a resealable or soft fabric bag helps minimize discoloration.
NEVER use polishing crèmes or cloths because they may remove the color from anodized rings. Follow cleaning instructions under General Care.
Nu Gold
Nu gold tarnish much slower that copper or bronze. Exposure to air and light speed this process. Leave your piece out if you want it to tarnish quickly. Otherwise, store it in its own resealable bag.
To clean tarnish: Soak it in white vinegar for 10-20 seconds. After removing the bracelet from the vinegar, lather with non-lotion dish washing soap and water, and rub the jewelry briskly but gently between your palms. Rinse thoroughly. Pat dry with a towel or use a blow dryer on lowest setting. Make sure the piece is fully dry before you return it to its resealable bag.
It is worth noting that repeated vinegar cleaning can strip rings of their luster as the process creates microscopic pitting in the surface of the rings. This can be buffed out via tumbling, however if you don't have access to a tumbler, it is recommended to limit the use of this process.
Another alternative it Ketchup believe it or not the acid in the tomatoes is great for removing the tarnish and keeping the shine.
Stainless Steel
One of the toughest metals around, Stainless Steel makes for extremely durable jewelry. I often add a few links of Stainless to my aluminum pieces (especially near the clasp) to give those pieces some extra security. Stainless doesn't tarnish and isn't easily scratched.
Steel reacts to temperature changes quickly. Take care when cooking over a stove, washing your hands with hot water, and using a hair dryer. Steel requires little maintenance, but if you'd like to clean your piece, follow instructions under General Care.
Rubber Rings
Your rubber chainmaille should be conditioned monthly (or every couple of months if you are not wearing it and it is stored in a resealable bag). Conditioning your rubber chainmaille piece will prolong its life and restore it to its original sheen. If you do NOT condition your rubber, it will crack, split and get a white haze.
DO NOT USE PETROLEUM BASED OILS to condition your rubber chainmaille. It will deteriorate over time. To condition your rubber chainmaille place the item(s) in a resealable bag. Spray items 2-5 times with TIRE SHINE/ARMOUR ALL, a little goes a long way. After closing bag, place between your hands and rub them together (like you’re trying to warm them up) for roughly 30 seconds. Take your item(s) out of the bag and rinse them under *hot running water. Dry item(s) with a towel or rag. Do not air dry your rubber ring items, they will become sticky and will need to be rinsed and towel dried again.
If you have copper, jewelry brass or bronze rings combined with your rubber rings use cool water instead of hot. Hot water will begin the tarnishing process on those metals and they will tarnish much faster than usual. Also, be careful with colored metals and do not clean them too often in this way as it will speed up the fading process.
Glass Rings - Seed Beads - Pearl Glass Beads
glass rings & seed beads are durable. it’s okay to wash them with water and a soft cloth or a soft toothbrush.
Don’t use any harsh soaps or cleaners on any type of pearl, because you might ruin the nacre or equivalent faux finish. If you aren’t sure if your pearls are real, only clean with a dry soft cloth to be safe.
Do not use tumblers as the glass will shatter.