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Caring for your Jewellery
At Julieann Beads we lovingly hand create every piece of bridal and glass bead jewellery using carefully selected materials. We take great care to make sure it is packaged properly ensuring its safety on its journey to you. Wear it, love it but how do you ensure it stays in the best condition? Here are some suggestions:-
Pearl jewellery
We use freshwater pearls in our jewellery designs. These cultured pearls are created when a foreign body such as a plastic bead or piece of shell is put inside a shellfish such as an oyster, mussel or clam. The shellfish responds by coating the foreign body with the pearly nacre or finish, giving us the beautiful pearls we use to create our jewellery.
Pearls look their best, when worn, as the warmth of the human body and natural skin oils keep the pearly coat in optimum condition. However, pearls are delicate and precious and pearl jewellery should be treated as such. Here are a few suggestions for looking after pearl jewellery;
- Storage: Store flat or hanging up so as to avoid scratching the pearl nacre. This is really important with pearl and crystal jewellery. Store your jewellery carefully to avoid items getting tangled and damaged.
- Hairspray, perfume and cosmetics: These can affect the lustre of pearls. Always make sure that pearl jewellery is the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off! Wait until perfume and hair products have dried before putting your jewellery and hair accessories on.
- Cleaning: After wearing, carefully wipe your pearl jewellery with a soft cotton or lint-free cloth; this will remove unwanted chemicals/material form the pearl surface. Pearl jewellery can be washed in a soft or pure soap water solution. Treat as you would a pure wool garment. Rinse, wipe with a cotton cloth and leave to air dry flat before putting your jewellery away. We don’t recommend the use of chemical jewellery cleaners or ultrasonic cleaning baths as these will wear away the pearl nacre.
Crystal and glass bead jewellery
Caring for your glass bead or crystal jewellery follows the same advice as given above for pearl jewellery. However, we would like to add in a couple more suggestions;
- Strong light: Prolonged exposure to strong sunlight can cause fading so don’t leave crystal or glass bead jewellery on car dashboards or on windowsills.
- Heat sources: For obvious reasons we don’t recommend leaving jewellery near heat or cold sources (e.g. on top of heaters, in a car glove box on a frosty night) as this can not only damage your jewellery but can represent a burn hazard to you when you put it back on.
Gemstone jewellery
Gemstones are beautiful natural materials but like pearls are precious and should be treated as such. Once again follow the care instructions above with one additional consideration;
- Water: It is always a good idea to avoid swimming and showering while wearing your jewellery as chlorine and some chemicals in beauty products can damage gemstones.
We hope you find these tips useful. Enjoy wearing your Julieann jewellery and hair accessories; if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
