What your jewellery is made of
Most of our pieces are gold-plated or silver-tone stainless steel. Some designs use other materials: a plated alloy, glass or crystal, freshwater pearl, turquoise, or cord.
The materials are listed on every product page, in plain language. That is the place to look before you order, because the care below depends on what a piece is made of.
If you have a metal allergy, email support@sollaine.com before you order and we will check the exact composition of the piece with our supplier.
Wearing it
- Take your jewellery off before you shower, swim, take a bath or use a hot tub. Chlorine, salt water and prolonged soaking are what damage plating and stones.
- Take it off for sport, for cleaning and for gardening. Most scratches happen there rather than anywhere glamorous.
- Jewellery goes on last and comes off first. Perfume, hairspray, sunscreen and body lotion before, jewellery after.
- If a piece does get wet, dry it fully with a soft cloth before you put it away.
Cleaning it
A wipe with a soft dry cloth after wearing does most of the work. If a piece needs more than that, use lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap on the metal only, rinse briefly, and dry the piece completely before you put it away.
Do not use silver dip, treated polishing cloths or anything abrasive on plated jewellery. Those are made to remove a layer, which is exactly what you do not want on a plated piece. They strip the finish rather than clean it.
Pieces with pearl, turquoise, crystal or cord
- Keep them dry. Do not submerge them and do not let them sit in water.
- No soap, no cleaning products, no ultrasonic cleaners.
- Wipe with a barely damp cloth, then dry straight away.
- Put them on last of all, after everything else has dried.
Storing it
- Somewhere dry, out of direct sunlight and away from heat.
- Separately, or in the box it arrived in, so pieces do not scratch each other.
- Chains laid flat or hung, which saves you the knots.
What to expect over time
Plating is a surface, and surfaces wear. Rings and bracelets see far more friction than earrings and will show it sooner. Looked after as above, a piece keeps its finish for a long time.
That said, normal wear is one thing and a fault is another. If a piece arrives damaged, or the finish fails in a way that is not ordinary wear, that is on us and there is no time limit on it. Send us a photo at support@sollaine.com and we will make it right. Your rights are set out in our Return and Refund Policy.