Caring for Brass, Silver and Wooden Jewellery

Brass Jewellery

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It has been used for thousands of years all over the world to make jewellery. Brass does not rust but sometimes may tarnish and turn green after some time. Brass oxidation will also depend on the chemical composition of your sweat, for some people this is more of an issue than others. Exposure to water, humidity or salty environments can also increase the tarnishing. Some people like the tarnishing effect of old looking brass, while others like shiny brass.

To keep your brass earrings shiny you can use apple (cider) vinegar or white wine vinegar mixed with water. ( 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water) Dab this onto a cloth to clean your brass and bring back that shine!

Silver Jewellery

Silver earrings will tarnish over time. Silver will react with air and a dull film on the surface of the silver will appear. Factors that make tarnishing of silver worse are wearing the jewellery in a swimming pool or in the sea. Sweat, soaps, makeup, lotions, perfume and other cosmetic items also increase tarnishing. However the tarnishing can be greatly reduced with a little attention

You can use a silver cleaning cloth. They are 100% cotton, infused with an anti-tarnish agent which will keep on working for months as long as they aren’t washed. You can pick up a silver cleaning cloth for just a couple of pounds and regular use on your silver jewellery will mean much less tarnishing.

Simply adding some washing up liquid to a bowl of warm water and let your jewellery soak for around 30 minutes will also work Rinse off properly and use an old toothbrush to clear the tarnish off, then leave to dry naturally.

For a deep clean of Sterling Silver jewellery you can do a bit of chemistry! Line a bowl with aluminium foil. Boil 2 cups of water and place in the bowl. Add in a tablespoon of salt and wait for it to dissolve. The combination of salt and aluminium will react with the silver to remove the tarnish and restore you silver. For heavily tarnished items, try adding a little baking soda to the mix.

Wooden Jewellery

Our wooden jewellery, wooden plugs and tunnels and wooden earrings, are already finished using food safe oils which protect the wood. Wooden jewellery does not like getting too wet. So don’t wear wood in the bath shower or for swimming, the water will soak into the wood and enlarge the grain which can lead to splitting.

We recommend oiling your wooden items regularly to keep them in top condition. Our favourite oils to use is olive oil as it is so easily available. You can also use a tiny drop of tea tree oil which has the added benefit of being anti-septic. Or you can buy a small tub of our Holey Buttr which is the perfect cream for using on your lobes but ban also be wiped onto wooden items to keep them nicely oiled.