Jewelry Care

GENERAL

The jewelry pieces most special to us are the ones we wear and care for often. Regardless of whether your jewelry piece is an everyday essential or only makes an appearance on special occasions, it will require some level of care to maintain luster and shine.

The best way to keep your pieces looking great long term is through proactive care and maintenance. Folks are often surprised by just how simple proper jewelry care can be. Jewelry is always happiest when kept cool, dry, and is handled gently.

Consistent and frequent jewelry care is vital to prolonging its wear and maintaining its sheen. In order to tarnish, jewelry must come into contact with liquid and moisture. As such, general tarnish caused by wear isn't considered a fault.

how to care for your jewelry

1. In order to avoid discoloring and premature wear and tear, it’s important to keep jewelry away from water, lotion, perfume and any other miscellaneous liquids. 

2. We recommend adding your jewelry as a last step – after skin care, moisturizers, cosmetics, and hair products – in order to avoid any sneaky residue getting on your pieces.

3. Although we know you’ll love your pieces and want to take them with you everywhere, it'd be a good idea to remove your jewelry before swimming, exercising and showering.

4. When taking your jewelry on and off, avoid excessive pulling, twisting, or tugging. Additionally, knocking or dropping your jewelry onto hard surfaces is a major no-no, as far as long term care is concerned.

5. We recommend storing your jewelry in a cool, dry space, away from excessive or direct sunlight.

how to clean your jewelry

1. Use of standard, chemical free polishing cloths will do the trick to clean your jewelry and help reduce the appearance of tarnishing, as well as bring back some shine.

2. We highly recommend wiping your jewelry to take off any residual moisture after a day of wear. 

3. Avoid using rough, scratchy or abrasive fabrics to clean your pieces.

4. Avoid using harsh liquids of any kind.

how to store your jewelry

1. We recommend storing your jewelry in a cool, dry place in order to avoid excessive tarnishing caused by exposure to moisture.

2. As such, avoid storing your jewelry on or near sources of heat or direct light.

3. To avoid bending or breaking, try not to leave your pieces tangled or in areas where they are susceptible to being stepped on or crushed under heavy items. 

4. When traveling with your jewelry, pack and store your pieces gently and carefully in a safe pouch or box of some kind.

Materials

general

Of Our Blood creates a range of memorable, unique, and fashion-focused jewelry pieces. Our designs are crafted to produce predominantly fashion jewelry and semi-fine jewelry. Folks often ask, what is the real difference between fine, semi-fine, and fashion jewelry? And which of them is best?

The truth is, they’re all wonderful options and are chosen based on personal factors like individual style, preference, and budget, as well as how much time, money and energy folks like to contribute to maintenance.

what is fashion jewelry

Fashion jewelry is predominantly made using lab-created imitation stones and base metals that offer the look of a premium piece, for a fraction of the price. Materials like nickel, brass, copper, cubic zirconia, acrylic, Swarovski crystals, aluminum, resin, leather, diamanté, glass and gold/silver plated metals are often used in the production of fashion jewelry.

You may be quick to assume that higher-priced items are made with genuine precious metals, while lower-priced items are more likely to be fashion jewelry, but this is not always the case. Surprisingly, there are many designer websites you could visit today that have fashion jewelry listed for upwards of $1000. The brand, fabrication, design, production and skills required to produce the item are all factored into the final price.

Fashion jewelry is heavily featured in broader trends and is typically more reflective of contemporary design themes. It is important to note that fashion jewelry is not intended to replace or mimic "real'' genuine silver and gold pieces. However, fashion jewelry’s reputation of being unique, artistic, and a reflection of individual personal style is not often easily found or replicated within fine jewelry. Which is why it is so popular amongst consumers today. While it’s not intended to last a lifetime, regular cleaning, safe storage practices, and care can keep your fashion jewelry in your collection for years to come.

what is semi-fine jewelry

Semi-fine jewelry works great for those who want fashion forward, trend-driven pieces that are more durable and less likely to tarnish as easily. Semi-fine jewelry bridges the gap between fine and fashion, often using a small percentage of genuine silver and gold to plate or fill classic fashion jewelry metals like brass. 

Semi-fine jewelry is often crafted with enhanced or lab-created gemstones and pearls that mimic the real thing but at a far lower price point. Similar to fashion jewelry, semi-fine and gold plated jewelry require regular maintenance to ensure longevity. Pieces shouldn't be exposed to excessive moisture and oils or worn in water.

Returns

return & exchange policy

Due to health regulations for pierc ed jewelry all sales are final.

Once your order is shipped it cannot be returned or exchanged unless the item was received damaged or there was a mix-up.  If there was an issue with your order, please reach out to us via the contact form on our website, and we will be happy to help!

OF OUR BLOOD IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOST OR STOLEN ITEMS AFTER YOUR ITEM IS SHIPPED FROM US.

preventative maintenance

Proactive maintenance and care is the best way to keep your pieces looking great long-term! We recommend reading our Jewelry Care Guide for additional tips.

Tarnish due to reasonable, general wear and tear or customer mistreatment will not be considered for refund or exchange.  If you would like to receive a new or alternate product, you may place a new order through our website.

Have a question that isn't answered here?

 

Please contact us directly if you have any additional questions via our Contact sheet.