Care for your jewellery
Bog-wood Jewellery
But how to store and clean bog-wood jewels, including copper, leather and sterling silver components on your jewellery ?
What to watch
- Beware of water. The bog-wood used for jewellery is robust and able withstand rain or random drops during the day.
But exposure to continuous humidity can ruin the bog-wood. Your bog-wood jewels must be kept in a dry place. - Watch out for sharp surfaces that can scratch the wood. Bog-wood is a really hard natural material but still prone to scratches if it comes in contact with something sharp – it may scratch. For this reason it is better to store the bog-wood jewels individually, in the pouch /bag provided or in a box.
- Cosmetic hazard. Better to avoid the use of hairspray, perfumes, lotions, creams when wearing jewellery with bog-wood elements: however the wood is perfect to wear with all natural oils – they can take the scent naturally. Beware of non natural oils and creams such as insect repellents, sunscreens or other chemicals, which can affect the wood colour.
- Bog-wood jewels can be cleaned. Please remove the wood jewel from its chain/leather/copper attachment. The bog-wood jewellery can be cleaned as follows …
- To remove dust or grease on the jewel, just use a non-abrasive microfibre cloth or a cotton cloth. Also, better clean by following the line of the grains on the wood, if they are visible.
- Polish the jewel. If the wood of the jewel is polished, the brilliance can be enlivened with natural beeswax or almond oil. Please apply wax or oil sparingly and then leave for approx 30 mins. Buff with soft cotton cloth for a few minutes and this gives a soft sheen.
Copper
Recommendations for bog-wood jewellery wear applies to copper also;
- Please remove wood pendant before polishing copper
- Keep your copper jewellery clean by occasionally washing it with lukewarm, soapy water.
- Then, dry and polish with a soft cotton cloth.
- You can also use a soft cloth to gently polish your jewellery using a polish.
Leather
Leather takes a certain amount of care to upkeep. Getting your leather bracelet soaking wet by wearing it in the shower or while swimming can strip the oils from the leather’s surface. If this happens, the leather can stiffen and even crack as it dries. If this happens gently oil with natural oil like almond oil.
To clean
- Pat down the leather with a damp cloth. Avoid using a wet cloth or immersing the leather in water.
- Put a small dab of mild, moisturising hand soap or leather cleaner on the cloth on both sides.
- Rinse and dampen the cloth with clean water and wipe the leather clean & dry.
Sterling Silver
One of the best ways to prevent sterling silver jewellery from tarnishing is by wearing it. Your skin’s oils can actually help to keep the jewellery clean and maintain its brilliance. There are certain substances and chemicals that can cause sterling silver to corrode.
You must keep the sterling silver away from: household chemicals, chlorinated water, rubber, substances containing sulphur (latex, wool, eggs, mustard, etc.), direct sunlight, hairspray, lotions, perfumes.
- To clean please use a special silver cloth to polish the accessories. If you don’t have one, use a microfibre or non-abrasive cloth.
- Never use tissues or paper towels to clean the items, as they could potentially scratch the silver.
- The best polishing method is to use back and forth motions that mirror the silver’s grain. You might think rubbing in circles is the best method, but this will only highlight any scratches.
