Materials

925 sterling silver

What is 925 Sterling silver?

Pure silver is a soft material. It is fast to scratch and isn’t strong enough to make jewellery from. In order to use silver for jewellery, it is mixed with other metals. A mixture consisting from different metals is called an alloy. In the case of 925 sterling silver, this alloy consists of 92,5% silver and 7,5% other materials, usually copper. This is also why a lot of 925 Sterling silver products, have a stamp with the number ‘925’ on them. 925 silver is also known as Sterling silver. It is considered the highest quality of silver.

Most silver jewellery will have a quality mark stamped into them: the number 925. Perhaps you’ve already grabbed your jewellery box to check all your pieces for the stamp, but can’t find them. No worries, this doesn’t mean that your piece of jewellery isn’t made out of Sterling silver. Although we try to have most of our pieces marked with the 925 stamp, it is only mandatory for products above 8 grams to have a quality stamp. Does your piece of jewellery weigh less than 8 grams? Then it’s possible for the piece to not have a quality stamp. Pieces that are too small or too delicate to get a stamp, are also excepted from this obligation.

How do I take care of 925 silver jewellery?

Although silver will last you a life time, it will discolour over time. Silver will slowly lose its shine or colour black, dark brown or dark green. This is the result of oxidation and it is a completely natural occurrence. Luckily it is easy to restore a silver product to its shiny and bright state! With a bit of silver polish and/or a silver polish cloth, you’ll be able to polish your piece within a minute. You can buy our silver polishing set here to keep your pieces nice and shiny!

Silver can react to the acidity level of your skin and to the cosmetics you use, accelerating the process of oxidation. Therefore we advise to limit contact to chemicals, like your perfume and lotions, so you can elongate the time between polishing sessions. Try to always take off your jewellery before sleeping, exercising or cleaning. We have noticed that it’s easy to get stuck on something with a ring or other jewellery piece, and this can cause the jewellery to break or get damaged. That would be a waste! Does your piece of jewellery contain a gemstone? Make sure to take it off before washing your hands or taking a shower. A lot of gemstones can’t handle water and soap, which might cause them to lose their shine or to become brittle. If you let your gemstone come in contact with water and soap on a regular basis, it will increase the chance that the gemstone will come loose and for you to lose it.

By keeping your jewellery safe in a closed jewellery box, you’ll be able to slow down the oxidation process, as less oxygen will get to your jewellery pieces. Next to that, it also looks amazing to have a beautiful jewellery box, so we see no reason not to do this!

Tip: Our big boss Wieske uses an old sewing box as her jewellery box. With a bit of creativity, you're able to transform any pretty box into a jewellery box!

14 carat gold

What is 14 carat gold?

Just like silver, pure gold is also a soft material and therefore mixed with other metals in order to use it for making jewellery. The purity of gold is expressed in carats. Pure gold is 24 carat (99% percent gold). In The Netherlands, 14 carat (58,3% gold), 18 carat (75% gold) and 22 carat (91,7% gold) are most used. The higher the carat number, the softer the material. We have decided to sell our products in 14 carat gold, because this is the most sturdy and most affordable option.

Like mentioned above, 14 carat gold consists of 58,3% gold and is mixed with the materials. We only sell yellow gold products, which means that the other 41,7% consists of a mixture of silver and copper. 14 carat gold can be recognized by the quality mark in the piece of jewellery. This can be a 585 stamp or a 14K stamp, although other marks also exist. All gold jewellery weighing more than 1 gram has to contain a quality mark. This is done an independent company, WaarborgHolland.

How do I take care of 14 carat gold?

Gold barely discolours, but due to it being an alloy with silver and kopper, it is possible that your golden jewellery will get dull over time. This is a natural process and happens because of contact with oxygen, chemicals and the acidity levels of your skin. We often notice that the part of earrings which is worn in the earlobe, will colour darker or even black. This is not something to worry about (and can’t even be noticed when you are wearing the earrings!) Just like silver, you can easily get your gold pieces of jewellery shiny again by using a gold polish cloth or gold polish. We also advise to try to avoid contact with chemicals, like your perfume or lotions, so your jewellery will remain shiny and to prolong the time between polishing sessions. 

14 carat gold is an investment for life and although it is a material that doesn't need a lot of care, we do advise to take of your jewellery when exercising, sleeping and cleaning. You don't want to get stuck on something and lose or damage your beautiful gold jewellery that way. Are you the lucky owner of a gold piece with a gemstone? Make sure to take it off when washing your hands or showering! A lot of gemstones can't handle water and soap well, causing them to lose their shine or become brittle. By letting your gemstones come in contact with water, soap or other chemicals, you increase the chance of losing or damaging the gemstone.

edelstenen

Er bestaan ontzettend edelstenen, allemaal met verschillende hardheden, betekenissen en gebruiksaanwijzingen. Daarom hebben we er een hele pagina aan toegewijd!

Over het algemeen raden we aan sieraden met edelstenen droog te houden en niet in contact te laten komen met chemicaliën. Hier kunnen stenen dof van worden, of broos en breekbaar. Opaal kan bijvoorbeeld bijzonder slecht tegen water. Als je regelmatig met je sieraden met edelstenen doucht of je handen wast, vergroot je de kans dat deze los zullen laten uit het sieraad. Dat is natuurlijk zonde. Sommige edelstenen, bijvoorbeeld amethist en citrien, kunnen ook verkleuren bij langdurige blootstelling aan fel zonlicht. Bewaar deze dus niet in op zonnige vensterbank!