A necklace you have to take off in summer isn't a summer necklace. That's why our chains and metals are water-resistant. Here is what that means, where the limits are and the five things that really matter in summer.
Water-resistant means that 925 sterling silver and 14K gold-filled aren't harmed by fresh water. The gold layer is so thick and so firmly bonded to the core that showers, rain and a jump into the sea can't hurt it. What water carries with it is another matter: salt, chlorine and sunscreen stay behind as a film that should be rinsed off in the evening.
The stones of the Signature collection are water-resistant too, with two caveats: malachite prefers to stay dry, and you should keep the cultured pearls of the Perla collection away from water, though their chain is fine. Then there's the sun, which drains the color from some quartzes, and the sand, which scratches many stones.
What survives the summer
Both metals tolerate water. So does the chain in the Perla collection, just not the pearl itself. Its nacre is soft and doesn't take kindly to lotions and salt.
“The sea hasn't broken a single one of our necklaces yet. The sandy towel is more likely to.”
I. Summer jewelry: what water really does.
Fresh water is harmless. Salt water dries into a crust on the chain and stone, and chlorine slowly attacks silver and turns it dark. Neither one is a reason to take your necklace off at the beach, only a reason to hold it under the faucet in the evening: rinse with lukewarm water, dry with a soft cloth, done. Do that, and your silver won't show a trace of summer.
Sweat is the quieter opponent. It contains sulfur compounds, and sulfur is what makes silver tarnish. This happens faster in summer than in winter. 14K gold-filled barely tarnishes, and 925 sterling silver turns bright again in a minute with a polishing cloth. You'll find exactly how to do it in the article Caring for silver properly.
II. Sun: which stones fade.
The color of many quartzes doesn't come from a dye. It sits in so-called color centers, tiny defects in the crystal lattice that absorb light. Over a long time, ultraviolet light can break these centers down. The stones most affected are amethyst and rose quartz, and in the long run citrine too. They won't fade in an afternoon, but they can over many summers in full sun.
What this means in practice: wearing them is no problem, leaving them lying around is. An amethyst necklace that sits on a towel in the sun all day gets more UV than one that hangs around your neck and follows you into the shade. During a break, put your necklace in your bag, not on the towel.
Aquamarine, rock crystal, garnet, peridot, ruby, emerald and moonstone don't have this problem. They don't fade.
Five things, five answers
Salt, chlorine, lotion, sweat and sand: none of them damages the chain or the gold layer. But each one leaves something behind, and sand scratches. The evening ritual takes two minutes.
III. Sand, sunscreen and heat.
What sand scratches
2.5 to 4.5
Pearl
Far softer than sand, so store it dry and separately
3.5 to 4
Malachite
Soft and dislikes water
5 to 6
Turquoise
Stabilized, can't handle sand
6 to 6.5
Moonstone · Labradorite
Feldspar, and it splits easily
7
Sand · Amethyst · Rock crystal
Quartz scratches quartz when it rubs
9
Ruby
Sand can't scratch it, and the same goes for aquamarine and emerald
Mohs hardness compared with quartz sand. Anything below 7 gets scratched by sand, and anything at 7 does too when it rubs.
Sand is made of quartz and has a Mohs hardness of 7. It can scratch anything softer, which means pearls, malachite, turquoise, moonstone and labradorite, and it can even scratch amethyst and rock crystal, which are just as hard as it is. A stone that lies in the sand or rubs against sand in your bag gets dull spots. So put your necklace in a cloth or a compartment, never loose in your beach bag.
Sunscreen isn't an attacker, it's a veil. It settles on stone and metal and takes the light away from the stone. So the order in the morning is: sunscreen first, let it soak in, then the necklace. In the evening: lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap, a soft cloth. No ultrasonic cleaners and no steam, for any of our stones.
Very few stones like heat, and none like sudden temperature changes. Emerald is oiled and turquoise is stabilized, so a sauna followed by a cold plunge pool is off limits for these two. For all the others: if it's too hot for you, it's too hot for the stone.
IV. Summer in numbers.
What the chain can take
The evening ritual
1
Rinse
Lukewarm water, with a drop of mild soap after sunscreen
2
Dry
Soft cloth, including between the links
3
Polish
A quick pass with the polishing cloth for silver, if needed
4
Put away
Separately, dry, away from sand
Why it matters in the studio
Four things that make summer easy.
01
Water-resistant in everyday life.
925 sterling silver and 14K gold-filled can handle showers, rain and the sea. Keep pearl and malachite pieces dry, as their product pages also note.
02
Treatments disclosed.
Emerald oiled, aquamarine heat-treated, turquoise stabilized, ruby treated. You know which stone should avoid heat.
03
Lightweight pendants.
Stones of 8 to 10 mm don't pull at your neck and don't get in the way when you swim.
04
A chain that lies flat.
Fine, with square links that interlock closely. Nothing that snags on a towel or in your hair.
Summer is when a necklace gets worn the most and cared for the least. Both are fine, as long as you have two minutes in the evening: rinse, dry, put away. Then in September your necklace will look just like it did in May.
Wear it, rinse it, wear it again.
Carola
All necklaces come in water-resistant 925 sterling silver and 14K gold-filled. Pearl and malachite are best kept dry.
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