Jewelry Care Guide
How to Keep Your Pieces Shining
Your Loretana piece is hallmarked 925 sterling silver finished in rhodium or 14K/18K gold plating. The silver lasts a lifetime. The plating is a surface layer — how long it stays bright is largely up to how you treat it.
When to Take It Off
- Before water: washing hands, showering, bathing, swimming. Chlorine and salt water are the fastest way to dull plating.
- Before cosmetics: apply perfume, lotion and hair products first, then put your jewelry on once they have dried.
- Before exercise: sport, the gym and the sauna. Sweat is mildly acidic.
- Before sleeping and before sunbathing.
- Before cleaning: household chemicals and dishwashing liquid attack plating directly.
Storage & Cleaning
- Keep it dry: store away from humid rooms such as the bathroom. Moisture is what causes silver to darken.
- Store separately: keep each piece in its own pouch or in a lined compartment so pieces do not rub against each other.
- Clean gently: a soft dry microfibre cloth only. Do not use silver dip, polishing paste or abrasive cloths — they strip plating.
- The Loretana box is designed for storage, not just presentation. Use it.
Caring for interchangeable pieces
The screw thread is the part that needs attention. Change elements with clean, dry hands and turn slowly — a quarter-turn at a time. Never force a thread that resists; back it out and start again.
Check that the element is fully tightened after each change, the same way you would check a clasp before leaving the house. Keep spare elements in the box rather than loose in a bag, where the threads can pick up grit.
About plating wear
Rhodium and 14K/18K gold plating are surface finishes, and like every finish they wear with use. Pendants and earrings keep their finish much longer than rings and bracelets, which rub against skin and surfaces all day. Thinning shows first at high-friction points — the underside of a ring band, the back of a clasp. Underneath the plating is hallmarked 925 sterling silver.
This is normal wear rather than a defect, so it is not covered by the 24-month warranty. If you are unsure whether what you see is wear or a fault, email info@loretana.com with a photo and we will tell you.