Material & jewelery care
Jewelery care - G eneral
"I have made a small guide where you will be able to read about the materials and my recommendations for jewelery care and maintenance. I hope you can take a lot with you from this, so that your jewelery will be beautiful for many, many years.
If you have specific questions or if you don't find answers to your questions here, please contact me."
Signe Abrahamson
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As with everything else, it is also a good idea to take good care of your jewelery and know the proper care, which can vary according to the jewellery's materials. The correct care allows you to enjoy the jewelery for many years to come. The best care is to use your jewelery with care.
I always recommend removing the jewelery when sleeping, exercising, performing hard physical work, bathing or (and) doing other things that may cause wear on the jewellery. If you sleep with your chains on, you risk damaging the small chain links, as the chain is thus exposed to stretching in the links when you lie down on the chain. The chain wears and breaks more easily.
Gold and silver
I work mostly in gold and always in 18 carat gold. Sometimes we also make in silver. Both good and classic jewelry materials, but they are still very different in their properties, durability and prices.
Gold
My gold jewelery is always in 18 carat gold, regardless of whether it is the beautiful elm. gold (called red gold in Danish and yellow gold in English) or the beautiful warm-annealed white gold. They are all stamped with SA (for Signe Abrahamson) and with 750 (which indicates that there is 75% gold in the alloy).
Gold is a hard and wear-resistant material that comes in different alloys and thus also different colours. Alloy means the mixture of which the gold is composed. The two gold colors I use are both an 18 carat alloy. One is the beautiful warm and golden color, called ordinary gold and which we also call 18 carat red gold. The other is white gold, which has a grayish color and can resemble the color of steel and has a nice undertone due to the warmth from the gold. I do not rhodium-plate my white gold jewellery, as it is a layer of material which is placed on the outside of the jewelery and which wears away with use. I do not prefer this maintenance, but if this is desired, please let me know.
Since gold is a strong and hard material, you will get a piece of jewelery that can be enjoyed for many years. This is also why we recommend wedding rings and engagement rings made of gold, so that they are made of solid materials that will last for many years. Be aware that gold, despite its hardness, can also wear and take damage. Surfaces will change with use. Finger rings in particular are more exposed pieces of jewelery and will therefore change over time. For example, matte surfaces become more glossy and vice versa. Gold chains are strong chains, but can also break if they are pulled or otherwise caught on something.
Silver
I rarely make jewelery in silver, but if you want it, you are always welcome to ask me.
Silver is a very soft material and is therefore not as durable as gold. Silver jewelry can still last for many years, but it is just more fragile and gets scratched more easily than gold. Silver jewelery is made in sterling silver and stamped with 925, which can be in a light and an oxidized variation.
Oxidation is a dark, almost black, surface treatment which gives the jewelery an antique look. When you wear the jewelry, the oxidation will just as quietly wear off beautifully, adding a nice patina look, as the oxidation remains in corners and small cracks.
Diamonds
Diamonds are the most sought-after gemstone and understandably so. The diamond was created over 3 million years ago, far below the earth's surface, where they come to be under high heat and high pressure. Here they are pressed together into their beautiful and raw natural form.
I really like natural diamonds. I do not use "lab-grown" diamonds and buy them from dealers I have great confidence in through many years of cooperation. The diamonds are typically cut and bought in Antwerp, which is a large and recognized diamond area.
I select all diamonds in all their different shapes, colors and sizes. Diamonds are the most amazing and beautiful naturally occurring minerals, which means that their quality, colors and hardness can vary. Diamonds have small "impurities" inside the diamonds (also called inclusions and in English inclusions), which is a natural thing from nature in every diamond. Fewer inclusions mean that the diamond is extra strong and durable. The probability of a diamond breaking is therefore greater the more inclusions there are and vice versa. Unfortunately, despite its hardness, the possibility that a diamond can break in the event of an unfortunate blow is not abnormal. I therefore recommend that you go with your diamond jewelry carefully. The different colored brilliant cut diamonds are described below.
We work with many different types of diamonds.
Raw diamonds, rose cut diamonds, champagne colored, black, gray and white diamonds.
Diamonds
Diamonds called brilliants are the classic round diamonds that have a brilliant cut. They come in many color variations, sizes and qualities. In our jewelery you will most often find white TW vvs, warm natural-coloured champagne or deep black brilliants.
White diamonds
The white diamonds with brilliant cut are in the good quality called TW vvs, which is one of the best qualities. This means that the diamonds are very clear, have a nice cut and have very small, almost invisible inclusions in the diamonds. These white classic diamonds have a white and cold undertone and shine a whole lot.
Champagne colored diamonds
Champagne colored diamonds are diamonds with a natural golden/brown color and can therefore have a slightly varying shade of color from stone to stone, which is extremely beautiful. These diamonds are warmer in tone than the pure white ones and look extremely beautiful with red gold jewellery. We also use lighter variants of these champagne colored in some of our jewelery and they are called TTLB and TLB. TTLB stands for top, top light brown and TLB, top light brown.
Black diamonds
Black diamonds do not sparkle as much as they absorb the light instead and therefore it is the facets on the diamond that reflect the light. Black diamonds come in two types, the completely colored black and then the natural Fancy black. Both stones are 100% natural, but the color of the former has come as a result of heat treatments. A heat treated is most often used on a less good quality diamond and is also a normal process on other colored diamonds as well as gemstones such as rubies. These heat-treated black diamonds are therefore cheaper and more fragile than both the champagne colored and white diamonds.
I use the black ones, as they are still a diamond with a certain durability, as they are, for example, harder than other semi-precious stones and because they are so beautiful and graphic when they sit in a golden piece of jewelry. I often use these black diamonds in the small brilliant cuts or in the slightly larger sizes with a nice rose cut. The rose cut on the diamond makes the light reflect even more on the black diamond and is really beautiful.
Natural Fancy black diamonds come in the colors they have been found in by nature and are often what we call unique pique diamonds, because they are so unique and individual, often with quite a few inclusions that form some beautiful patterns inside.
Rough diamonds
Rough diamonds do not sparkle very much as they come in their all-natural forms, which are most often in cubic shapes. The ones I use most often are piqued, which means that they are not transparent, but "milky". They come in the most beautiful and natural colors and are very unique, especially in the large sizes.
Pearls
I love pearls and that all pearls are different. I only use the best and most beautiful and I handpick each pearl myself because they are so unique. Pearls are precious stones consisting of organic, living material which, as the word "living" indicates, can also fade if not treated correctly. If you take good care of your pearls, they will retain their natural, high shine. So that they retain their natural shine. The most important thing to maintain their natural shine is to avoid contact with perfume, other cosmetic products and cleaning agents, as these are harmful to the nacre and can make the pearl dull. Therefore, take off the pearls when you shower and swim. Furthermore, I would recommend cleaning your pearls once in a while. Wipe the pearls gently with a damp cloth simply rinsed in clean, slightly warm water. Pearls that are glued in either pendants, rings, earrings or other things must avoid all direct contact with water.
I also recommend that pearls be stored separately in a box without the possibility of being scratched by other jewellery. But the best care for pearls is to give them love by walking with your pearls. Then they get moisture from the air and the skin, which keeps them "alive".
With this in mind, your pearls can live for centuries.
Pearls are hard, but can also be damaged in the mother of pearl by impact or other contact with hard objects.
We often string pearls on the classic pearl silk cord as it gives a light and beautiful expression. Pearl silk cord is what has been used for many years, but you have to remember that the cord becomes soft over time and gives in its length and at some point it breaks if it is not replaced. I therefore recommend looking at the pearl jewelery at regular intervals. If there are spaces between the pearls because the string has given way in length, remember to have your pearl chain re-tightened.
If you use the jewelery a lot, I recommend that you have the silk cord changed once a year .
The larger and heavier the pearls and the more frequently the piece of jewelry is used, the more often the piece of jewelry must be wrapped with new silk cord. Also prevents the silk cord from getting wet. Moisture from the skin will also cause the silk cord to give in length.
I recommend making knots between each pearl on a bracelet or pearl necklace. In this way, the beads will not wear each other due to the bead-to-bead contact. It also looks nice and the silk cord will last better.
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If you have any further questions about materials, jewelery care or anything else, you are always welcome to visit us in the store, send us an email or call us.
