All of Christa Hope's jewelry is made to last if you handle it with a little love and care. Just follow the tips below, use some common sense, and you'll get a lifetime of enjoyment and use out of your jewelry!
·jewelry use - tips & tricks
·jewelry storage
·jewelry cleaning

[ jewelry use ? tips & tricks ]
Accessorize last! Put on your makeup, hairspray, perfume, and any other products BEFORE you put on your jewelry. Over repeated exposure to the chemicals in beauty products your jewelry will loose its luster & shine. Also, avoid sleep in your jewelry.

Absolutely never shower or swim in your jewelry! Many of our jewelry pieces are strung on silk cord and stretch when wet, like a pair of old pantyhose. In addition, the chlorine can cause damage to various gemstones and the precious metals. Chlorine can also cause stones to become loose in settings (and stones may possibly fall out). So, it's a good idea to avoid swimming pools while wearing your jewelry.

When doing household tasks such as gardening and cleaning, remove jewelry, especially rings.

Stone hardness is based on a gem-trade standard called the Mohs Hardness Scale. The higher the Mohs scale number, the harder the stone is. The highest Mohs scale rating is 10 (diamonds). Anything with a Mohs scale rating of less than 7 is easily scratched (such as coral, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, and turquoise). Gold, silver, and platinum are only Mohs 2-1/2 to 4. Knowing what hardness the stones and metals in your jewelry are will help you know how to treat them.

Make sure stones mounted in rings are not loose and do not rattle. The prongs of a ring can and do wear down over time. If the prongs wear down too much or break, you may lose a stone. Have rings checked frequently by a jeweler with a 10x magnifying jeweler?s loupe and "re-tipped" if they become loose or worn down.

[ jewelry storage ]
Always carefully store jewelry. It?s ideal to store each piece of jewelry separately to prevent each piece from scratching other jewelry.

Close all necklaces & bracelets when not in use. This will help prevent kinks or knots.

Always store necklaces flat, since necklaces strung on silk stretch over time. If the necklace stretches too much, just take it into a jeweler to have it restrung or reset stones (for a fee).

Exposure to the heat from the vent and the sunlight may fade the gemstones. So, avoid storing your jewelry next to a heating vent, window sill or on a car dashboard.

Common stones that are damaged in sunlight (there may be more):
Amethyst: becomes paler
Ametrine: may change color
Apatite: pink variety fades
Aquamarine: becomes paler
Aventurine: translucent types often lose color
Beryl: brown or orange types may change to pale pink
Celestite: fades in direct sunlight
Chrysoprase: becomes paler
Citrine: may change color
Fluorite: green and purple types change color
Kunzite: becomes pale or loses color
Rose Quartz: becomes paler
Smokey Quartz: becomes paler

[ jewelry cleaning ]
Since we use a combination of materials (precious and semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, crystals, precious metals, & silk cord) do not dunk our jewelry in jewelry "dipping solutions" that you find at the drugstore. These dipping solutions may contain ammonia which will crack & frost gemstones!

If needed, we recommend that you run a soft cloth (like a handkerchief) over the gemstones or pearls to remove any body oils.

If the sterling silver in your jewelry tarnishes, do not worry, just rub or buff it with a soft cotton cloth or a non-abrasive sterling polish cloth. Do not use abrasive polish, since it will damage the stones.

After you have polished your sterling silver, we recommend storing it in a plastic bag with an interlocking seal, which will make it less prone to tarnish. However, do NOT store pearls in plastic bags!

We recommend wiping your pieces with a soft cloth after removing them and using a non-abrasive silver polish cloth at least once a month to maintain your jewelry in like-new condition.