Jewelry Care
Fine Jewelry Care & When Not To Wear
General Care For All ASJ Jewelry
With proper care, you can guarantee your jewelry stays in tip top shape for future generations. The best step you can take in caring for your Abby Sparks jewelry is taking it off in any situation that may damage it.
Fine jewelry is vulnerable to damage if exposed to extreme hot or cold, impact, or pressure. Jewelry grade metals are vulnerable to bending if squeezed between or caught on other metals. Precious stones can be scratched, chipped, or made loose if banged on a hard surface. Chemicals, cosmetics, and treated water can cause unseen damage that isn’t immediately visible. In our experience, people are typically hardest on new fine jewelry in the first six months.
Some of the times when you should take your jewelry off include:
- Any form of exercise at any intensity level. This means rock climbing, skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, kayaking, snowboarding, ice skating, mountain or road biking, pilates, contact sports, practicing yoga, or going for a jog.
- Showering or bathing. Hot temperatures and knocking on metal fixtures are both risky.
- Sleeping and anything else that can put pressure on jewelry for hours.
- Applying any topicals like lotion, SPF, oils, makeup, hair products, and perfumes.
- Cooking or baking. Hitting your jewelry against pots and pans is a recipe for disaster.
- Washing the dishes, washing the car, or washing the dog.
- Cleaning, especially with harsh cleaning agents and chemicals.
- Swimming, hot tubbing, steaming, or saunas.
- Crafting of any type: painting, ceramics, gardening and other equally messy hobbies.
- Certain 9-5’s. If you use your hands a lot for your work or are constantly washing your hands, it may be best to leave your jewelry at home. Examples include UPS delivery drivers, nurses, doctors, surgeons, fly fishing guides, chefs, etc.
- The Beach. Cold water = shrinkage-induced roominess around your ring. The middle of the ocean is definitely not the place to lose your ring. You also risk sand scratching your metal and sunscreen clouding up your stones.
- No Scuba diving either. The temperature and pressure changes can cause the ring to slip off your finger and the temperature changes can damage softer stones. Also, sharks like shiny sparkly things (ahem, diamonds).
- High Elevation. High elevation levels cause our fingers to swell and with a certain degree of swelling, the risk of nerve damage exists. Better to take your ring off and slip it on the chain of a necklace you’re already wearing when you’re at high levels of elevation. Once you’re back to normal levels, pop your ring back on your finger.
How To Clean and Care
Most jewelry is best cleaned using a soft cloth or very worn old toothbrush, anti-grease dish soap, and warm water. We’ve found non-organic soaps like Dawn and PalmOlive work best. Dry with an old 100% cotton tee shirt, and use an ASJ polish cloth on the stones and metals to give your jewelry some shine. Do not use a polishing cloth on our matte jewelry, as it will ruin the finish. We also do not recommend the use of harsh brushes, solvents, or any other abrasive cleaning methods. Ultrasonic cleaning should be left to the professionals, as it can damage stones and settings. For all Abby Sparks jewelry that contains gemstones or diamonds set in precious metal, we highly recommend that you have it inspected and cleaned once a year with our complimentary VIP treatment.
VIP Treatment
Your Abby Sparks custom piece qualifies for complimentary VIP treatments once a year. We prefer to take care of your piece for its lifetime to ensure it remains in its best condition. ASJ designates spa weeks once a quarter, four times a year, so that clients have the opportunity to either drop off their jewelry or mail it in for a VIP treatment. Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter to receive notifications for spa week dates. If you live outside of the Denver Metro area, contact us for shipping instructions. For all Abby Sparks jewelry that contains gemstones or diamonds set in precious metal, we highly recommend that you have it inspected and cleaned once a year with our complimentary VIP treatment to ensure that no stones are loose from normal wearing habits. Without routine inspection, stones become loose in their settings over time and can fall out. With proper care, you can avoid replacing stones and keep your jewelry in superb condition for future generations.
Materials we work with
We prefer to work with precious and semi-precious gemstones, diamonds, and precious metals for all types of jewelry that we make, be it engagement rings, wedding rings, necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets, cufflinks, and pins. We work with hard gemstones and diamonds for engagement rings because they are tough enough to withstand many generations of wear and potential jewelry remodels. These “tough” stone preferences for engagement rings include diamond, sapphire, ruby, moissanite, alexandrite, and with a durable setting in some cases, emerald. We will occasionally work with softer stones for engagement rings such as opal, morganite, amethyst, and aquamarine, to name a few, however, these gemstone options require an extra level of care from the wearer. We work with precious metals for all of our jewelry since they can withstand generations of wear. These preferred fine jewelry metals include gold (yellow, rose, and white), palladium, and platinum. For all jewelry other than engagement rings, wedding rings, and everyday rings we will work in the same precious metals, however, the gemstones we will work with are more broad and include softer gemstones such as topaz, citrine, garnet, tourmaline, quartz, and more. We don’t work with certain metals or stones, not because we don’t love them or think they’re beautiful, but because we know they are vulnerable to damage. We don’t work with “tough” metals such as stainless steel and tungsten carbide since they cannot be cast with the same equipment as precious metals and because most tough metals cannot be changed, sized, or set with stones.
Special Care
Opal Jewelry
Opals are very soft stones, and because of this we highly recommend that you take extra care with all opal jewelry. It will need to be checked more than once a year. Keep in mind, opals have the possibility of cracking when they are exposed to rapid changes in temperature, pressure, or in when in contact with chemicals. It is also important to not store your opal in a dry place, as opals can crack if they don’t have enough moisture. They are best stored wrapped in a soft cloth with a few drops of water in it. Many opals need to be oiled a few times a year, especially in dry climates such as Colorado. We do not recommend that opals be cleaned with ultrasonic cleaners.
Emerald Jewelry
We recommend taking extra care with all emerald jewelry. Though they’re harder than opals, emeralds are not as tough as diamonds, sapphires, or rubies. If not cared for properly, your emerald can be scratched, dented, cracked, or damaged by changes in temperature or pressure, or when in contact with harsh chemicals. Many emeralds need to be oiled a few times a year, especially in dry climates such as Colorado. We do not recommend that emeralds be cleaned with ultrasonic cleaners.
Diamond Jewelry
Diamonds are the hardest and most durable stone choice for jewelry, however, because of their strength they can cause damage to your jewelry setting or other jewelry pieces over time should you wear your jewelry in a stacked or layered capacity. It is important to get your stones checked regularly so that your diamonds aren’t rubbing against other jewelry or so that your diamonds aren’t trying to liberate themselves from their existing setting. Be mindful when pairing diamond jewelry with jewelry containing softer stones, so that you can avoid scratching or cracking the gemstones or metal on your other jewelry pieces.
Jewelry insurance
Custom fine jewelry totaling more than $5,000 comes with an Abby Sparks Jewelry Appraisal that can be submitted for insurance coverage. An Abby Sparks Jewelry Appraisal for custom jewelry under $5,000 is available upon request. Make sure to ask your insurance agent how often you should get your jewelry appraised. We can supply you with updated appraisals if you need them.
Once Abby Sparks Jewelry has delivered a custom, one-of-a-kind jewelry item to its owner, Abby Sparks no longer provides insurance coverage. We recommend clients obtain insurance coverage immediately upon receiving their custom fine jewelry, and that all of your fine jewelry is properly insured. Through no affiliation nor endorsement, we advocate Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company for the depth and quality of their coverage, which includes repairs and replacements.
Jewelry Storage
To store your jewelry, keep it secure in your ASJ jewelry box or ASJ cloth travel pouch in order to avoid unwanted scratches and/or damage. It is also possible to store jewelry wrapped in a fiber free soft cloth such as a handkerchief or scraps from an old tee shirt . Do not store your jewelry in paper towels or tissue since the fibers get stuck up inside the settings and around metal crevices in the setting. When not wearing your jewelry, we recommend storing it in a secure place such as a safe. In the event you may need to file an insurance claim, we recommend keeping up to date pictures and inventory of your jewelry, as well as your Abby Sparks Appraisal.
Our lifetime guarantee
We guarantee the craftsmanship, quality, and integrity of all ASJ original jewelry against normal wear and tear provided that Abby Sparks Jewelry gives your piece a VIP treatment once per year. Abby Sparks Jewelry reserves the right to determine normal wear and tear.
Client care
Client satisfaction is of utmost importance to us, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. Contact us at your own convenience, and remember to sign up for our email list to receive notifications of our VIP treatment dates.
Repairs
We are happy to make repairs at any point in the lifetime of your Abby Sparks original jewelry piece. We stand behind the quality and integrity of all ASJ pieces. In the unlikely case that your jewelry is broken, email us at info@abbysparks.com for instructions and a repair form. Reference our shipping section for instructions on how to safely get your piece to our care. In order to provide our clients with the utmost in service for the lifetime of their jewelry, we only work on ASJ originals. We do not repair jewelry, to include ring sizings, that we didn’t design and make, so sorry!
Return Your Item
Our custom, one-of-a-kind fine jewelry cannot be returned or exchanged because it’s made from scratch and designed just for you. Abby Sparks stands by our commitment to providing clients with concierge service and we strive to ensure their satisfaction, so if for some reason your original jewelry piece does not meet your expectations, please immediately contact Abby at abby@abbysparks.com or 303.957.6502. Deposits on custom, one-of-a-kind jewelry are non-refundable, however, should extenuating circumstances arise while your jewelry is in production, we will do our best to halt production a.s.a.p. and make special considerations for your piece.
Shipping
Abby Sparks Jewelry is not liable for any jewelry shipped to us. It is the sender’s responsibility to make sure jewelry is covered by sender’s or carrier’s insurance. Shoot us an email once you’ve put your piece in the mail so we know to look out for it, and we’ll let you know when we’ve received.
Gift Cards
We’ve got ‘em! Email us for more info.
Privacy and Security
Abby Sparks Jewelry values its customers and respects their privacy. We guarantee that any and all information you provide will remain strictly confidential and safely stored. No information about the visitors to our site will be sold, shared or made accessible to any entity foreign to Abby Sparks Jewelry and abbysparks.com. Any and all customer information is held in the strictest of confidence.
Your online credit card transactions are secure at abbysparks.com. We use Secure Socket Layering (SSL), the industry-standard encryption technology that ensures safe internet transmission of your personal information. Making a credit card purchase is just as safe on our web site as it is by telephone. We will never email any wiring instructions
Locally Made
Our jewelry is made locally right here in Denver, Colorado by our talented and experienced jewelers. They have over 50 years combined experience.
Ethical Stones
We do everything we can to source our gemstones and diamonds ethically and responsibly. Responsible sourcing is more important to some clients and not as important to others, so please let us know up front where you are on this spectrum in order for us to ensure that your values go into your jewelry piece. To find out more about our ethical jewelry visit our ethical jewelry page or email us at info@abbysparksjewelry.com.
Pricing
Because our jewelry is completely custom and not simply customized, the price of your jewelry depends on the design elements and materials for your entirely unique jewelry piece. We pride ourselves on not being a jewelry store and instead a jewelry experience! In order for us to best bring to life our jewelry art on your behalf, our clients typically have a minimum budget range for their custom jewelry piece of around $5000-$6000. We are good with budgets and can typically design within your budget provided that it is at our entry range and is a reasonable pairing of budget and of market realities.
Resizing
Is your ring too big or too small? Your first ring resize is complimentary. Book an appointment to drop of your ring and we’ll have it back to you in 7 – 10 business days. We do not size rings or jewelry that we didn’t design and make, so sorry!
Non-Local and International
We are happy to work with customers outside the Denver Area, and have had clients as far away as Italy, London, and Dubai. We can meet with you via Skype, Go-To-Meeting, or any other online platform that works for you if you’re not in Denver. We are internet savvy to say the least, so the ASJ unique jewelry experience will be provided to you via internet, phone, email, and video.
Shipping
If you would like to find out more information about our shipping process for clients outside of the Denver area, please email us at info@abbysparksjewelry.com or call us at 303-957-6502.
Ready to Start Designing?
We can work with you in-person at our studio or set up a video call to help you take the first step toward designing a ring. Design consultations are complementary and we’ll give you a quick call before your meeting to make sure we can help you.
By Appointment Only
730 Colorado Blvd, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80206
Call/Text
303.957.6502