How to take care of gold plated jewelry?

Nowadays, gold plated jewelry have become part of vogue because it allows you to enjoy luxury of real gold in an affordable price. However, the plating surface has a certain lifespan and requires a proper care and maintenance to prolong its life.

very modern "brushed" black gold plated ring.

black gold may be the most difficult plating surface to take care of

assorted gold plated hoops

It's almost impossible for anybody to give an exact prediction of how many months or years or any time frame the plated surface will last. It depends on a few important factors as shown below.

I wear my gold plated bands and also earrings for a long time already. They still look beautiful with only small signs of a regular wear and tear. The plating surface of earrings will last significantly longer than the plating of the ring. Reason is simply because I wear them less often and the exposure to rough surface is almost zero. I expect the plating surface of...

>> earrings to last for 3-5 years (or even longer!).

>> rings to last for about months to a year before I need to replate it.

***This is only an estimated lifespan judged from my personal usage & caring of the jewelry.

 

Shiny rose gold plated ring

Brushed yellow gold plated band

4 factors contributed to durability of the gold plating surface:

1. Thickness of its layer. Our plated jewelry is usually plated with a very thick layer of gold (mostly 2 micron). We are confident that our plating will last significantly longer than the average mass market plating quality.

2. Exposure the jewelry is given. In my opinion, this is the most important factor.

Extreme examples would be when you work with a rough or abrasive surface. For example, when you work with a wrench or when you move a stone. These rough activities can cause really bad scratch lines which cut through the undermetal.

Lighter day to day activities can also gradually cause an unnoticeable wear & tear. For example,when you strike the ring on a keyboard, when you swipe the ring on a steering

wheel, or lift a luggage, or use a vacuum cleaner.

3. Direct or constant exposure to some chemical. For example solvent, hair spray, and including your own body sweat.

4. Skin pH.  Last but not least, this is the most unpredictable factor.  Some skin simply gets along well with the plating than others.  From our experience, in an extreme case, the plating may last for only days for certain few customers.  

Black gold plating is generally more vulnerable to scratches / bumps than other gold plating options. Reason is simply because the inner metal (usually silver or gold) has a very high contrast color with black. For example, when the black gold plated ring gets scratched, you will see a (contrasting) white scratch line which is the color of the inner metal, silver.

With the same rationale, we can also draw a conclusion that "Yellow gold plating over solid yellow gold metal" and "White gold plating over silver or solid white gold metal" will yield significantly less obvious scratches. For example, when the white gold plating surface is deeply scratched, you will still see a white / silver base metal, silver.

 

white gold rhodium plated wedding band

3 Simple ways to take care of your gold plated jewelry

1. Avoid bumping / cracking / scratching the ring on a hard or rough or abrasive surface.

Take off the ring when you need to work with a hard surface or tools.

2. Avoid direct contact with chemical / grease / very high temperature

This includes large amount of sweat. Regular body grease is ok. Take off your ring when you go exercise etc.

3. Clean the gold plated ring with soft cotton cloth and warm water. Use a tiny drop of liquid soap if needed. Do not use jewelry cloth as it usually contains chemical that will scrub off the surface.

Read article about Jewelry Polishing Cloth here

Silver Polishing Cloth

5 advantages of laser engraving

360Jewels offers custom engraving for our jewelry i.e. rings, pendants, earrings etc. We use "LASER" engraving which offers many advantages over "hand-stamped" engraving:

1) The finish is very neat, consistent & professional looking. Each letters is aligned straight. The letter is deeply engraved and each line is very sharp & clear. Symbols & numbers can also be engraved i.e. heart shape, star, etc.

2) Accommodate upto 25 characters or more!

3) Fit even a small surface area i.e. 1.5mm ring, tiny pendant, stud earrings, etc

4) We can engrave both on the inner & outer of the ring.

5) Great price! (However, we only provide this service for our custom make jewelry).

Check for products & engraving prices at our store

**Available in standard looking 'letter' font and 'script' font. The actual font on your order may be different from the font shown in below pictures.

Laser engraving on the outside of the ring.

Laser engraving on the inside of a diamond wedding band.

please visit our store for more details about pricing

Jewelry Cloth : Clean Tarnish Silver

Jewelry polishing cloth is one of the supplies we use very often. We makes lots of silver jewelry both with and without plating. Overtime, the silver jewelry can become dull or tarnish. This is especially true for the unplated silver jewelry and the jewelry that you keep for a long time.

This silver cleaning cloth is available in our Etsy store click here.

Performance Test : Before VS After

We did a mini test with one of our unplated prototype 925 sterling silver ring. We kept this ring untouched for about half a year. There's a visible sign of tarnishing all over the piece.

We rub the ring against the cloth for about 3-5 minutes. Then we wash it with soapy water and the result is as shown in the picture. Since this ring is very grimy, the tarnish doesn't go away 100% after our first attempt but I think the overall look is much much nicer...almost like a new ring. The piece that is not as grimy should get a better result from this cleaning process.

However, please note that this ring surface is smooth so we can just rub it as hard as we want. If your piece is a non-smooth surface, you can't clean it as hard and the result might be different. **We don't retouch any pictures. What you see is what you get**

General Advice for Using Jewelry Cloth

• Gently get rid of any dust on the surface before cleaning as dust can create scratch when you clean.
• Gently clean your piece with the cloth. Follow the grain of your silver jewelry. This process can be long depend on how dirty your jewelry is.
• Be extra gentle over the area with gemstones, enamel, etc as you don't want to get rid of those details.
• Please aware that the matte jewelry can become more glossy as you clean it.
• For the plated jewelry, cleaning with jewelry cloth can wear off the plating surface to be thinner. So just use the cloth as necessary to prolong the plating life.
• Do not use rubber glove as rubber can cause tarnish. Use plastic glove is a good idea as it prevents your hand from contacting the chemical which might be irritable to you.
• After you finish cleaning with the cloth, clean the piece thoroughly with soapy water to get rid of the tarnish & chemical residue.
• Wash your hand with soap thoroughly. This is a very important step for your own hygiene & safety.
• Keep out of reach of children. Store in a sealed container after usage. We hope this info will help buff up your grimy jewelry to become clean and pretty again :-)

This cloth is available in our Etsy store click here.

Or please simply email us at mailto360Jewels@gmail.com

**The above advice is just based on our personal experience and opinion. We are not responsible for any damages that might occur to your jewelry and any illness (e.g. irritation) that might occur from using this chemical cloth.**

Best Jewelry Storage: Air-tight Jewelry Box

General storage tips that apply to most jewelry:

1) Always keep your jewelry in a cool dry place with low humidity. Also try to avoid temperatur

e fluctuation. This is especially true for jewelry that is mounted with gemstones which can be cra

cked withou a proper storage.

2) Always store your jewelry "separately". One of the most practical ideas (although not an ideal way) is to store your jewelry separately in a ziploc bag.

3) For silver jewelry, there are also simple tips to prevent tarnishig. Please read "5 Ways to Keep Your Silver Tarnish-Free" If your silver jewelry is already tarnished, you can clean it with a Silver Jewelry Cloth.

360Jewels offers an air-tight container which is made of high quality wood and lined ins

ide with a high quality thick off-white velvet. It gives a great protection to your jewelry as well as a luxury feeling. Most of our customers say "WOW" when they see it :-)

A beautiful air-tight wood box with a neat glossy finish. A piece of art by itself.

Great for a safe storage. Lined with off-white thick velvet. Works for both rings & earrings.

Flip this little flap and you can also store earrings...both studs & hoops style.

White paper box provided. Convenient for gift-wrapping.

This jewelry box is available in our Etsy store click here.

Or please simply email us at mailto360Jewels@gmail.com

Disclaimer: This article is only an opinion based on our best knowledge & experience only. We are not liable for any damages of your jewelry related to this advice.

Where to buy mens earrings?

Not so many stores carry mens earrings. And the stores that carry them normally don't have so much selection. We've been making mens earrings for some times and therefore we decided to dedicate one of our etsy stores to be purely a store "for men". We hope you enjoy our wide selection. We actually have 2 main lines of mens earrings:

1. Casual stainless steel mens earrings ("For Men" store)
2. Luxurious elite mens earrings ("Elite" store)

Or visit our main store www.360JewelsMEN.com

Below are just a part of our large selection of Mens Earrings (Hoops & Studs)!

 

To buy our men's earrings, please visit one of our stores below:

www.360JewelsMen.com

www.360Jewels.etsy.com

www.360JewelsElite.etsy.com

Black Gold Plated Jewelry

Many people love the look and feel of the precious silver but don't like the fact that all silver tarnishes. In the previous article, I blog about 5 ways to keep your silver tarnish-free. Today, I would like to bring up another luxurious way that adds style to your precious silver jewelry and also helps preventing it from tarnishing at the same time!
Black Gold Plating
Black Gold Plating is one of the coolest and luxurious ways to protect your precious sterling silver from tarnishing. That's why we choose it for our men's jewelry line. Our black gold plated jewelry is plated with a generous layer of the '18K black gold' and therefore the nice black color will last a pretty good while before wearing off. For some people, our black gold plating can last for many years before they need to replate their jewelry. This also depends on the conditions the ring encounters in everyday wear.

360Jewels' 18K Black Gold Plated Earrings

The technical name of the black gold plating is black rhodium plating (rhodium is actually in the same family as platinum and is 10 times more expensive than pure gold!). We use electrodeposition process to coat our jewelry in micron measurement. Result?

• Unique metallic black finish
• Tarnish-resistant
• Abrasion-resistant
• Corrosion protection
• Wearing-resistant

_________________________________________________________

Related Articles:5 Ways to keep your silver tarnish free
What is rhodium plating?
What is sterling silver?

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroplating
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold
..and more

Taking care of stainless steel jewelry

Stainless steel jewelry is very attractive for a number of reasons as I stated in the previous post "why stainless steel jewelry?". Now when you read this post, you will find that the ease of caring makes it even more attractive.

1. Avoid harsh scratching

The caring is as simple as trying to avoid harsh scratching. Other possible problems apart from harsh scratching seems to be very minimal as stainless steel doesn't leave stain, doesn't tarnish, doesn't discolor. It resists oxidation, rust, and corrosion. It will not bend or break. ...It also doesn't scratch that easily, but it does scratch (like most other metal e.g. gold, silver, etc.). And when it scratches, the only way to get rid of the scratches is to get a professional buffing service (the same way you take care of the band of your expensive watches).

• So avoid putting it in your pocket without a jewelry bag or a sealed plastic bag.
• For stainless steel earrings, simply avoid putting the 2 earrings in the same bag as it may scratch each other.
• Also avoid hanging your ring on the rack etc.
• ...well, avoid any other situation that might scratch it :-)

2. Cleaning

Cleaning is simple. There are 4 easy possible ways to clean it.

Tips: Always clean your stainless steel jewelry lengthwise, and not in circular motion. And be gentle with your piece.

1) Clean with warm soapy water and very gently. Use a soft cloth (like a 100% cotton) and gently wipe it. In case of brushed stainless steel, move your cloth along the grain of your stainless steel jewelry as you don't want to leave your brushed jewelry with shiny spots. You shouldn't soak your stainless steel in water.

2) For a grimier pieces, just use 'plain' whitening toothpaste and soft cloth. And again, follow the grain of your piece.

3) Use stainless steel cleaner or jewelry cloth and gently wipe it.

4) Go to a professional.

3. Storage

Although stainless steel doesn't tarnish, it's always best to store it in a sealed container for utmost protection. I always like to store all of my jewelry in a ziplock bag for both visibility and protection. In case of earrings, store the 2 earrings separately to avoid scratching. You can also store it in the air-tight jewelry box like the one I mentioned in the post "5-way to keep your silver tarnish-free"

click here> 360Jewels' stainless steel bands

Click here> 360Jewels' stainless steel hoop earrings

Click here> 360Jewels' stainless steel stud earrings

View all Mens Earrings, Rings, and Accessories in our store, please click here

Other Related Articles:

5 Ways to Tarnish-Free Silver

How to use Jewelry Cloth to clean your jewelry

Our exclusive cufflinks stem design

Help for Haiti Earrings

Donation Status Update :

14 pairs of  "Jewelry for Charity" earrings were sold to a kind-hearted customer. Over $100 is already donated to Red Cross to support various charity campaign.  Those donations are on behalf of our customers.

Updated: April, 2012

Jewelry for Charity by 360Jewels

It's just 12 days after the joyous new year celebration that a 7.0 earthquake struck southern Haiti. It is incredibly shocking because more than 100,000 are dead. Here are some of the topline news and the help we can make for Haiti:

• The quake affected roughly one in three Haitians -- about 3 million people, the Red Cross estimated.

• Haitian President Preval: "You have to see it to believe it. Lots of houses destroyed, hospitals, schools, personal homes -- a lot of people in the street, dead."

• "I cannot live in the palace; I cannot live in my own house," said President Preval. "The two collapsed."

• "We don't have the capacity to bring all the injured to hospitals." , President Preval.

• "People are standing around wondering where to go."

• The hospitals are gone and medical supplies and heavy equipment are desperately needed.

• Estimated 40,000-45,000 Americans live in Haiti. Conditions of many unknown.

• "I heard a lot of people praying, saying that Jesus is coming, saying that we need to pray, we need to save our lives by believing in God," witness Carel Pedre tells CNN.

• The major need is for search and rescue. We have enormous numbers of people trapped under the rubble," United Nations' Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He added, "There's a big need for medical teams, medical facilities... "We need to get that on the ground very quickly."

As one of the human beings in this world, I really do think that we should reach out to help millions of lives over there, one way or another. Let's take action now. Either big or small action...it all counts.

Here are the list of official organizations that reach out their help to Haiti. It's one of the many ways we can help the victims.

Click Here> Doctors Without Borders

Click Here> SOS Children's Villages

Click Here> Help Haiti Now

Click Here> American Red Cross

Click Here> We donate 100% of sales revenue from this "Jewelry for Charity" Earrings Collection

There are many more ways you can help. Acts of kindness, whether big or small, can help. Learn More

What is rhodium plating?

What is rhodium?

Rhodium is a precious metal, a member of the platinum family. It is a metal ten times as costly as gold. The price of rhodium plated jewelry can be slightly higher comparing to the one without but the benefit is also substantial. But It is not a feasible material to make solid jewelry from because it is too stressed and brittle, but rhodium is fabulous as a plating for jewelry because it is glitteringly, dazzlingly, white and mirror-like.

Many of 360Jewels' arts are made of silver which, by nature, can be scratched and tarnished. Plating our precious pieces with rhodium, therefore helps extend the scratch-free / tarnish-free lifespan of our silver pieces a great deal.

rhodium is a member of platinum family, a metal 10 times as costly as gold

...a perfect metal for 'plating'

360Jewel's silver pieces are well-protected with rhodium plating,

to view more of our precious silver collection with rhodium plating, click here

Key benefit of rhodium plating?

1. Provide a surface that will resist scratches
2. Also help resist tarnish
3. Give white, reflective appearance

to view affordable rhodium plated jewelry , click here

The good quality plating can be very durable. For the pieces that have less contact like pins or earrings that you don't wear very often, the plating can last upto 10 years or even more. For the pieces that you wear everyday like a wedding band, it might wear off after 2 years. Good thing is you can simply replate your jewelry after the plating wears off.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plating
http://www.finishing.com/faqs/whitegold.html
http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/rhodiumplating_skvm.htm

Why Stainless Steel Jewelry works

During the holidays, many people travel. People worry about jewelry. You want to experience the world but you don't want your jewelry to wear out as you enjoy your activities outdoor.

For travelers / outdoorers / adventurers, "stainless steel" jewelry can be the best option for you. Here are the reasons why.

men's stainless steel earrings

view more designs, click here

5 Reasons Why Stainless Steel Jewelry works best for Travelers / Outdoorers:

1. Absolutely No tarnishing
2. No discoloring (unlink usual jewelry made of composite alloys)
3. Almost indestructible by just frequent usage
4. Amazingly hypoallergenic
5. Conveys a sense of masculinity / adventurer

These reasons make stainless steel jewelry very practical for anyone who love to be in style while traveling. Anyway, although stainless steel is one of the easiest metal to be taken care of, it is prone to scratch. So avoid scratching. You can read the simple ways to caring your stainless steel jewelry in this blog.

Or if you have a silver piece and would like to know how to take care of it, you can read this 5 ways to keep your silver tarnish free article.

in different shapes

in different color

view more stainless steel jewelry, click here

Whether you will spend your holidays outdoor or indoor, we wish you have a great time with yourself and with your good company.

{Inspired by} an unconditional love

This lovely pendant is designed and made by a real story inspiration!

Mon amie (my friend)

One of my best friends comes from France. Like most French, she has good tastes in almost everything from fashion, to art, to wine, to chocolate, to coffee, and other finer things in life. However, what really attracted me is her very kind heart. She is one of the most compassionate and gentle women I've ever known. We've worked together and been friends since year 2004.

Unconditonal love is the inspiration

Early this year, one of her biggest dreams came true. She became a mom of 2 lovely twin boys. I saw her pampered her little boys very carefully with gestures of pure love since the days they were still in her tummy until they came out to see the beautiful world. That inspired me so much that I decided to design this pendant and make it for her.

Translation of my inspiration

Outer circle is smooth & plain similar to a wedding band to represent pure love.

The twin brothers are represented by the two square shaped (masculine) blue sapphires. The deep blue sapphire was chosen to represent a male color. The two stones are set inside of a circle to represent the circle of life (or mother's womb). The circular pendant is a symbol of eternal love flowing in an everlasting loop. The outer circle is smooth and plain similar to a wedding band to represent pure love. This pendant doesn't have a clasp because it would act as a barrier to the everlasting loop. It is worn by simply putting a necklace right through it and allowing it to hang naturally. This makes it the perfect symbol.

The unconditional love from a mother to her children is the greatest love of all. Don't you think?

To view specifications of this pendant, visit our store