Jewelry care instructions
Take good care of your precious jewelry and make sure it lasts from generation to generation. On this page, you can find care instructions for different materials to help keep your jewelry bright and shiny.
For all pieces of Kalevala jewelry, apart from pearl necklaces and bracelets, we recommend washing with warm water and mild soap after use, especially if the jewelry has been in contact with cosmetics (lotions, perfumes, hair spray, etc.). The original package is a good place to store your jewelry. If you want to further protect your jewelry against the tarnishing effect of air impurities, you can keep it in a tightly sealed plastic bag, such as a Ziplock bag. Please note that it is not a good idea to keep your jewelry by the bathroom sink.
All of our jewelry is made in Finland in compliance with the EU REACH regulation’s criteria pertaining to nickel.
Silver Jewelry
Kalevala silver jewelry is made from sterling silver, containing 92.5 percent by weight of silver and 7.5 percent by weight of copper. More than 80 percent of the silver we use is recycled, while the remaining silver comes from Nordic mines. All silver pieces are plated with pure silver. After silver plating, some pieces are treated with a dark patina dye that beautifully emphasizes the ornaments along with the grooves and pits in the jewelry. If the material information with the jewelry says ‘bright silver’, this means the piece has not been dyed after silver plating. Silver jewelry always tarnishes over time. Tarnishing can be prevented by regularly cleaning the jewelry and storing it properly (see instructions in the introduction section above). Tarnished spots can be cleaned using the Kalevala polishing cloth. After polishing, wash the jewelry with mild soap to make sure that the cleaning detergent contained in the cloth does not stain your clothes. Please note that the polishing cloth is not suitable for cleaning the stones in silver jewelry. Furthermore, mat finished or highly three-dimensional pieces can be difficult to clean with the polishing cloth. Jewelry stores sell silver cleaning liquids into which you immerse your jewelry and then immediately rinse it carefully under running water. However, bear in mind that these liquids contain very strong chemicals, so you must follow the detergent manufacturer’s instructions extra carefully. We do not recommend the use of cleaning liquids on dyed silver jewelry because the detergent may remove the dye and make the jewelry bright. You can also have your tarnished silver jewelry cleaned by Kalevala’s repair and maintenance service for a separate fee.