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.

Kalevala makes bright or dyed bronze jewelry. Bright bronze jewelry is treated to shine like gold. However, these pieces are not gold-plated. Dyed bronze jewelry is treated with a dark patina dye that beautifully emphasizes the ornaments along with the grooves and pits in the jewelry. Most designs in the Kalevala Originals collection are made from dyed bronze. Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and zinc, and it typically tarnishes easier than precious metals. New pieces of bronze jewelry have a protective varnish that prevents tarnishing. It also protects your skin or sensitive fair-colored materials against green discoloration when in contact with the jewelry. However, the varnish cannot be used on bronze locks because it would jam the lock mechanism. This is why the locks tarnish faster than the jewelry itself. The varnish is damaged when it comes into contact with various chemicals, and it also wears out with use. We recommend that you take off your jewelry when doing sports, taking a sauna or swimming in salty, mineral-rich or chlorinated water. You can use the Kalevala polishing cloth to restore the shine in places where the varnish has worn off. After polishing, wash the jewelry with mild soap to make sure that the cleaning detergent contained in the cloth does not stain your clothes. The jewelry can be re-varnished by Kalevala’s repair and maintenance service for a separate fee.

Kalevala gold jewelry is made from 18 or 14 karat yellow or white gold. The pure gold concentration is 75.0 percent by weight in the 18 karat gold alloy and 58.5 percent in the 14 karat alloy. In addition to gold, yellow gold contains silver and copper, and white gold contains silver and palladium. We use recycled gold only. Gold jewelry does not tarnish even over decades. Washing with soap is usually all the care it needs. If necessary, gold jewelry can be cleaned using a special gold cleaning detergent, which is sold in jewelry stores. Even though gold alloys do not tarnish, they are relatively soft, which means that pieces made from them become worn with use. This is why we recommend you bring your gold jewelry to Kalevala’s repair and maintenance service for regular maintenance, which consists of cleaning, polishing, restoring worn parts and checking the setting of stones. This service is subject to a separate fee.

A good rule for owners of pearl jewelry: pearl jewelry should be the last you put on and the first you take off. It is good to wipe the pearls with a clean, soft cloth after each use. We recommend that you bring your pearl jewelry to Kalevala’s repair and maintenance service for regular maintenance, which consists of cleaning the jewelry, checking and possibly repairing the weaving of pearls. This service is subject to a separate fee.

Kalevala’s Repair and Maintenance Service

If your precious piece of Kalevala jewelry is broken, you can turn to Kalevala’s repair and maintenance service for assistance. If you purchased your jewelry from one of our retailers, please go to the store where you bought it. Our retailers’ skilled employees can often repair jewelry on-site.

As every piece of Kalevala jewelry is hand-made, every piece is also individual. This is why we cannot give an exact repair price estimate without seeing the piece. However, you can find some guidelines in the repair price list below. In addition to the list prices, we charge postal fees for deliveries.

Warranty

All Kalevala products have a warranty that covers manufacturing defects. If a manufacturing defect is proven in a piece of jewelry, Kalevala will repair it free of charge. Manufacturing defects do not include wear or damage caused by using the jewelry, such as the loosening of pearl weaving, fatigue in loops, varnish wearing or tarnishing. Furthermore, the warranty does not cover defects that can be attributed to improper care, use or storage of the jewelry.

In matters related to maintenance and the warranty for our jewelry, please contact our repair and maintenance service by e-mail huolto @ kalevala.fi or telephone +358 207 611 311 (mobile/local network charge, priced by the caller’s operator).