Care Advise

In order for your FGL clothes and Jewellery to stay in good condition and last a long time, we recommend that you follow our care advise for tips and instructions.

FOR YOUR CLOTHES

• Hand wash. Don’t soak for more than 20 minutes.
• Stretch the garment gently after washing
• Hang dry
• Iron when dry

FOR YOUR JEWELLERY

Sterling Silver 925 or 925 Silver

925 silver has 99.9% of silver, and a small content composed of other metals such as copper. Sterling silver, on the other hand, consists of 92.5% silver, and the remaining part consists of other metals, mostly copper.

Gold plating Sterling Silver 925 or Gold plating 925 Silver 

Gold plating 925 Silver, means the jewellery is made from 925 Silver with a covering of 20 karats gold, the plating contain roughly 80 % of gold. Gold plating Sterling Silver 925, means the jewellery is made from Sterling Silver 925 covering with 20 karats gold plating.

HOW TO PREVENT TARNISH

Knowing what’s harmful to your jewellery is the best way to prevent tarnish.

• Wear it often: Believe it or not, your skins natural oils will help keep the jewellery shiny. One of the easiest ways to prevent tarnish is to simply wear your jewellery often as opposed to leaving it in a jewellery box unworn.
• Remove during household chores: Substances with additional sulphur like household cleaners, chlorinated water, perspiration and rubber will accelerate corrosion and tarnish. It’s a good idea to remove the jewellery completely before cleaning.
• Lotions, makeups, hair spray and perfumes will accelerate tarnishing. Avoid having your jewellery associated with this.
• Keep out of direct sunlight: Before you hit the beach or pool, be sure to remove your jewellery. Sunlight can cause tarnish as well. Also for example do not wear your jewellery in sauna, heat in general can cause tarnish.
• Put your jewellery on last: For generations, women have been putting their jewellery on last and that’s for good reason!

UNDERSTAND WHY JEWELLERY TARNISH

Sterling Silver or Silver 925 is an alloyed metal, normally made of 92.5% pure silver and other metals. Sterling silver is a popular metal because of its affordability and malleability, but it also tarnishes quickly because of its composition.
If you’re looking at a piece of jewellery that is darkened or appears dirty, then your silver has tarnished; but, there’s no need to neglect this piece or get rid of it!
Tarnish is simply the result of a chemical reaction with oxygen or sulphur particles in the air. With a few easy-to-follow tips, you can take care of your jewellery and make it last for years!

STORING YOUR JEWELLERY

• Use an air-tight container: Store your jewellery in the box that comes with it or other suitable container.
• Keep in a cool, dark place: As mentioned above, sunlight, heat and moisture accelerate tarnishing. Be sure to keep your jewellery in a cool, dark place.
• Store pieces individually: Storing your pieces separately prevents any chance of jewellery scratching or tangling with each other.
• Store jewellery with chalk: If you throw a few pieces of chalk together with your jewellery, the chalk will absorb the moisture and help prevent tarnishing.
• Consider anti-tarnish strips or cloths: You can throw in some anti-tarnish strips with your jewellery to help prevent tarnishing. Or also lining your jewellery box with anti-tarnish cloths is a great idea. These cloths absorb sulphur and moisture from the air and are usually chemically treated to prevent tarnish.
• Do not store in paper, cardboard, or cotton-filled boxes: These boxes may contain traces of sulphur which will contribute to tarnishing.

CLEANING YOUR JEWELLERY

If you don’t want to hand in your jewellery for cleaning there are countless at-home methods for cleaning your jewellery. You’ve probably found yourself faced with endless options, wondering which are the best. There are many methods that you’ll come across, but we highly suggest these because of how gentle they are on your jewellery.

• Soap and water: This is our most recommended method because of the gentleness of soap and water. This should really be your first line of defence before trying anything else.
  This is also the only option if you have to clean your gold plated jewellery though you need to be more careful of these!
• Baking soda and water: If you come across suggestions to use toothpaste, we highly recommend you ignore that tip and use baking soda and water instead.
  When toothpastes were simple non-whitening, non-gel based pastes, they could be used on your jewellery. However, they include many more ingredients now that may damage. Instead make a paste from baking soda and water, apply a small amount onto a cloth or tooth brush and scrub gently.
• White vinegar and baking soda: This gentle cleaning method is great for removing heavy tarnish. Soak your jewellery in ½ cup of white vinegar and 2 tbsp of baking soda (combine these in the sink and prepare yourself for the fizzing and foam) for two to three hours. Rinse jewellery and pat dry.
• Finish with a polish: After you’ve given your jewellery a good cleaning, you can finish the process by using a polishing cloth that’s specifically for what the jewellery is made of.

You can repeat this process as often as needed. Remember, the key to keeping your jewellery clean is to keep up with regular cleanings to remove tarnish as it builds. It becomes much more difficult if you let a piece accumulate a lot of tarnish and then try to remove it all at once.