Fine jewelry is built to be worn, not stored in a box. How you wear, clean, and store your pieces makes the difference between something that looks new in five years and something that doesn't make it past the first anniversary. Here is our daily-use care guide.
Daily wear
The single biggest thing you can do for your jewelry is be intentional about when you put it on. The order of operations matters:
- Shower
- Dry off completely
- Moisturise
- Style your hair (heat tools off)
- Apply perfume
- Wait 5 minutes
- Then put on your jewelry
This sequence keeps perfume, lotion, and product residue off the metal, the primary cause of accelerated tarnish and dulled stones.
Cleaning at home
For plated 18K white gold and stainless steel
A microfibre cloth is your best friend. Wipe pieces down at the end of every day, 10 seconds per item. Once a month, give it a deeper clean: a few drops of mild dish soap in warm water, soak for 5 minutes, gently brush with a soft toothbrush, rinse, pat dry. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners and abrasive pastes, both eat the plating.
For 925 silver
Silver tarnishes, that is not a defect, it is the metal reacting with sulphur in the air. To restore the bright finish, use a dedicated silver polishing cloth. Rub gently in straight lines, not circles. For deeply tarnished pieces, professional polishing once a year keeps them sharp.
What to take off
The cardinal rule: jewelry comes off before water that is not your shower. Specifically:
- Pool, sea, hot tub. Chlorine and salt are the fastest tarnish accelerators. Twenty minutes of pool exposure can dull plating that would otherwise last years.
- Gym. Sweat is mildly acidic and reacts with most metals over time. If you cannot take it off, rinse with fresh water immediately after.
- Cleaning the house. Bleach and ammonia are jewelry killers.
- Cooking, especially with strong spices. Turmeric in particular stains silver and dulls white gold plating faster than anything in your kitchen.
Storage
Store pieces individually, not piled together. Metal-on-metal contact scratches, and tangled chains stretch over time.
- Soft pouch or fabric-lined box per piece
- Cool, dry, dark, not the bathroom (humidity tarnishes)
- Anti-tarnish strips in the storage box if you have silver
- Necklaces flat or hanging, never coiled
When to bring it in
Some things you should not try to fix at home. Bring the piece to us. Every Zero Degrees piece carries a lifetime warranty for these specifically:
- A stone has loosened or fallen out
- The plating has worn through to the base metal (we re-plate, free)
- A clasp is bent, broken, or stiff
- A chain has stretched, kinked, or developed weak links
- Resizing for rings that no longer fit comfortably
Email hello@zero-degrees.co or DM us to book a service appointment. Most repairs turn around in 5 to 10 business days.
The longevity payoff
A piece of jewelry cared for this way, even a daily-worn one, should look indistinguishable from new at the five-year mark. That is the standard we built the brand around. Treat your pieces like the everyday objects they are, and they will outlast every trend you have ever bought into.
Our full care guide covers material-specific deep-cleans and warranty terms.
