Jewelry Care

We spend time nurturing ourselves, finding moments to breathe and restore. The jewelry that holds our memories needs that exact same gentle devotion to keep its light alive for a lifetime.

Your Feminine Creatures pieces are made from natural materials and real metals: freshwater pearls, shell and crystals, set in gold-plated stainless steel, sterling silver or solid bronze. Each metal lives a little differently on the skin, and each one asks for something slightly different from you.

Easy tips to make them last

Whatever your piece is made of, these are the habits that matter most.

• Last on, first off. Perfume, hairspray, lotion and suncream all go on first and dry fully. Your jewelry goes on after.
• Take it off for water and sweat. The shower, the pool, the sea and the gym are hard on every material here, pearls and shell most of all.
• Wipe it after wearing. Ten seconds with a soft dry cloth removes the skin oils and salt that do the slow damage.
• Sleep without it. A night of turning is how clasps loosen, hoops bend and chains knot.
• Give each piece its own space. Stored loose together, harder pieces scratch softer ones and chains find each other in the dark.
• Fasten the clasp before you put it away. A closed chain cannot tangle itself.
• Wear it. Jewelry left in a drawer for a year fares worse than jewelry that is loved regularly and wiped after.

Gold-plated stainless steel

Our stainless steel is hypoallergenic, tarnish-resistant and water-friendly, so it handles daily life with ease. The plating is the part to look after. Skip abrasive cloths and chemical jewelry dips, which wear the gold away, and wipe the piece with a soft cloth instead.

Sterling silver

Sterling silver darkens over time. It is not a flaw and it is not damage, it is simply what silver does in contact with air, and it lifts away easily. Bring the shine back with a soft silver polishing cloth, working only on the metal itself. Between wears, keep silver pieces in a small sealed bag with the air pressed out, which slows the whole process down considerably.

Solid bronze

Bronze deepens and warms as you wear it, settling into a patina that is part of its character. If you prefer it bright, a soft dry cloth after each wear keeps it close to where it started. Bronze prefers to stay dry, so take it off before swimming, showering and the gym. On some skin, bronze leaves a faint green mark. It washes straight off, it is harmless, and it is the copper in the alloy reacting with your skin rather than anything wrong with the piece.

Freshwater pearls and shell

Natural pearls and shell are soft, living materials. Keep them away from perfume, hairspray, lotions and harsh cleaners, and avoid prolonged soaking in water. Wipe them gently with a soft, dry cloth after wearing.

Abalone, and other one-of-a-kind pieces

Abalone is shell, which means it is softer and more porous than it looks, and its colour sits in fine natural layers that scratch more easily than metal. Wipe it only with a soft cloth, slightly damp at most. No chemicals, no polishes, no dips, no ultrasonic cleaners, and no long soaks. Store it on its own, where nothing harder can rest against it.

These pieces are made one at a time from a shell that exists once, so there is no second one waiting on a shelf. If something happens to yours, message me before you try to fix it yourself. I made it, and most of the time I can repair it.

One thing never to do

Never put a piece into a chemical jewelry dip. Those dips are made for bare metal, and most of our pieces combine metal with pearl, shell or abalone. A dip will clean the metal and ruin everything beside it in the same moment.

Storing your pieces

Store each piece in its pouch or a soft-lined box, away from direct sunlight and moisture. Keeping pieces separate prevents scratches and tangled chains.

If something goes wrong

Everything here is made by hand in Athens, by me, which means it can usually be mended by hand too. A loose clasp, a bent hoop, a broken thread: write to info@femininecreatures.com or send a message on Instagram and we will sort it out.

✦︎ Treated kindly, each piece stays as unique as the day you found it.