Repairs, Care, Wear

Please note that these policies take into consideration the fact that Catherine Zibo is a self-employment artisanal and artistic enterprise run by one, and only one, person. Thank you for understanding.

I clean my jewelry meticulously after finishing a piece, in order to remove any residue of polishing solutions etc. I revise my pieces carefully before shipping them. The metals I use are purchased from professional jewelry supplies dealers. Therefore I am not responsible by any personal skin reactions to the metals.

NATURAL WEAR AND AGEING

Please notice that the following is completely natural, and considered a part of a normal lifespan of a jewel:

darkening of silver, bronze, low-carat gold (10K and less)
marks or scratches on the metal surface due to wear, slight deformation of thinner rings
mild changes to the surface of real pearls (interaction with skin acids, perfume, detergents etc)
marks on the surfaces of more tender stones (like turquoise, etc)
slight deformation of round bodies of rings
light bending of earring posts or hooks, loosening of stud earring backs after a certain amount of wear

Please note that the manifestation of the aforementioned phenomena is not considered as a fault of production or poor quality control consequence.

A SPECIAL NOTE ON PEARLS!

Pearls are sensitive to detergents, sweat, acids, abrupt contact with hard surfaces like metal (scratching, even chipping of nacre). It is better to remove pearls before shower, swimming pool or beach trip.

If a pearl is glued onto a post (and not set or put on a wire all through), the glue will eventually weaken anda pearl may pop off. I use the high-quality two-component Vigor professional jewelry epoxy, but it is not a miracle solution.

The glue may be weakened by:

washing hands / shower with cleaning solutions
exposure to acetone
abrupt temperature changes (hand washing under contrast temperatures, going inside and outside in winter freezing cold, or changing between extreme outside heat and air-conditioned room, etc)

Repairs associated with pearls are very basic and easy ones if you keep a pearl (and many can be replaced even if you lose it), just see a local jewelry repair place or ask help from someone who has experience with jewelry glues. You can try this kind of repair by yourself if you feel confident about it.

Please note that cyanoacrylate glues (Krazy, etc) are not suitable for this.

SUGGESTIONS ON CARE AND STORAGE

Cleaning

Sometimes simple rubbing with a finger is enough to remove superficial oxidation or product of reaction with the environment (for example, smoke in a closed space). That's why worn rings oxidise much slower ;)
I provide a piece of polishing cloth with every jewel. Don't wash it. Rub it gently over darkened areas,
If a piece doesn't have pearls or stones, and hasn't been oxidized (black areas by design), you can dip it intp special jewelry-cleaning solution following the instructions on the package.
Gentle rubbing with an old toothbrush and regular toothpaste may do the job, especially on matte or textured non-oxidized surfaces. (It is not recommended by many, but it works, and sometimes removes what other products can't)
Old soft toothbrush is great for removing dirt.

Storage

Ideally, try to keep the jewel in its box or a specially designed jewelry box.

Avoid having jewelry clustered together, rubbing on each other etc.

Less exposure to oxygen (for example putting a jewel into a ziploc bag) can slow down oxidation.

Do not keep dyed pearls under direct sunlight for a long time, for example in a show box by the window (wearing them in summer sun is safe though!).

Daily wear

Avoid wearing pearls over cosmetic products, and put them on when you've applied perfume already.

Remove jewelry before gardening, cleaning, contacts with chemicals.

Do not let jewelry drop on hard surfaces like tiles. Some more fragile materials like pearls (especially glued) can be very easily damaged like that.

A lot of contact of rings with hard metal surfaces might lead to their marking and scratching on the inside. Most designs can be easily repolished at a jeweller's bench for a modest fee.

Finally, it is always best to go with common sense considering anything about non-traditional materials in jewelry (paper, rubber etc...) Signature jewelry / wearable art pieces are sometimes more fragile and are not the best choice for intense daily wear in regular casual contexts.

SOMETHING HAPPENED TO YOUR JEWEL BY CATHERINE ZIBO?

If you couldn't find a solution for your problem, or there is any damage you would like to signal or have my advise about, don't hesitate to write me.