The Right Way to Clean Jewelry

00:27-00:41 Troy Olson: welcome to the modern jewelry. Podcast. This is Troy. welcome to episode 3 of season, 2. Today. Our special guest is Kathleen, George from the Kingswood company. welcome, Kathleen.

00:41-00:44 Kathleen: Hi, thank you so much for having me, Troy.

00:45-00:52 Troy Olson: Yeah, it's great to have you here, so to kick it off. I'd love for you to just share with me a little bit about your background in jewelry business.

00:53-01:12 Kathleen: Yeah, actually, I don't have a lot of background in the jewelry business. My first job here with the Kingswood Company was my introduction. My background before was a little bit in sales and in chemistry. Actually, I have a

01:12-01:25 Kathleen: a Bachelor of science in biochemistry, and so I was working in a labs prior to this, and doing some sales on the side and kind of decided to pivot

01:26.040-01:32.380 Kathleen: industries and move into sales, and I happened into the case of the company.

01:32.430-01:36.229 Kathleen: which which is jewelry, and I've been here for about 6 and a half years.

01:38-01:44 Troy Olson: Great! Can you tell me a little bit about the Kingswood Company and what your role is there?

01:44-01:45 Kathleen: Yes.

01:46-02:01 Kathleen: so the kings with company has been around for over 65 years. We are the leading innovators and highly customized private label jewelry, cleaning and care products, polishing products for consumers.

02:01-02:03 Kathleen: today, we're a women don't company.

02:03-02:08 Kathleen: And we have been, I think, for over 15 years. we bring

02:08-02:32 Kathleen: excellent customer service, excellent formulas, sophisticated packaging. We're constantly innovating. And we're a full service provider to all different kinds of retailers. We work with companies like John at Tensio like designers, and they have their stores, but we also work with like traditional retail upon like kind of everything. in addition to our private label business.

02:32-02:35 Kathleen: we have a wholesale brand called cleaning care.

02:36-02:44 Kathleen: and this is like a high end. Retail ready product. Line that. Jewelers and retailers can wholesale and

02:44-03:09 Kathleen: order accessible quantities soft to their customers my role at the case of company. I'm a see your account manager and I help guide retailers to help them find what products are, gonna be best for their customers to care for their jewelry at home, and then I also help them customize it to fit their unique branding and packaging with all of our different customization options.

03:12-03:26 Troy Olson: Great? Yeah, great. Thank you for that background. I'd love if you could provide just an overview, you know, really high level overview of jewel, that of the jewelry cleaning process. And why it's so important for maintaining the beauty of jewelry.

03:29-03:58 Kathleen: of course. So we really think of jewelry cleaning as a 2 step process the cleaning, which is like cleaning the dirt and oils off the jewelry and gemstones, and then polishing off any tarnish and discoloration. So typically when you're thinking of cleaning, we're we're thinking of those 2 elements. And that's like, typically how we guide a customer or a jeweler to offer a product line in their stores.

03:59-04:20 Kathleen: Not only does like cleaning, help it look new and remove this certain oils and tarnishing, but it's also going to protect any delicate gemstones and settings and extend the life of your jewelry for a really long time, and you're going to invest in an expensive piece. that you want to keep for a long time. You want to take care of it.

04:24-04:31 Troy Olson: Great! What are some of the common mistakes that people make when cleaning their jewelry at home, and how can they avoid them?

04:33-05:00 Kathleen: Yeah, some of the most common mistakes is usually, when people choose to do a diy solution. there are so many out there. We actually have some blogs on our website about that. But like an example is, you know people using like windex boiling water and trying to clean it. Boiling water, using like toothpaste and toothbrush. You know, when you're using a different chemical

05:00-05:09 Kathleen: that's not designed to clean jewelry. You may think it will be okay, but you don't really know all the different elements that are

05:09-05:19 Kathleen: based around it. There could be like moisturizers and multifiers. Things like that that aren't meant to be on the jewelry. so it's not going to be safe in those applications.

05:20-05:47 Kathleen: I always like to say you don't use the same products like clean your bathroom that you use to clean your clothing, that you use to clean your dishes, but that you used to wash your hair. You have a specific product for that, because it's a different surface and a different function and needs different care. So you want to use a product that's formulated specifically for a type of surface you're working with. Just to address some of the examples, I said, a common one is like toothpaste. Right?

05:47-05:50 Kathleen: 2 paid 2 toothpaste.

05:50-05:52 Kathleen: I'll start over for, say.

05:53-06:04 Kathleen: a common one I mentioned to address, that is toothpaste. It's too gritty for jewelry, if it cause like scratches on the metal or more delicate gemstones.

06:04-06:22 Kathleen: toothbrushes. People have to think is fine to use. We typically don't recommend that because the longer handle on the toothbrush can apply too much like pressure or torque on to a setting, you could potentially

06:22-06:25. Kathleen: damage a setting or hurt your gemstone.

06:25-06:42 Kathleen: We do have a little touch up brush, that's included with your jar jewelry cleaner, because it's just enough to get off the durn oil to kind of get behind the settings. It's safe for an At home cleaning. And then anything more extensive.

06:42-06:47 Kathleen: you know, you should still be getting your jewelry professionally with your jeweler.

06:49-07:19 Troy Olson: Well, that that is so informative. I'm just having flashbacks to when I went to clean my barbecue grill, and it's made out of, like, you know, 3 or 4 stainless steel or something, and I totally use the wrong material, because it's now like ghostly white color. I can't even remember now what I did to it. But yeah, I can't imagine putting jewelry and like boiling water, or it makes sense with toothpaste. I mean, there's all kinds of different

07:19-07:35 Kathleen: toothpaste and grits and m chemicals, and all kinds of stuff in there that that I don't know if you know that just kind of go into like the chemical side, but they've since been banned, but they're still like micro

07:36-07:49 Kathleen: type of I don't know what they are. They? They're not plastics anymore. I think they're like biodegradable. so they're more friendly for the environment. But they used to be in there, and like those could just imagine, just like rubbing plastic

07:50-07:55 Kathleen: like on, like a pearl, or an opal, or something that's really sensitive and delicate.

07:56-08:15 Troy Olson: I think he also said, we index, which makes me think of that movie, my big for a Greek wedding where the father I did just watch that recently. I I could just see a blog post about, you know, every clean everything with index. But yeah, that that makes total sense.

08:15-08:29 Troy Olson: so about professionally cleaning. So how often should different types of jewelry be professionally cleaned? And you know what factors should be considered when determining, determining how often you do that?

08:32-08:42 Kathleen: Yes, I would say, you know, ask your professional jeweler what they recommend. Most jewelers tend to say, come in like one to 2 times a year for a

08:42-08:44 Kathleen: let me start that over.

08:44-09:09 Kathleen: yeah. So we suggest to always ask your jeweler for the recommendation most tend to suggest, visiting one, or 2 times a year so like about every 6 months for a professional cleaning and inspection. I think that would also depend on the frequency that you're wearing the piece. I mean, if this is the piece you're only wearing

09:10-09:28 Kathleen: like twice a year, it might not need to be cleaned as often. You may still want to get it inspected for like insurance purposes. Who knows? some jewelers also have, like warranty programs that they require you to come in every

09:28-09:52 Kathleen: 6 months or a year to keep your warranty up to date. So just keep that in mind, too. typically, they'll let you know that. But you might want to check with them. and the reason you're doing this is they're able to do a deeper clean. They can steam clean at home. They can check the prongs and the settings to make sure your jumps are safe. If there's anything to stop, they can repair

09:52.270-09:59.880 Kathleen: right? I often like to explain it. I think about like when you go to the dentist. So

09:59-10:15 Kathleen: you brush your teeth. Day. We get home, if not twice a day, right to clean, and you still go to the dentist, though once or twice a year you don't only go to the dentist to only clean your teeth, and you don't only clean your teeth at home. You still need that professional

10:15-10:19 Kathleen: cleaning. But you also need the professional at home products.

10:22-10:42 Troy Olson: Yeah, that that makes sense. And you know, every time my my kids complain at night, when I tell them they need to brush their teeth, I'm like, no, it's okay. You only have to brush the teeth that you want to keep. So it's it's probably the same with jewelry. You only have to get cleaned the ones that you want to look nice and pretty for a long time. So

10:42-10:57 Kathleen: and if they're young I've maybe they're still losing on their team. So they're so they're all going anyway, once they get those adult ones, and they need to keep those. Exactly. This is gonna last your whole life. So that's it.

10:57-11:06 Troy Olson: And the thanks for bringing up jumpstones. I know. You know the gemstone is usually going to be the most valuable part of a piece of jewelry, so

11:06-11:17 Troy Olson: are there specific cleaning methods or products that are recommended for for different types of gemstones. You've got diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires. Is there any

11:17-11:19 Troy Olson: real different materials that you use?

11:21-11:28 Kathleen: Yeah, the kings with company, we definitely have a few different formulations. if you're looking for something

11:28-11:30 Kathleen: that can clean

11:30-11:39 Kathleen: a lot, a wide variety of gemstones like diamonds. Emerald to be sapphires. you're gonna be looking more at our gentle jewelry cleaner.

11:40-11:49 Kathleen: It's gonna be delicate enough for like a pro or an emerald but it also can clean something harder, like diamonds and sapphires.

11:53-11:56 Kathleen: This is maybe the section where I don't know how to like

11:56-12.00 Kathleen: go into these 2 subjects? I feel like

12:00-12:08 Kathleen: this question. And the next question they're kind of similar. I don't know I had that I had talking about the different form of this in the next section.

12:09-12:17 Kathleen: I just wanted to mention that or you and maybe you can edit or organize them the way you want. I just that they

12:18-12:28 Troy Olson: sometimes it's confusing to go between this, the like to explain. I feel like you have to kind of explain all the different formulas, and then you can kind of like, go into the for or.

12:28-12:47 Kathleen: yeah, I'll go into more specifics on the formulas. You want to also mention the John 10 to your gentle formula, like, when you get into that, that would be, yeah, I think I have that at 1 point. But I can mention it again. Okay, that you guys have the jail formula. I could do that line. I could do that. You might do that question again if you want.

12:47-12:55 Troy Olson: So you may ask the same question again and go on to the next one. The Tell tell me about gentle versus standard cleaners that were, which

12:57-13:05 Kathleen: maybe let's do. Can we do that question, and then actually, and then do the question above it? I like it might make more sense

13:05-13:07 Troy Olson: the conversationally.

13:09-13:21 Kathleen: And when you need standard jewelry cleaners, do you mean, like other formulas out there like, or like a more diamond cleaner? That's kind of what I was going into, or I could maybe just explain

13:21-13:22 Kathleen: what I think.

13:23-13:52 Jodi McLoughlin: Yeah, I'm not sure. Joni wrote that question. So oh, my, gosh, so I yeah, I think it's really I don't think people are really knowledgeable at all about what they should use or how to clean it at the shelf. And you're like, oh, here's a gentle. Here's a you know. I mean, it's one of those I think is really helpful to people. So just maybe explain all the different kinds of you can even get into the scientific.

13:52-14:01 Kathleen: You know, solution, like, it's stronger because it would take care of X. And this one is general, that kind of thing. Yeah. Okay, yeah, definitely. Okay.

14:01-14:02 Troy Olson: okay.

14:03-14:08 Troy Olson: cool. And thank you. Jeremy. I think you you gave me a a good way to ask this question. So all right.

14:08-14:39 Troy Olson: so, Kathleen? Tell me. You know I I I imagine, standing in front of a a bunch of choices, you know, as we often as consumers or shopping and looking at different options. I'm like, man. Do I need the extra strength, or do I need this? You know? in in terms of jewelry cleaners. I know there's there's often like a gentle level, say, some more standard levels. So you got the Kingswood clean and care, you know. Help help me understand the differences and how to make those choices.

14:41-14:50 Kathleen: Yes, I definitely think it can be confusing. with different formulas and making sure you know what your jewelry is made out of. So

14:50-15:17 Kathleen: I'll say this a lot today, but I always recommend asking your jeweler for what they recommend, making sure you know what your jewelry is made of, so that you know properly how to clean it. but we offer like 3 main formulas. And I think that's typically what you would see out there as a consumer. you're typically going to see like a fine or a diamond cleaner. You'll see a general or a delicate cleaner.

15:17-15:28 Kathleen: and then you'll see a sterling silver jewelry cleaner, and they're all designed differently and for different cleaning purposes, different gemstones. So we can start with a fine.

15:28-15:57 Kathleen: or like a fine or a diamond. Jewelry cleaner is a little bit more of a traditional jewelry cleaner that you might find out there. it is a typically like an ammonia formula, or it contains like ammonia. So it's deeply clean. The diamonds and other harder gemstones. You would want to use it on things like diamond sapphires. Rubies? But you would want to avoid it on some softer gemstones. it's also state for gold, platinum. 15:57-15:58 Kathleen: things like that.

15:59-16:20 Kathleen: Then it kind of go into the gentle or a delicate formula. It's usually something that's going to be safe for a wider variety of gemstones. you still can use it to clean your diamonds and goals things just not quite as deep of a clean as like a diamond or fine jewelry cleaner. but it's going to be safe. It's not going to contain a bone yet, and it can

16:20-16:31 Kathleen: sophisticatedly clean things like turquoise pearls, opals, emeralds. it can clean plated gold, it will clean the during oils from sterling silver.

16:31-16:33 Kathleen: so

16:33-16:40 Kathleen: it's made of sophisticated surfaces. And so it's the John a tensio gentle jewelry cleaner.

16:41-16:56 Kathleen: It's made with sophisticated for fact. It's to safely remove certain oils without damaging any plating or gemstones, and you may have the words for fact and be like, okay, what's that? So for fact, it is a type of cleaner

16:56-17:01 Kathleen: product, like an ingredient that is able to remove

17:01-17:24 Kathleen: certain oils without agitation. So if you think of in your own life, you have detergents I usually use like a detergent in a washing machine right? And that your washing machine usually has like an agitator. It has to like, mix it and stir it, or think of like your dishwashing liquid. It doesn't clean or sets until you like.

17:24-17:35 Kathleen: rub and agitate it. So surfact. It doesn't mean the agitation, and that's why it's really good for jewelry, because it's going to be safer and not damage it.

17:35-17:44 Kathleen: Then we'll go into the third formula. That's our silver jewelry cleaner. This is going to be sternly silver. Only So

17:44-18:02 Kathleen: you're not going to what any other gems or any other battles it's going to remove, tarnish specifically, but also think some certain oils. I think we maybe have some. We'll go more into that later. But I don't know if you want me to say that, but you want to be kind of cut it off. But 18:02-18:05 Kathleen: hey! I can say it better.

18:08-18:14 Kathleen: that we have silver jewelry cleaner. and that's going to remove tarnish specifically from sterling silver only

18:18-18:40 Troy Olson: got it, and that that's the one I'm tempted to use on my barbecue grill to see if that would help. But I'm just joking. Well, I I would love to maybe talk through a list of gemstones that need, you know, special click care or cleaning. you know. Or maybe these are ones that have a

18:40-18:43 Troy Olson: our software on the more rating scale. And

18:43-18:49 Troy Olson: I I'd love you to maybe just talk through some of those gemstones and what some of their common features might be.

18:49-18:52. Kathleen: Oh, yeah. Oh, you know what I wanted to add. One more point.

18:53-19:02. Kathleen: maybe like what makes what may, what's different about like kings with jewelry clears versus like other jewelry cleaners on the market.

19:03-19:14 Jodi McLoughlin: Maybe that would be like a good. I would definitely see that. Yeah, I think that was maybe a little bit of what you're asking about to in that question. So I did have like a quick little point on that. Okay, great.

19:16-19:19 Kathleen: I don't know. Do you want to set up the question, Troy, or should I just say it?

19:20-19:33 Troy Olson: Should I just modify this question to to fit that in because is that kind of where you guys where you have your specialty is in in these more special care gems or

19:33-19:55 Kathleen: well, I just just gonna say, like my answer was just say, like, what makes the kings a company different? Then maybe other mark. Other jewelry cleaners out there is like we have our own trade secret formulas. They are like the 3. I'm talking about our own proprietary formulas, and they've been using love for over 65 years. So people really love the performance of them. And

19:56-20:02 Troy Olson: yeah, let me just put it, I'll just pose a question of you know, what what makes you different. So

20:03-20:07 Troy Olson: I'll do that. And then you can just dive in. How does that sound? Yeah.

20:08-20:09 Troy Olson: cool. So here, here's the question.

20:11-20:21 Troy Olson: All right, Kathleen. I think this would be a good time to just pause and say, You know what what makes the kings with company products different than everything else. I'm going to find out there.

20:23-20:41 Kathleen: Yes. So the kings of company we've been in business, as I mentioned, over 65 years, and of the formulas I was just talking about. They're all our own trade secret formulas. So their own special solution that people have love and been impressed with

20:41-21:04 Kathleen: for so long. They really do perform. Well, we use really high quality ingredients. so you're gonna notice a really big difference. People are always very impressed. with the before and after. I encourage you to take one. If you get the John a tensor, jewelry cleaner or another jewelry leader from us. just to see how big of a difference. It really does make

21:07-21:08 Troy Olson: great.

21:08-21:28 Troy Olson: So I'd I'd like to go back to some of those gemstones that need some special care when they're being clean Maybe they're softer on the more rating scale. Or maybe there's other common features of of those gemstones. Could you maybe tell us a little bit about what those gymstones would be and what kind of care they might need.

21:30-21:58 Kathleen: Yeah, I do wanna preface. I am not a genologist, but it does tend to align typically with like a softer gemstone on the most scale. but not always. It can also depend on the porous nature, or if a gemstone has been treated or enhanced. That's something you might want to ask your jeweler about. I've listed some of them, but

21:58-22:20 Kathleen: Like some gemstones off the top. My head, that are softer, that usually be treated with a more gentle jewelry cleaner would be like a turquoise, pearl, opal emeralds, etc. we do have a jewelry cleaning chart that's on our website. But you may also want to consult your jeweler for any specifics.

22:20-22:31 Kathleen: sorry. I don't know. That must have been some car driving by blurry. There'd be like a sh the whole building.

22:31-22:33 Kathleen: but

22:35-22:58 Kathleen: yes, you would. Wanna. I was just asking your jeweler for any specifics, Jem, sense that you may have, that you want it clean differently. for one example, I know Jona Ted to, I think, uses some meteorite. They don't recommend it being cleaned in their general formula, but It can clean some of those other more delicate gemstones

22:58-23:09 Kathleen: and even their engagement line. So that's nice. But always just check with your jeweler, because we do have a list of Jen. So it's not everything. So if you have something more unique.

23:10-23:11 Kathleen: I would check with your jeweler.

23:15-23:17 Troy Olson: Great?

23:17-23:24 Troy Olson: So what? What are your thoughts on using like an ultrasonic cleaner in the home to clean jewelry.

23:24-23:33 Troy Olson: If there's any precautions that you'd like to share, should some gemstones not be cleaned with an ultrasonic. And I just want to interject and say.

23:33-23:37 Troy Olson: we we talked about teeth earlier. I would say that

23:37-23:52 Troy Olson: the toothbrush I'm I'm trying to remember the brand name now that I that I purchased. She has changed my dental health, and it's been really great for ultrasound my teeth. But yeah, talk to me about jewelry and ultra ultrasonic cleaners.

23:52-24:10 Kathleen: Yeah, now, that's actually a good point you bring up, because there's usually a difference between a sonic and an ultrasonic. That wasn't one of the questions. But that's interesting, because your brush is probably a sonic brush, not an ultrasonic brush, and that has to do with the frequency

24:10-24:30 Kathleen: and the of the vibrations. I think it has to be like 415 kilohertz, or something like that. to be a ultrasonic Otherwise it's a sunk. It's kind of Shaker that doesn't mean it doesn't do a good job cleaning your teeth, because that's what you want for your teeth. You probably wouldn't want it ultrasonic

24:30-24:33 Kathleen: on your team. but

24:33-24:40 Kathleen: there is a difference to that. And jewelry The nice thing about an ultrasonic is that it can clean

24:40-24:45 Kathleen: gemstones and jewelry without

24:46-24:51 Kathleen: any like added cleaning product. It can just pay oil with water alone.

24:52-24:57 Kathleen: If you do want to add a cleaning Boo, we we do have different recommendations for that.

24:58-25:06 Kathleen: back to the question about precautions. You definitely just want to be careful with how what you're using in it.

25:06-25:23 Kathleen: we offer a ultrasonic. It's called a cleaning care professional ultrasonic machine. And we do have a list of instructions. We also have a caring cleaning chart on our website. There are lots of different recommended, not rem recommended things. So some things that they don't recommend are like

25:23-25:38 Kathleen: emerald local pearls. Now they don't recommend rubies because they tend to be treated. So it kind of comes in where I say, like sometimes things that are treated. You want to be careful with. They don't recommend putting in antique jewelry, antique silver

25:38-25:51 Kathleen: like more any designer, and taking or ox oxidation that's on jewelry. so again, I think it's a nice tool.

25:51-26:13 Kathleen: and ultrasize can be used in a lot of ways outside of dory. you could clean your glasses and columns, keys all kinds of things, but I would suggest checking out a chart on the machine to make sure you're using it properly, or consult your jeweler on what you can clean in it.

26:16-26:30 Troy Olson: Okay, thanks for that. I that makes total sense that if you have a jewelry that has a patina or a oxidation finish that cleaning it incorrectly could could take that off. So I appreciate you bringing that up.

26:31-26:33 Troy Olson: let's see.

26:35-26:49 Troy Olson: let's talk. A let's talk about storing jewelry. What are recommended? Storage methods and practices, you know, to help maintain the condition of the jewelry when it's not being worn. What? What would you recommend?

26:50-26:56 Kathleen: Yeah, we're not currently in the storage space, but just some

26:56-27:04 Kathleen: tips and tricks for you to know. typically, you want to keep your jewelry, and like a cool, dry place.

27:04-27:08 Kathleen: So, boy, where it's going to be getting too hot sometimes you might even want to avoid

27:09-27:10 direct sunlight.

27:10-27:17 Kathleen: some gemstones shouldn't be exposed to light. So you'll wanna make sure you keep those

27:17-27:37 Kathleen: in an enclosed space. there's a lot of different ways. You can store jewelry. there are specific jewelry, storage organizers or travel cases. I think. Jon. Attention has like a travel case they offer They're often made in the inside with like a felt or an anti tarnish fabric.

27:37-27:49 Kathleen: And that's typically to absorb any moisture. Keep the jewelry from tarnishing and keep it safe. so it doesn't scratch anything. It's nice and soft.

27:49-27:55 Kathleen: another way you can store jewelry is a lot of times when you get a purchase you get like a jewelry pouch

27:55-28:01 Kathleen: which is kind of like a felt, or again, an anti-tarnish fabric. so you could store it in there.

28:02-28:14 Kathleen: or you might want to keep things on like separate seal bags. You might want to be careful with that with certain gemstones. Probably things like costume, jewelry or

28:14-28:28 Kathleen: just like gold or silver pieces. You could do that, but typically like a pouch or a bag would be something where you're trying to keep it from exposed air to again. It can take in moisture in the air and tarnish quicker.

28:29-28:38 Kathleen: Other tips are also simply one similar jewelry to be stored together. So, for example, you want your gold jewelry

28:39-28:45 Kathleen: more stored together, separate from your silver, because then the metals can kind of interact that can cause

28:46-28:47 Kathleen: increase tarnishing

28:47-28:52 Kathleen: sometimes also different metals or jem sense can scratch others.

28:53-29:02 Kathleen: For example, diamonds are a harder gemstones, so they could scratch softer gemstones. some even gemstones that are the same. They can scratch each other

29:03-29:15 Kathleen: so. I would just always ask your to look at getting like a specific jumpstone how to store it. How to clean it To make sure that you get the most life out of your jewelry.

29:16-29:18 Kathleen: And it was love and wearing it.

29:19-29:21 Troy Olson: That's great.

29:21-29:44 Troy Olson: are, are there any Any recommendations for just protecting jewelry from common hazards, you know, potential damage exposure to chemicals or extreme temperatures, or even just physical impact. Do you have any recommendations, or even I would say, you know, common problems that you see, or the most common times it could get damaged.

29:45-29:52 Kathleen: Yeah, I think there's a lot of times with they've recommend jewelers recommend removing your jewelry.

29:53-29:55 Kathleen: a common one is exercising

29:55-30:09 Kathleen: like the sweat or the impact you could have, could damage your piece while you're sleeping. you might think it's okay. Sometimes with certain earrings. So you could like be bending posts. if you're swimming

30:09-30:12 Kathleen: so like chlorine could damage

30:12-30:27 Kathleen: the jewelry. when you're doing housework like cleaning. Because again, you're using those other types of chemicals that probably are recommended so simply best to remove it or we wearing gloves while you're cleaning. If it's something like a ring.

30:28-30:35 Kathleen: some of the recommendations are typically to avoid putting on jewelry until you're kind of

30:35-30:44 Kathleen: done. All things that you need to do in the morning, like applying for fumes, lotion skin care hairspray.

30:45-30:49 Kathleen: then your jewelry is just gonna stay cleaner longer. And if there is any

164 30:49.680-30:56.580 Kathleen: chemicals and those products that could damage it, and then it's not going to come in contact with it.

30:57-31:14 Kathleen: typically, if you have jewelry that has like a softer gemstone, might just be careful, like when you're wearing it. It might be something where you want to wear it more on a special occasions, or you know, if you're just doing like normal daily things. But if you're doing

31:14-31:21 Kathleen: very active things, or doing anything we listed before, you might wanna wear it at a separate time.

31:22-31:29 Kathleen: I mentioned before. How there's also some jewelry who that's not supposed to be like, exposed to too much flight, so it might be like a more of an evening

31:30-31:40 Kathleen: piece like cocktail rain you where where it's not going to be. You're not going to be like out on a hike in the middle of the day

31:40-31:44 Kathleen: getting your S train exposed to like.

31:47-32:07 Troy Olson: Got it, you know I'm I'm reminded of the the first year after I got married and wearing my wedding band. I had put on some block, and I was wearing my ring as I went swimming, and there was a one of those trampolines on the water, and as I climbed up the trampoline

32:07-32:22 Troy Olson: with the the ladder, the rope ladder on the side as I pulled my hand off, because I had some block on the ring popped off, and I just remember watching it flip in the air and then drop it. Yeah, it took me about. I think it was

32:22-32:37 Troy Olson: 50 min to an hour of snorkeling below looking for it, that I was really lucky to to have found it. And my wife.

32:37-33:02 Troy Olson: My wife applauded my tenacity for finding it again. But yeah, I just a recommendation to our listeners. If you're putting on some block, probably a good time to take the jewelry off, because it it comes off very easily with water and some a lot combined. So anyway, yeah, water and Sunbuck for? Sure. Yeah, you don't want it to go in the ocean and lose it. I feel like it just heard. I was listening to a different podcast. And

33:02-33:09 Kathleen: these 2 people were newly engaged, and one of them said that they were in Italy. I think in

33:09-33:27 Kathleen: the boat driver said that they had already gotten like 2 or 3 ringcentral that people have lost because they got engaged. That's also a trigger one. If you just get engaged, your ring might not be properly sized, and it's even more likely to come up. Probably I want to make sure your brains a little more snug.

33:27-33:35 so it's not gonna like slide off so easy. but yes, definitely removing it when doing something like that. I mean.

33:35-33:40 Kathleen: that's even just it's not. It can damage it. But also you could just lose it.

33:42-33:44 Kathleen: That's why it's also important to have insurance.

33:44-33:52 Troy Olson: Make sure it's it sure, before you get engaged and not after

33:53-34:12 Troy Olson: I I'd love to jump back and talk a little bit more about sterling silver, because I know it. You do have different products specifically for sterling silver, and I know that's really silver, you know, really prone to tarnishing over time. some of the Jon Atensio sterling silver is also oxidized.

34:12-34:30 Troy Olson: you know, by design. I'd love you to talk about some of the effective products or methods for removing, tarnish, and restoring that the natural sheen of sterling silver. You know also, while maintaining that the oxidized design, if if it has oxidation.

34:31-34:40 Kathleen: right? Yeah, if that goes back to, we're kind of talking about like what formulas are best for sterling silver. So

34:41-35:00 Kathleen: we mentioned before, like our silver jewelry cleaner. And that's when you want to avoid on something that has that design oxidized, look on it where it has an intentional kind of tarnish, maybe to like the grooves of the jewelry, to kind of give it a cool antique to fact.

35:00-35:11 Kathleen: the reason why is that if that that solution is like an acid based chemistry and like removes, tarnish off of pieces because it wants to be shining and beautiful.

35:12-35:33 Kathleen: for something like that, you might run the risk of it taking off the designer and the unintentional targets that may build up from where. So for someone like Jon at Tensio or other brands that might have an oxidized design, we would recommend cleaning first to get the dirt and whales off with a general feeding formula.

35:33-35:39 Kathleen: so that's going to be stayed for the sterling silver. But also any other gemstones or medals that might be on the piece.

35:39-35:46 Kathleen: and then to remove tarnish, I would recommend a professional policing clock.

35:46-36:11 Kathleen: so our professional polishing cost, and most out there that' like a 4 ply layo, and there may be like an inner layer in an outer layer. The inner layer is treated to a bit of tarnish. Ours is like a trade secret formula. It lifts, tarnish without brazing it. so it'll lift that off safely so it'll get off the tarnish from maybe the outside. And typically again, that

36:11-36:22 Kathleen: oxide look is usually like more in the grooves. so just kind of wipe the outside, and then the with the inside of the plot, and then the outside is untreated

36:22-36:34 Kathleen: cotton and so that could just be used to like get a little bit more of a buff and a shine. typically, I would recommend like cleaning your silver if you're wearing them regularly. you know.

36:34-36:39 Kathleen: cleaning it regularly, or if it's been in storage for a while, painting it before you use it.

36:39-36:46 Kathleen: or wear it and avoid any sterling or cleaners with anything with sign or oxidation.

36:50-37:06 Troy Olson: Great thanks, thanks for that. I I'd love to know. Are are there any things rather than just cleaning it all the time? Is there anything that someone wearing sterling silver jewelry can do to make it.

37:06-37:11 Troy Olson: you know. Stay, stay nice looking, stay shiny long for longer periods of time.

37:13-37:21 Kathleen: Hopefully, I think that kind of goes back into the storage probably aspect. So if it's something or not

37:21-37:32 Kathleen: regularly wearing, I would store it in like an anti harness jewelry pouch. some type of storage case because sterling silver is gonna be

37:32-37:36 Kathleen: one that probably really reacts to things in the air.

37:36-37:45 Kathleen: tarnish kind of forms from like moisture in the air. It's it like bonds on to the sterling, and

37:45-38:13 Kathleen: and then you have to use like a polishing cloth, or something that got to remove it, so try to keep it from being exposed to the air. Keep it in a cool, dry place, and then I would clean after use and make sure when you clean, that's dried off completely. I think also, typically like jewelers recommend. Like, if you're typically wearing your stomach silver regularly. It's like a less likely to get us harnessed. So it's a piece you're going to wear often.

38:13-38:21 Kathleen: weird, often kind of like, I think you're a natural scholars tend to kind of keep it from tarnishing too much. But

38:22-38:25 Kathleen: yeah, so that's that's typically what I would be recommending.

38:27-38:41 Troy Olson: Yeah, it's great. It sounds like it. If if I want to keep my sterling silver nice moving to Arizona, it might be helpful, very human environment.

38:41-39:02 Troy Olson: I guess last question on sterling silver. Are there any specialized like cleaning tools and materials that are specifically designed for maintaining? And and I keep bringing up questions about the silver jewelry, because silver jewelry is obviously really popular. Right? Now.

39:03-39:16 Kathleen: yeah, silver jewelry is definitely rising in popularity. Jon. At Tensio. They use a lot of sterling silver. so I think it's a definitely a relevant question here.

39:16-39:31. Kathleen: I think again, kind of hitting some of the points I mentioned, we are going to be limiting exposure to air and moisture. So there are like specific like anti tarnish, or like silver storage options out there. So if

39:31-39:48 Kathleen: there's like a P that you received when you purchased your jewelry during that sorry it in like a jewelry storage solution, you want to be keeping starling silver like away from other metals, too. So it's like scratch or

39:49-40:01 Kathleen: cause those things to turn to. They're also things you can buy like anti-tarnish tabs. that you can include like in a storage space or in a couch. If a piece

40:01-40:03 Kathleen: seems to be particularly.

40:04-40:13 Kathleen: it might just be your environment like we were saying but these tarnish tabs kind of help to absorb moisture

40:13-40:25 Kathleen: you could probably get them on the Amazon, or ask your D, or if they have any and you just would put it inside, and it will help. Kind of observe the moisture that might be in the air and getting

40:25-40:30 Kathleen: to that piece. That's what we're trying to keep away from this sterling silver.

40:33-41:02 Troy Olson: Great. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. I think that's all the questions I have. Man, I'm I'm thinking, back to everything we covered. And I I just feel like, if we can get this podcast out to a lot of people. We're going to save a lot of heartache and and prevent a lot of people from using toothpaste to to crack trying to jewelry. I think we're we're going to have a lot of people who can make their jewelry look a lot better and last a lot longer. So thank you,Kathleen. So much for your time today.

41:03-41:15 Kathleen: Yes, thank you so much. I always like to share. We have a little statistic that there are 82% of women that have dirty jewelry, that they cannot or do not wear

41:16-41:26 Kathleen: 82. So I'm sure most of you have some story in your closet right now that you're thinking. Oh, this looks so bad. I have no idea why it looks bad. Maybe it even smells

41:26-41:55 Kathleen: cause it gets smelly. And so you're like, I don't know how to wear it. And so I'm hoping these solutions help you. And only 16% of people are educated at the time of purchase. So I know Tool. There's like John Attencio and others are trying to change that and give their customers the tools that they need to love the jewelry they wear, and have it look shining and sparkly all the time. So thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share more.

41:56-42:12 Troy Olson: Yeah, thanks for that statistic. Maybe we'll make this a podcast. Like required listening for for all of our customers.

42:12-42:20 Kathleen: This is our recommendations for cleaning and care reach out to us with any specific questions.

42:20-42:32 Jodi McLoughlin: That's such a great idea. That's such a great idea. We'll definitely put it up throughout the website. So it'll get a lot of play, and and it'll be in spotify and a bunch of other places.

42:33-42:35 Kathleen: I'm so excited. Are there any questions you want to be.