How to care for lacquer and silk jewellery

Natural lacquer and silk have both lasted for centuries in museum collections, and neither needs special products to look after. They need a few habits: keep them dry, keep them out of strong sun, and put them on after perfume rather than before. This guide covers our lacquer pieces, our Song brocade pieces and their metal parts.

The short version

• Keep them dry. Take them off before you swim, shower or bathe.
• Perfume, hairspray and lotion first; jewellery last.
• Keep them out of strong sun and away from radiators and car dashboards.
• Wipe with a soft dry cloth. No polishes, dips, solvents or ultrasonic cleaners.
• Store each piece on its own, in its pouch or box.

Water

Cured lacquer is waterproof, but museum guidance is never to soak it, and the wooden core beneath the lacquer moves with moisture. Do not swim, shower or bathe in a lacquer piece.

If a piece gets wet, dry it straight away with a soft cloth. For ordinary cleaning a barely damp cloth is acceptable, as long as you dry the surface at once.

Silk is more sensitive still. Water can leave spots on Song brocade that do not come out, so keep the brocade pieces dry.

Perfume, hairspray and lotion first. Jewellery last.

Perfume, hairspray and lotion

Perfume, hairspray and body lotion all contain alcohol, oils or solvents. Lacquer care guidance is to keep polishes, solvents and alcohol off the surface, and on silk, perfume, sweat and body oils cause yellowing.

The simplest habit is to finish getting ready first and put your jewellery on last. Take them off before you exercise, and before you put on a face mask, sun cream or anything else applied near the ears.

Sun and heat

Ultraviolet light is the main enemy of natural lacquer. Strong sun can fade red lacquer within months and dull black over years, and extreme exposure can craze the surface. Sunlight also fades the dyes in silk and weakens the fibre.

That does not mean keeping them in the dark while you wear them. It means not leaving them on a sunny windowsill, a car dashboard or a shelf in direct light.

Avoid sudden changes of temperature and humidity too: radiators, saunas, a car in summer. Wooden cores move as they take up and lose moisture, and rapid swings can crack lacquer.

Cleaning lacquer

Lacquer needs very little cleaning. After wearing:

1. Take the piece off before you undress or wash, so they do not catch or get wet.
2. Wipe the lacquer with a soft, dry cloth to lift skin oils and dust.
3. If a mark stays, wipe it with a barely damp cloth, then dry the surface at once.
4. Put each piece back in its pouch or box on its own.

Do not use jewellery polish, metal polish, alcohol wipes or an ultrasonic cleaner on any part of a lacquer piece.

Lacquer often becomes more lustrous with gentle handling and wiping. Its colour may deepen or soften slightly over time as the lacquer continues to cure, which is a normal part of the material.

Storing your pieces

Store each piece on its own in the pouch or box it came in. Metal hooks, other earrings and chains can scratch a lacquer surface if they are left loose together in a drawer or bag.

Keep the box somewhere dry and out of direct light. A drawer in a bedroom is better than a bathroom shelf.

Song brocade

Song brocade is woven silk, and it is cared for as a textile rather than as metal.

• Do not wash it. Brush off dust gently with a soft, dry brush or cloth.
• If a mark needs attention, spot-clean only, with a barely damp cloth, and let it dry flat.
• Take care not to snag the silk on clothing, hair or other jewellery.
• Store it flat, dry and away from light. For long storage, wrap it in acid-free, unbuffered tissue.

Miao silver and gold-tone finishes

The frames of our Song brocade pieces are Miao silver, a traditional white-metal alloy (not sterling silver). It will darken slowly with air and skin contact.

To brighten it, polish gently with a soft dry cloth, working away from the silk so that you do not catch or rub the brocade. Do not use silver dips: they can damage both the alloy and the silk.

Six of our Song brocade pieces have a gold-tone finish. We do not know the thickness of that finish, so treat it gently: wipe it with a soft dry cloth and do not polish it.

A note on skin

The sap is an irritant when raw; once cured, lacquer is hard and stable. The risk of a reaction to cured lacquer is very low, but if you know you react to poison ivy or mango skin, ask us first.

For the metal parts, we cannot tell you whether they contain nickel, because our supplier has not confirmed it. If you react to nickel or have sensitive ears, write to us before you order and we will tell you what we know about the piece you are looking at.

If something goes wrong

If a piece is scratched, cracked, marked or loose, stop wearing it and write to us with a photograph. Tell us which piece it is and what happened, and we will reply with what can be done.

Please do not try to repair lacquer at home with glue or varnish.

The pieces in this guide

The Small Gold Leaf Lacquer Ball Stud Earrings, a single sphere of gold leaf under clear lacquer, and the Ivory Song Brocade Silver Pipa Earrings, ivory Song brocade in a pipa-shaped Miao silver frame, show the two materials side by side. Every piece is handcrafted to order, made by hand in China, and leaves us in about 10 days, with its care notes on the product page.