How to Care for Your P+G Jewelry
At The Pirate + The Gypsy Jewelry is made from high quality hypoallergenic metals and stones. Timeless and sustainable our pieces are meant for everyday wear. So here are some ways you can keep it looking brand new.
Signature and Pret-a-Porter Collections
Daily Care: Protect your sterling silver and gold fill jewelry by removing it while swimming, showering, exercising, washing your hands, or applying any products such as perfumes, lotions, or hair products. We pride ourselves on the quality of our product; however, if your jewelry should be exposed to any of the above products, tarnishing may occur. Tarnishing may also be caused by the skin’s natural pH levels.
Cleaning Instructions: Keeping your jewelry clean is so easy, just wipe it with a soft cloth or one of our polishing cloths. Do not use jewelry cleaner. It can damage certain types of stones and remove patina.
Storing Instructions: When not in use, store each piece of jewelry in its respective P+G pouch. They may also be hung on a jewelry stand or carefully stored within a jewelry box or organizer.
Demi and Fine Jewelry Collections
What is demi-fine and fine jewelry? We are so glad you asked! While all of our P+G jewelry is created with high quality materials, our demi-fine and fine pieces take it to the next level with 24K Gold vermeil and solid gold. Each piece is made with precious metals and stones that will last you a life time when cared for properly.
What is Vermeil? Vermeil (French for silver, pronounced ver-may) refers to a variety of gold-coated metal. For metal to be considered vermeil, it needs to meet three main trade criteria:
- The base of the metal must be of sterling (92.5%) or fine (99.9%) silver. This is why vermeil is also known by its other names: Silver Gilt or Gilded Silver
- The purity of the gold must be of at least 10 karats
- The thickness of the gold coat should consist of a minimum of 2.5 microns (0.0025 millimeters)
If these three criteria are not met, then the metal becomes gold-filled or gold-plated. You can also find gold vermeil in other colors such as rose gold. At P+G we our pieces are made with 24K gold vermeil.
Quality: Our demi-fine collection is created with 24k gold Vermeil and our fine collection is made with solid 10 and 14K gold. All diamonds used are real, certified diamonds.
Daily Care: Protect your vermeil and gold jewelry by removing it while swimming, showering, exercising, washing your hands, or applying any products such as perfumes, lotions, or hair products. We pride ourselves on the quality of our product; however, if your jewelry should be exposed to any of the above products, tarnishing may occur. Tarnishing may also be caused by the skin’s natural pH levels.
Cleaning Instructions: Do not use jewelry cleaner on your P+G demi-fine and fine jewelry. To clean, buff gently with a soft, 100% cotton cloth.
Storing Instructions: When not in use, store each piece of jewelry in its respective P+G pouch. They may also be hung on a jewelry stand or carefully stored within a jewelry box or organizer.
Sustainability
It’s not enough for our jewelry to be beautifully made; we want to be transparent about where our materials come from and the steps I am taking to ensure our methods are sustainable and reflect our commitment to the environment.
Typically when we choose a piece of jewellery, we consider its style, the design and how it will look with our favourite outfit. But how often do we consider how that piece was made? We believe that sustainability can be achieved through longevity. Which is why each piece is forged by hand to create timeless quality pieces that you will love to wear year after year, eventually passing them down to the next generation.
The Pirate + The Gypsy is committed to protecting and preserving the planet we live on. While I am not perfect I am doing my best and am constantly researching and educating myself when it comes to making earth-friendly and sustainable choices for my business and personal life.
Respect - I have so much love for the planet we live on from the mountains to the deep blue waters we see everyday. The earth we live on nourishes us and provides us with the materials used to create our jewelry, so it is important we take care of it. From green solutions to the water based inks used in the packaging, I am conscious of what is used and its impact on the environment. This includes the tools I work with–especially how I solder. In an effort to maintain a clean air environment on our planet and in my home I have switched to a hydrogen torch system which runs off of electrolytes and has a by-product of water so there are no harmful fumes or gasses.
Reduce – I am committed to reducing our waste and our carbon footprint as much as possible. All of the scrap metal created from the making of the jewelry is collected, refined and reused in the making of our cast pieces of jewelry and are minimizing our footprint by working with local Canadian businesses to provide us with materials, packaging, photography, prototyping, etc.
Reuse – I believe that everything can be reused and that nothing should go to waste, upcycling and repurposing is my specialty. I pride myself on keeping metals out of our landfills by taking your unwanted sterling silver and gold jewelry and giving you a credit towards a new piece from one of our collections. Alternatively, I will work with you to design a new piece that fits your style.
Recycle - I use recycled metals in almost all of our jewelry and all of our packaging and business cards are made from 100% recycled paper products. Want to know more about the materials we use and why? Send me an email and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.