Your ToniMay jewels were lovingly handmade for you and will love you for years to come if you take appropriate care of them. Some pieces require more care than others so it is important that you follow the care instructions on this page.
Storage
To care for you ToniMay jewels please store them in a safe and secure place (not in your wallet!) to avoid dust, moisture and direct light that can cause tarnishing and damage. The box that your jewels were delivered in is a perfect home for them, provided they are not stored with other pieces that could put them under pressure.
We recommend gently wiping down your pieces between wear and before storage to remove any chemicals or body oils that have transferred to the pieces and may cause tarnishing or plating wear during storage.
Cleaning
We recommend you invest in a good quality polishing cloth to keep your jewellery clean and sparkling. Silver and Brass will naturally tarnish and oxidise as the metals react to heat, body oils and other chemicals during wear but a regular polish with a polishing cloth will help restore the shine. Please note that tarnishing is not considered a fault of the product, just a sign it needs a good clean.
Please avoid polishing any gold plated pieces as polishing can cause damage to the gold plating and cause it to lighten. Please also polish chains very delicately and avoid stretching or tugging them which can cause links to stretch or snap.
Wear
Please don’t wear your ToniMay while swimming, showering, washing your hands or while doing household chores. Contact with sunscreens, creams, hairsprays, perfume, salt/chlorinated water, soaps and chemicals can cause damage to the stones and metals we use in our pieces.
Please remove your ToniMay jewels before sleeping, working out at the gym or carrying heavy items. We recommend that your ToniMay pieces are the last thing to put on and the first thing to take off when getting ready for the day. Silver is a soft metal and can bend, warp and break under force. Necklaces can kink, stretch and snap during sleep or if tugged on or caught on clothing while getting dressed. Rings, cuffs and earrings can bend, snap and warp under pressure.
Gold plated pieces are best suited to occasional wear only as the plating will wear to expose the metal underneath if worn on a daily basis. Gold plating will wear on all pieces over time, however exposure to water, chemicals and polishing will also cause gold plating to wear more quickly. Please note that gold plating is not permanent. Our gold plated necklaces, cuffs and earrings are typically a silver base and gold plated so over time will lighten over time to expose the silver underneath where-as many of our gold plated rings are brass based which will oxidise over time due to plating wear.
Please avoid dropping your jewels or allowing them to come into contact with hard abrasive surfaces. Gemstones and silver can scratch, chip and crack if they are dropped or come into contact with rough surfaces like concrete.
We do offer a 3-month warranty on all our products for manufacturing fault however we do not cover tarnishing or gold plating wear, damage due to wear and tear over time or negligence against our recommended care instructions on this page.
Special Care Instructions
- Pieces that feature brass will develop a natural petina through everyday wear. This is a natural tarnishing and is not considered a fault. We recommend polishing with a brass polish to restore the shine.
- Please keep stone set jewellery away from water. Water may affect the stone settings and can impact the integrity of the stones. Opals in particular are porous stones and can experience changes to their colouring if exposed to water, soaps/chemicals or stored in high humidity environments (eg bathrooms). Doublet opals can also fracture and crack if exposed to water.
- When wearing huggies please do not force the hoop open from the front of the ear or push down on the post with force as this will damage the post and hinge. The earrings release from the back and we recommend you use your nail to push lightly down at the point where the post connects to the back of the hoop to take off. If you find that your huggies have loosened or do not clasp together securely it is likely that the post has been moved out of alignment with the clasp. This can be easily repaired by lifting the very end of the post so that it realigns with clasp.
- For hoop earrings with charms we do recommend that these are stored on their own so they do not come under pressure or charms are bent at an odd angle. If this is not possible the charms can be slid off the hoops so that they can be stored flat.
- Please avoid stretching open cuffs to take them on and off or tightening cuffs on the wrist. Cuffs should be slid on and off the wrist from the thinnest part of the side of the wrist. Stretching cuffs open and closed can cause a weakness in the band and cause cuffs to crack. This can also weaken the stone settings over time. Please also take care not to catch cuffs during wear on surfaces or clothing as this can cause damage which is irreparable and not covered under warranty.
- Due to the oxidisation process that all our pieces go through, customers with very acidic skin may find that this oxidisation transfers to the skin during the first initial wears (particularly with brass pieces). This is due to a chemical reaction between your skin (or another substance eg lotion, cream, soap) and the metal. In these cases we recommend giving your piece a light polish with a brass polish or silver cloth and ensuring they are not exposed to water in any way as this can speed up the oxidisation process.
- Customers with highly acidic skin may also find that pieces tarnish fast and gold plating wears very quickly. Unfortunately this does come down to the individuals skin type and is not considered a fault of the product.
Bespoke and Finery
- For our finery pieces we recommend following our general care instructions above. Please remove jewellery while swimming, washing hands, cleaning etc as exposure to water, chemicals and soaps can affect both the metals and stones used in pieces.
- We recommend all finery pieces are serviced and checked by a jeweller every 12 months to ensure settings are secure. Claw set stones will require servicing every 6 months. White gold rings will also need to be rhodium plated on an annual basis to retain their bright shine.
- Grey Diamonds unlike traditional white diamonds often have pits, cavities and surface reaching inclusions. These inclusions are what gives the grey diamonds their natural beauty and colour and are not considered faults.
- Although strong, diamonds and precious stones are not indestructible, please take care of your finery pieces as just like semi-precious stones they can chip or crack if they experience impact or are hit. Stones that are damaged like this during wear are not covered under our warranty.
- Opals, Emeralds and Moonstones are considered high care stones. These stones are softer and more fragile than diamonds so require extra special care and attention. Please avoid rough or hard surfaces and avoid hitting or knocking these pieces. Always store them separately from other jewellery to prevent scratching.
- Opals should always be removed prior to exposure to water. They should not be exposed to hot water or rapid changes in temperature which can impact the integrity of the stone.
- Grey Diamonds are also not classified or graded like traditional white diamonds and as such do not come with GIA certificates or authentication. Along with Grey Diamonds, we do not provide certificates or authentication for our semi-precious or precious stones used in our finery pieces.
- When cleaning pieces please use a soft polishing cloth for your piece. Please avoid using any dips or ultrasonic cleaners as dips can cause damage to stones and metals and ultrasonic cleaners can cause stones to loosen or chip in their settings.
