Product Care
Our jewelry is crafted in our laboratory in Vicenza (IT), making it as delicate and unique as a work of art. Each DARKAI item requires special care to keep its integrity and shininess throughout time. Our jewelry contains both precious and semi-precious metals and stones. Each item is subject to many different finishings, coatings, crafting techniques and features that set each and every piece apart from the others. No piece is exactly as the next, making of your DARKAI item a 1/1. As a result, we strongly encourage you to follow our general and specific care instructions:
GENERAL CARE
Avoid keeping your jewelry in contact with water and any product containing chemicals, among which chlorine, soap, perfume, sanitizer, cleaning products, nail polish remover, make-up, lotion, hairspray (etc). Restrain from participating to physical activities while wearing your jewelry and avoid contact with sweat; this facilitates the tarnishing of your DARKAI piece. We encourage you to remove your jewelry before swimming, showering, exposing yourself to humid environments (steam room, sauna, etc), sleeping and taking part to any activity involving potential harsh contacts with your pieces; this to prevent exposure of your jewelry to damaging external conditions and to limit friction created when the piece rubs against your skin or any other rough/hard surface. Wearing you pieces often prevents them from drying out and helps the components maintain their best condition – make sure to handle them with love and care. Please keep your jewelry out of direct sunlight and away from heat. Note that the colour of your object may slightly vary over time, depending on the acidity of your skin and on the external weather conditions.
General wear and tear and dirt build-up is almost inevitable. Clean the hardware parts of your piece with a soft polishing cloth after each use or generally before storing your jewelry. Make sure to avoid contact with any abrasive material/chemical when cleaning your piece. If needed, make use of clear water only to dissolve stains or rinse off dirt and dust. Be gentle in this process as water may cause friction with metals and stones, potentially causing small scratches on the surfaces. Immediately dry off/wipe your jewelry with a soft surfaced cloth when wet to prevent from discoloration or cause a loss of brilliance.
When unused, store your jewelry individually in a plastic airtight bag or in the original DARKAI travel pouch provided upon purchase. Avoid storing more than one piece in the same bag/pouch to prevent from frictions and scratches.
SPECIFIC COMPONENTS CARE:
Note that each of the guidelines provided above hold still for each and every DARKAI piece. Below are some specific tips when treating each component singularly:
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Gold/Rhodium plated stainless steel/brass: Plated jewelry has a relatively thin layer of precious metal fixed on another solid metal. The coating may be at risk of rubbing off when constantly exposed to contact with your skin. Exposure to body perspiration, chemicals, perfume, direct sunlight are to avoid preserving the unique color, brilliance and polish of the gold/rhodium patina. Keep your jewelry clean, dry and properly stored.
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925 Silver Jewelry: The way to ensure durability and a fresh look to your silver hardware is to wear it often as exposure to the natural environment prevents it from tarnishing. Make sure to store in individually in a airtight plastic bag/DARKAI soft pouch and keep it away from chemicals. When cleaning silver components, only use a jewelry polishing cloth – keep away from water, soap and harsh tools (toothbrush) as it would damage the surface of the object given the soft property of the metal.
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Solid 18k Jewelry and diamonds/gemstones: To keep your solid gold jewelry clean, place the object under warm water mixed with a mild, chemical free soap/detergent and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. After that, use a soft brush to remove stains, dirt and dust and replenish the original look of the gold object. Be gentle and delicate in this phase to avoid damaging the top coating. Dry immediately after rinsing with clean water and store it in a dry place. Alternatively, seek for professional assistance and opt for ultra-sonic cleansing. Avoid contact with any rough/hard surface when wearing it and handle it with extreme care. Keep away from any potentially damaging substance listed above.
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Freshwater Pearls: Pearls are extremely vulnerable to chemical substances – always keep away from soap, perfumes, cosmetics, hairspray. Wear your pearl jewelry as the final touch after all make-up and hairstyling is completed. Clean with a moist soft cloth and avoid chlorine and chemicals of any kind. We strongly suggest removing your pearls when exercising, swimming, showering and sleeping, never expose to ultra-sonic cleansing. Wear them often as pearls do best in a moist environment.
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Cubic Zirconia: Signature feature of DARKAI products is the all-over cubic zirconia micropavé. The hand setting of more than hundreds of stones in the same product make of these styles wearable works of art. Although CZs are among the hardest and most durable synthetic gemstones, they are too exposed to potential damage and tarnishing. Be extremely careful not to drop, hit or cause any kind of unnatural force on the CZs jewelry to avoid alterations/damage to the setting, loss of stones or scratching/breaking the stones. To preserve brilliance and color of the CZ over time, avoid contact with cleaning detergents and lotions of any kind.
Please note that we are not to be held responsible for problems caused by non-observing/ignoring the product care practices and hints mentioned above.
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For any further question/request on product care, repairs, polishing (etc) do not hesitate to get in touch with us at support@darkai-lab.com.
We will process your request and give you the most appropriate assistance. Note that we do offer repair/anew services – a quotation including shipping cost is provided upon specific request.