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How to Care for Your ib Jewelry: Beach, Cleaning & Storage Tips
Photo by: Nicole Canegata
Every ib piece is made to be worn, in salt air, island heat and everyday life. A few small habits keep it looking the way it did the day you brought it home. Here's everything we tell customers who ask.
For bracelet sizing and quick care instructions, visit our Sizing & Care page. You'll find our store policies here.
Care at a glance
- Beach: silver and gold yes, chaney no. Rinse in fresh water after.
- Pool, hot tub, cleaning products: take everything off.
- Lotion, sunscreen, perfume, workouts: jewelry on last, off first.
- Store: separately, in small plastic bags.
- Hand polish: bring it in, and allow one week.
Know What You Are Wearing
Sterling Silver
Bright and beautiful, and it naturally tarnishes over time, especially in humid island air and reacting to your body compostion. That is normal, and is easy to reverse.
14 Karat Gold
Holds its color well and needs very little care.
Chaney
Fragments of old china unearthed here on St. Croix, a small piece of island history that Whealan reclaims and sets by hand. Because each shard has a glazed, painted finish, it needs the most protection of anything we make.
At the Beach
Yes, you can wear your sterling silver and gold to the beach. Salt water is fine for the metal. When you're done swimming, rinse your jewelry in fresh water and pat it dry so salt doesn't sit on the surface.
Leave your chaney at home. Salt water wears away its finish over time.
Pools, Hot Tubs and Cleaning Products
Keep all of your jewelry, silver and gold alike, out of the pool and hot tub and away from household cleaners. These harsh chemicals break down the metal and can make your piece more likely to snap.
Lotion, Sunscreen, Perfume and Workouts
Put your jewelry on last and take it off first. Lotion, sunscreen and sweat leave a film that makes jewelry look dull. Of course you can never take them off, just know they might need some extra cleaning then. Note, some beauty products also contain sulfur, which can tarnish silver.
We recommend taking your Chaney off any time you will be sweating heavily, and keep it away from chemicals of any kind.
Cleaning at Home
Photo by: Nicole Canegata
Sterling Silver
- Rub a little toothpaste all over the piece.
- Let it sit for a couple of minutes.
- Rinse it off and let it dry completely.
- Finish with your ib polishing cloth.
For heavier tarnish, try the baking soda and aluminum foil method in our post Why Is My Sterling Silver Jewelry Turning Black? It uses a simple chemical reaction to lift tarnish off the silver.
14 Karat Gold
Gold usually keeps its color on its own. A quick wipe with your ib polishing cloth is all it needs.
Storage and Travel
- Store pieces with different metals and finishes separately so they don't scratch each other.
- Small plastic bags work well at home and when you travel. Keep each piece in its own bag if you can.
- If you live near the water and sargassum is bad, sealed plastic bags also keep the sulfur smell from decaying seaweed away from your jewelry.
When to Bring it to Us
Sometimes a piece needs more than a polishing cloth. Bring it in when the tarnish is more than you can restore at home, or when you want it looking its best for a special event.
Our hand polish goes beyond a surface clean. We send your piece to our workshop, where it's reworked by hand. Scratches are buffed out and anything bent is reshaped, so it comes back looking new.
$4 per piece
Allow at least one week so we have plenty of time to work on your pieces.
For details on repairs and service, see Our Policies.
Small habits, pieces that last for decades.
________◆________
Kris and the ib family
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Shop Our Best Selling Bracelets
There is no better place to start than the wrist.
At ib designs, the bracelet is everything — it's where Whealan Massicott first put his craft into the world in 1997, and where our most beloved stories still live today. Every bracelet in this collection is handcrafted by our team of local artisans in our St. Croix studio, never mass-produced, never machine-stamped. Each one carries a meaning worth wearing: the unity of Umoja, the peace of Amani, the ancient wisdom of the Petroglyph, the joy of the Jingle Jangle, the island love of St. Croix, and the cause-driven purpose of Elkhorn and Breadfruit — just a few of the more than 30 distinct designs available here.
Choose your metal — sterling silver, sterling silver with 14k gold, or solid 14k gold. Choose your width. Choose your size — and if yours isn't listed, contact us, because every bracelet can be handcrafted to fit you perfectly.
Stack them. Layer them. Wear one with intention or build a wrist full of stories. This is where ib designs lives — and this is where you'll find yours.
