Jewellery Use & Care

Jewellery Use

All Lightwave Jewellery is intended for decorative use only. It is not suitable for children. Certain pieces have sharp edges and points by design. Special care must be taken when wearing or handling these to avoid injury to yourself or others, or damage to items of clothing or other materials.

During making of jewellery, I use certain chemicals (such as Safety Pickle for cleaning after soldering and oxidising compounds for patination). For further information, please contact us. Please let me know if you have any relevant health issues, such as allergies or skin conditions prior to ordering any pieces of jewellery.

Lightwave Jewellery and Natalia Shoutova accept no responsibility in the event of any loss, liability, damage (whether direct, indirect or consequential), personal injury or expense of any nature whatsoever which may be suffered by the customer resulting from wearing or handling or coming into contact with our jewellery. 

All Lightwave jewellery is handmade, which means that every piece is unique. If you are ordering a piece of jewellery from a photograph, for example, in Collections, your piece will be very similar to the photographed piece, but not identical. Every gemstone is unique, so please let me know if you prefer a particular colour shade or shape. 

Jewellery Care

All Lightwave Jewellery is designed to withstand normal wear and use. However, some pieces are more delicate or contain softer, more scratch-liable stones. All jewellery comprising precious metals and gemstones requires a level of care and maintenance to keep it in best possible condition for many years to come.

This is our advice:

1. Remove your jewellery prior to doing sports, gardening or any other vigorous activities that may damage it.

2. Regularly clean your jewellery with a soft, clean, lint-free cloth. Polishing cloths impregnated with chemicals and silver dips are fine for silver jewellery that has not been patinated (darkened). Using these with patinated jewellery will remove the patina. Avoid use any chemical cleaners or dips with jewellery containing gemstones. Do not use silver dip for cleaning gold. Very soft brush and mild soapy water work well for cleaning, especially the backs of gemstone settings.

3. It is normal for sterling silver, some gold and platinum to tarnish, especially if the piece is being stored. Regular cleaning (as above) or anti-tarnish tabs help to slow down this process.

4. Do not let your jewellery come into contact with any chemicals, such as hair products, make up, oils, suncream, household cleaning products and garden chemicals. Chlorine in the pools and hot tubs will tarnish precious metals. Keep jewellery away from acidic products and foods, such as lemon and vinegar. Foods containing sulphur (e.g. eggs) may tarnish precious metals. Avoid leaving or storing your jewellery in direct sunlight.

5. When storing and transporting your jewellery, ensure that each piece is separately packed to avoid scratches and ensure adequate protection from external damage. Fasten clasps on any chains and pack them separately to avoid tangles.

6. If a piece of jewellery gets damaged or discoloured, please contact us[link] in the first instance as cleaning it might make it worse. We can generally repair most issues for you.

7. Occasionally, copper compounds in sterling silver and copper jewellery cause skin to go green at the point of contact. This is a normal reaction between the copper compounds in the metal and chemical substances in some human sweat and has nothing to do with the value of the metal. If this occurs, please contact us[link] for further advice on removing and preventing further staining.