Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
How I keep gold jewelry looking new (showers, sleep, cleaning, what actually works)
8
items I run a jewelry brand (Caeli), so I have opinions about care. Gold over surgical steel is far more forgiving than gold over brass, but every piece lasts longer with a few habits: perfume before jewelry, a soft cloth once a week, and knowing which pie...
Sections
2
The rules I actually follow
The pieces I test everything on
The rules I actually follow
The question I get most. Short version: it depends on the metal under the gold, not the gold. This is the honest breakdown, including what I would not shower in.
Can you shower with jewelry on? My material-by-material guide
Warm water, a drop of dish soap, a soft cloth. No toothpaste, no baking soda, no ultrasonic cleaner on plated pieces. The full routine takes two minutes a week.
How to clean gold plated jewelry without ruining it
Which pieces are safe to sleep in (small studs, huggies, thin chains) and which ones are not (drops, anything with a clasp that can catch hair). I wrote it after a year of never taking mine off.
Jewelry you can sleep in: the 24/7 wear rules
The test behind every note on my lists: six months of showers, sleep and gym on skin that reacts to most metals. Photos, what held up, what I would change.
We wore our own jewelry for six months on reactive skin. Here is what happened
Before you blame the gold: a simple 48-hour patch test with a piece you already own, so you know whether it is the metal or the sweat and soap trapped under it.
How to test at home whether your skin reacts to a metal
The pieces I test everything on
The chain in every shower and sleep test above. Adjustable, dainty, and the one I use to check whether a new care habit actually makes a difference.
Whisper Chain Necklace
Rings take the most abuse: dishes, hand soap, gym grips. This thin band is my test piece for all of it, and the cleaning routine above is what keeps it bright. Size 7.
Silhouette Ring
Earrings are where skin reacts first, so these small hinged hoops are my test for the sleep rules and the patch test above. Surgical steel posts under the gold.
Daylight Huggies