E. Care & Cleaning Pewte, Silver, Gold: Beads, Pendants, Buttons & Charms

First of all. . . . Everything will require some care and cleaning! With the tremendous presence of sulfur in the air, smoking, body soaps and oils, and even just walking through the mist of a sprinkler system will dirty up and turn many metals. The Good news is that the Fire Goddess Jewelry grade Pewter by its very nature does not tarnish in the traditional sense!  As a mixed metal or alloy, pewter does not react to air and oxygen the same way as precious metals. Plus Fire Goddess pewter has blended in or infuze fine silver. This is how Fire Goddess achieves that wonderful silver luster in our pewter that you cannot find with any other pewter embellishments designer. Furthermore Fire Goddess pewter items are delivered to you with either a special antiqued finish or a high polish silver finish. They are carefully process, washed, vibed and tumbled in order to achieve this high luster. This process is specifically designed to achieve the high polished look of silver without the high cost of silver. I have been working on this particular finish for many years and wanted to continued to do all my bead and metal work here in the U.S.A.

It took Fire Goddess many months to find a processing and metal finishing company here in America who has survived the loss of business from the flood of cheaper quality goods and poor workmenship from abroad. Ranger and I are proud to say that we are doing everything we can to help create jobs here in the U.S. and kept our small and medium size businesses alive and working. An added beauty of my pewter beads is that as you wear them they can take on a special patina look.

Patina is a self antiquing that looks beautiful but does not result in the traditional look of oxidation, blackening and dusting associated with precious metals. The degree of patina is the result of the pewter adapting to your body oils and your prefume. Also if you store your jewelry in a jewelry box you should still be putting your jewelry in zip-lock air tight bags. Every jewelry box emits trace amounts of sulfur and sulfur will tarnish, pit and blacken almost any metal. We do not recommend the use of any chemicals, polishes, dips or polishing cloths. Sometimes just a little bit of the polishing and acid based cleaning agents will have a very negative effect on the pewter. The result of using traditional metal cleaning solutions is that the jewelry grade pewter will turn a dull and dirty gray/black color.
Please DO NOT use silver dips or polishes, Brasso, or any other kind of off the shelf metal cleaner or any type of cleaner that has ammonia in the soultion on the Fire Goddess Jewelry grade pewter. Sometimes just a little buffing with a clean cloth will brighten up the patina look of your piece and that will be all you will need to do.

As for sterling silver, Antique Silver, & gold: cleaning these metals is much like feeding the habit of a drug addict. When you start the process of cleaning gold and silver with polishes, dips and pastes that, once again, contain ammonia based cleaners and acids. You not only end up with the residue of these cleaning agents on your skin and clothes but you pit the metal surface which allows for even faster and more destructive tarnishing. This pitting of the metal surface will eventually force you to clean more often and using more and more of the paste, polishes and dips to acheive the desire results. Eventually the damage is so bad you have to replace your precious metal items. This is particularly true of many of the low grade and poor quality imported precious metals which we see flooding our marketplace today.
Always asked for and find out if your precious metal jewelry wire and flat stock sheet metal is smelted and fabricated in the USA, Canada or even Mexico.  Metals from China, Indoneisa, and other Asian countries are often filled or polluted with lead, mercury, aluminun shavings, pig iron, or at best, very high mix of nickel and, often as in German silver, nothing but surface nickel. 

The best way we have found to clean base, semi-precious and precious metals is to tumble in a standard gemstone tumbler with the proper stainless steel shot and a cleaning or burnishing solution. A durable tumbler will cost around $90.00 or you can get an imported model for about $40.00. The imported model will not last as long and you will not be able to find replacement parts but it also costs less. Abrasive tumbling will restore your base, semi and precious metals to a bright luster that will last much longer then the results from dips, pastes and polishes. 

DON'T shower or bath with your jewelry on your body.  Soaps, body oils and the processed tap water will either accelerate the tarnishing of your precious metals and speed the patina process of the Fire Goddess pewter or it will make your jewelry look dingy dirty and dull.  You remove your clothing to bath - - - remove your jewelry as well!!

We further recommend that all finished jewelry be stored in air-tight zip lock bags and then placed in your jewelry box or jewelry storage area.

HOW DO I CLEAN MY PEWTER IF I DO NOT HAVE A TUMBLER?
(DO NOT USE TRADITIONAL SILVER DIPS, POLISHES OR CLEANING CLOTHES)

- - Fire Goddess Pewter Wash- - - The Fire Goddess Approved Pewter Wash Cleaner, Polish & Preserver For several years we are asked almost daily, "How do we clean and return the brilliant luster to our Fire Goddess pewter pendants, buttons and beads?" Now we have the perfect solution. In the past we have always suggested that the best way to clean precious metals and semi-precious metals like our high-polished U.S. lead-free pewter was to tumble the embellishments in a lapidary tumbler with the stainless-steel shot and a sudsing solution. If tumbling is not a practical solution for you now you can maintain your high gloss pewter finish with our Pewter Wash. Pewter Wash Cleaner FOR HIGH-GLOSS PEWTER JEWELRY & EMBELLISHMENTS SAFE FOR ACCIDENTAL CONTACT WITH OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS *** POLISHES AS IT WASHES AND THEN LEAVES A PROTECTIVE SHEET ALL NATURAL-CONTAINS NO STRONG ABRASIVES, CHEMICALS OR OFFENSIVE ODOR AND WILL NOT CAKE! THIS WASH IS SO NATURAL THAT IT IS ENDORSED AND CERTIFIED KOSHER BY THE UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA It is never a good idea to allow any cleaner to make contact with dyed or soft stones or embellishments used in your designs. Some finishes are so fine and delicate that even natural cleaners will diminish the look. Always wash off cleaners completely with clear warm water. Further be very careful of freshwater pearls of different colors.  These pearl are imported from China and other locals abroad and often are dyed to achieve the color in a water based dye.  If you get the pearls wet they will bleed off their color and not look the same after cleaning.  If you are unsure if your pearls are flame polished to achieve the color or it they are dyed then take apart your jewelry before cleaning.