Caring for your handmade pieces

Noonday Collection jewelry and accessories are crafted by Artisans all over the world! Every piece is unique and made by hand. Wondering how to care for your handmade pieces? We've put together tips to help you care for your Noonday favorites.

To preserve the beauty of your Noonday accessories:

Remove jewelry before showering, swimming, or exercising, and avoid storing it in the bathroom. Remove jewelry before applying hairspray or perfume, or working with household cleaners. Soap and lotion usually won't harm gold or silver, but can cause a film residue to form, making them appear dull and dingy.

Wipe pieces down with a soft cloth and store in a sealed bag with an anti-tarnish strip.

For all Noonday product care and cleaning recommendations, please test a small portion of your piece first before treating the entire piece.

Gold or Silver Plated Jewelry

Storage

Metal is particularly reactive in moist or wet conditions. The best way to store your plated pieces is to wrap them in soft fabric and store in an airtight container with a tarnish strip. Keep all of your pieces separate from one another to prevent scratching.

Take off jewelry before applying perfumes, hairsprays, lotions or make-up. Avoid contact with household cleaning products. Soap and lotion usually won't harm gold or silver, but can cause a film residue to form, making them appear dull and dingy.

Cleaning

To clean your gold or silver plated jewelry at home, use a non-abrasive jewelry cleanser that is safe for plated pieces or mild soap and water. Use a soft cloth to carefully clean the item. After cleaning, rinse with lukewarm water and allow it to dry completely.

Buffing your plated jewelry with a soft cloth is an effective and inexpensive way to keep your pieces lustrous.

Note: Do not use a jewelry polishing cloth, as this can damage the finish of your piece.

Brass Jewelry

Storage

Natural brass will oxidize over time, turning a darker, more muted color. To maintain a shiny, bright finish for as long as possible, store your brass in a sealed plastic bag with an anti-tarnish strip and keep it dry. Do not wear in the shower or store in a humid environment.

Take off jewelry before showering and before applying perfumes, hairsprays, lotions or make-up. Avoid contact with household cleaning products. These can speed up the tarnishing process.

Cleaning

To return brass to its original shine, make a paste of baking soda, water and lemon juice and gently rub it onto the piece with a soft cloth. Wash the mixture off using running water, then dry and buff with a clean cloth.

Upcycled Artillery or Mixed Metal Jewelry

Storage

Many of our Indian and Ethiopian jewelry pieces contain mixed metals, including nickel. They are lead and cadmium free. Metal is particularly reactive in moist or wet conditions. The best way to store your plated pieces is to wrap them in soft fabric and store in an airtight container with an anti-tarnish strip. Keep all of your pieces separate from one another to prevent scratching.

Take off jewelry before showering and before applying perfumes, hairsprays, lotions or make-up. Avoid contact with household cleaning products.

Note: Do not scrub the pieces or use a jewelry polishing cloth, as this can strip their finish, resulting in a rosy look.

Cleaning

To clean, dilute lemon juice with water, dip the piece into lemon bath, and gently swish the piece in the water. Remove the piece, rinse it in clean water, and pat dry. This should remove dullness caused by body oils.

Paper Bead Jewelry

Our paper beads are water resistant, but not waterproof. They have been shellacked or glossed several times with varnish to give them a wonderful high gloss shine and to make them water resistant. Take off paper bead jewelry before showering or swimming.

Paper Bead Jewelry can be cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth.

Tagua & Acai Seed Jewelry

Tagua and Acai Seeds are very hard and durable, but they are sensitive to water. Water will not destroy the beads, but it can cause the beads to warp or crack. Take off jewelry before showering and before applying perfumes, hairsprays, lotions or make-up.

Natural seed jewelry can be polished by hand with a natural wax like beeswax and buffed to a shine. Generally, you only need to do this once a year at most.

Sterling Silver Jewelry

Storage

To prevent tarnishing, store clean, dry sterling silver in a dry, airtight container like a Ziploc bag. Placing an anti-tarnish strip in the bag will also help prevent tarnishing. Keep all of your pieces separate from one another to prevent scratching.

Don't leave silver jewelry in the bathroom, as humidity can speed up the oxidation process that produces tarnish. Minimize sterling silver's contact with chemicals such as hairspray, body lotion, and cleaning products and do not wear it in the water. After taking it off, clean it with a dry, soft cloth before putting it back into an airtight container.

Cleaning

To clean your solid sterling silver pieces, use a jewelry polishing cloth. Ours is designed with a treated interior cloth for cleaning and an exterior cloth for polishing. Clean your jewelry with the inside cloth first. Moisten the cloth slightly for extremely tarnished pieces. After your jewelry is cleaned, lightly buff it with the outer cloth to create a rich luster.

If your silver jewelry needs a little more attention, immerse it in warm water with a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid and gently hand wash. A soft toothbrush can be used for more abrasive cleaning when needed. Thoroughly rinse and completely dry the silver before storing, as moisture is one of the factors that contribute to tarnishing. Never clean your jewelry in bleach, as this will break down the metal in your jewelry.

If the jewelry contains gemstones or pearls, do not submerge the whole piece into the water. Instead, use a cotton swab with mild dishwasher liquid to wash only the sliver.

Note: do not use a polishing cloth on silver plated pieces, as this can damage the finish of your piece.

Velvet & Grass Jewelry

Avoid getting velvet or grass jewelry wet. Take off jewelry before showering or swimming. Jewelry can be cleaned by wiping with a dry soft cloth.

Leather & Suede Items

For colorfastness and protection of leather and suede pieces, use a stain and water resistant spray safe for leather. Please follow directions closely to prevent any damage to your piece. As with any fabric, test a small, unseen patch first. Brands such as Scotch Guard, Kiwi, and Fiebing work well.

Leather

For colorfastness and protection of the leather, you can use a stain and water-resistant spray for leather such as Collonil Carbon Pro Spray, Scotch Guard, Kiwi or Fiebing, should you want to make the leather water-resistant. Test any leather treatment on a small area of the item and follow instructions carefully to prevent any damage to your piece.

Should your leather product get wet, the best thing to do is get rid of the water stain before it has time to set. Using a clean, lint-free cloth, soak in as much water as you can by dabbing and not wiping. Allow the item to dry normally without artificial heat or excessive sunlight. After drying, if the water stain remains, a leather cleaner such as our leather serum can help minimize the water stain. Test any leather treatment on a small area and follow instructions carefully to prevent any damage to your piece. (Using a leather conditioner may darken the overall appearance of the leather, so you may want to clean and condition the entire leather based on the severity of the water stain.)

For general care of your item in keeping the leather replenished, supple, and soft you can condition with a leather conditioner such as our leather serum. This leather conditioner can be used as often as desired to refresh your leather product.

Suede

Store suede items so that they can breathe. Avoid plastic bags, which prevent air circulation, and opt for a pillowcase instead to protect from dust. Keep suede away from light, which will fade the color, and damp conditions, which can encourage growth of damaging mold and mildew. If suede gets wet, soak up excess moisture with a clean towel and allow the suede to dry naturally; do not use a heat source to speed up the process. After the item dries, restore the nap (the raised fibers typical of suede) with a suede brush.

Keep in mind that major stains will probably require professional care. Take your item to someone who specializes in leather and suede.

Knits & Woven Items

All our knitted and woven items are delicate and can snag, tear or stain. Please handle all items with care. Reference the specific item care on the product tag for specific washing, cleaning and care instructions.

Many of our knitted items are made of animal fiber like wool and alpaca, which means that agitation while washing can cause the fabric to "felt," or merge together to form a stiff, tight fabric. DO NOT machine wash these pieces. In general, you should gently hand wash the piece in cool, soapy water using a mild detergent or baby shampoo. Carefully swirl the knitted piece around in the water – never wring, twist or pull on the wet item. To dry, carefully lay the item out flat on a towel and blot to remove excess water, being careful not to stretch.

Apparel Care

You should always check the care instructions on the tag for your purchase, but these are some general techniques to practice to keep your artisanal pieces looking fresh and new for longer.

Avoid Detergents with Enzymes

Enzymes (ingredients typically ending in -ase) in detergents work to lift hard to remove stains out of clothes. Unfortunately, when they are used on artisanal block and screen prints, they lift the color off the garment, causing extreme fading. Non-Enzyme, Non-Bio detergents do not contain these harsh enzymes. Care for your hand-block and -screen printed apparel, your skin, and the environment by switching to a non-enzyme detergent.

Wash Less

The washing process is tough on clothes. Agitating, tumbling, and coming in contact with other garments can leave garments faded, stretched, pilling, and damaged. Unless your piece is visibly dirty, you likely don’t need to wash it after each wearing. Try to extend washing to every other wear, or even three wears, before you toss your washer-safe garments in the laundry.

Treat Stains Separately

Keeping a stain removal pen in your handbag will allow you to tend to stains as they happen and potentially avoid an unnecessary wash cycle!

Wash Clothes Inside Out

Darker material can become faded in the wash, particularly as it rubs up against other garments. Artisanal printing techniques (such as block- and screen-printing) applied to the outside of apparel can also fade with repeated abrasion in the wash. Washing inside out will provide more protection and prevent your solids and prints from losing their color.

Use a Delicates Bag

Invest in a delicates bags that will help preserve the lifespan of your delicate pieces by preventing abrasion and snagging, a particular concern for hand-loomed apparel or gentle fabrics like chiffon.

Use a Clothesline or Drying Rack

Every machine is different. Even for dryer-safe apparel pieces, using a clothesline or drying rack will avoid overheating and potential shrinking garments in the dryer. This is particularly relevant for apparel with spandex, as heat is known to break down the elasticity in garments, causing unwanted stretching.

Crinkle Crepe Care

Crinkle crepe has a permanent crinkle effect that makes it wrinkle-friendly and easy to wear, providing stretch without spandex! Although the crinkles are permanent, they may become more prominent after washing, which may impact the fit of your garment. Hang dry to add length or customize your fit by shaping and laying flat to dry. Treat with steam or a warm iron to relax the crinkle back to its original form if desired!

Dutch Wax Cotton Fabric

The best way to clean waxed cotton is to use room temperature water and a sponge, lightly brushing away any debris. For stubborn stains, use a soft bristled brush, then let the piece air dry. Never apply heat to dry, use soap, or scrub with abrasive materials, as this could damage the garment and compromise the waxy sheen.

For all Noonday product care and cleaning recommendations, please test a small portion of your piece first before treating the entire piece.

Product Materials FAQs

Does Noonday test its products for lead?

Yes. Each season, we test all of our new metal pieces for lead and cadmium content through a recognized International Testing Lab. We follow the highest standards for maximum lead content traces in the US. This means that you can be sure our jewelry contains no more than 0.05% lead and 0.03% cadmium. At these low levels, no. know link between exposure to these substances and any actual risk of cancer or reproductive harm has been established.

California Residents: The state of California has additional requirements through Proposition 65 which is a right-to-know law requiring the public to be informed when a Prop 65 listed chemical (such as lead) is present above a very low threshold. As of June 1, 2020, the state of California further reduced the lead content limits and as a result, a few of Noonday’s recycled metal products are not currently compliant. We are actively working with Artisan Business Partners to meet these new demands. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

Is your jewelry nickel free?

We estimate that our mixed metal products contain less than 2% nickel. However, to avoid placing an unnecessary burden on our Artisan Partners, we are unable to test for every known allergen. As a result, we do not test specifically for nickel and cannot guarantee that there are no traces of nickel in our products.

For women who are sensitive to nickel we recommend avoiding upcycled artillery or mixed metal jewelry. Products composed of paper, horn, tagua, and sterling silver or gold plated pieces are the best options for women with sensitivities to nickel.

What metals do Noonday’s mixed metal pieces contain?

“Mixed metals” is a term used for jewelry that are not crafted of precious metals such as 18k gold or pure silver. These pieces may include brass, iron, copper, silver, steel, aluminum, and bronze. As mentioned above, mixed metal styles may also contain traces of nickel and are not recommended for women with sensitivities to metal.

Are Noonday’s products tested on animals?

No. We never test any of our products on animals. Members of the Noonday team wear-test our products to test for structural and material quality.

Is there a risk of radiation in the upcycled artillery pieces, or any other pieces?

No. There is no risk of radiation from artillery jewelry. It is doubtful that the simple bullet casings used to make our upcycled artillery products ever contained any radioactivity—but if they did ever contain traces, the metals would not maintain radiation after having been melted down.

What are Noonday’s earring backs and earring hooks made of? Can I wear them if I have sensitive ears? Are they hypoallergenic?

Our metal earring backs are of the same quality as all of our metal posts and chains, which have been wear-tested as well as lab-tested for lead and cadmium. As with other metal components, they are not guaranteed to be nickel-free or specifically hypoallergenic.

Our staff personally wear-tests our jewelry before full production to screen for any obvious irritants. However, different skin types will react to certain metals differently based on their unique chemistries. We encourage you to try our pieces on and wear them for a day or two, and if they are not completely comfortable, return them within 90 days of purchase at no cost to you.

Are the animal products your Artisan Partners use ethically sourced?

Yes, all of our horn, bone, and leather products are ethically sourced, which means that you can be confident that these pieces are handcrafted using the finest post-consumer materials. That means that no animals have been killed for their horn, bone, or leather. Our Artisan Partners use as many parts of the animal as possible in a spirit of respect and resourcefulness, and many have been using these materials in their cultures for generations.

If your Noonday item has a defect in construction, Noonday will provide a replacement within 120 days of the original shipment date at no additional cost to you. However, remember that lost items, or items damaged due to normal wear and tear, are not covered under our replacement policies.