Handling and Care
Tribu's earrings are intended to be worn in piercings that have already been stretched to the appropriate size and properly healed. It is very important to keep piercings in a hygienic state at all times and clean them on a daily basis.
We recommend that anyone wishing to stretch their piercings consult a good quality, licensed piercer for advice and assistance.
How to Clean and Care for...
Wipe your abalone jewellery with a damp cleaning cloth after each time you wear it. Saturated the cleaning cloth with warm soapy water to clean abalone jewellery only if it seems soiled. Like the surface of the abalone with the damp cloth and then wipe the abalone stone again with a cloth saturated with water only. Dry the jewellery well.
Do not get Bamboo jewellery wet as this may result in damage to your piece. You can polish with tea tree oil or jojoba oil.
... Bone
Bone jewellery does not require much care. You can clean your bone items simply by polishing it with a soft cloth. If it is soiled, you can use a water and gentle soap solution and wipe it off with a cloth. You can also rub in a small amount of tea-tree or jojoba oil to ensure a long life. Bone will also naturally change colour of the time, so do not try to bring it back to its original whitish colour if it now has obtained a yellowish tint. This is part of the magic of natural materials. Never soak, as material will swell and dry out.
... Coconut
Simply wipe the coconut with soft wet cloth. Do not use any water or chemicals to clean coconut as that will only dry it out and make it crack. Use some mild coconut or other vegetable oil to prevent the coconut from drying out. Coconut will darken over time. Never soak, as material will swell and dry out.
... Gold
To clean gold, simply place your gold items into a bowl of mild soap and water and let it soak for about 15 minutes. If the item has stones in it though, you might only want to soak for five minutes to prevent stones from being ‘soaked’ out of their setting. Then gently scrub the piece with a soft toothbrush, taking care to also get into the crevices, engravings and details of the peace.
Soap residue can cause gold to look dull and dirty, so you want to make sure you rinse it completely clean. Dry the jewellery by gently buffing it with a soft cloth. This prevents water spots from forming on the surface of the gold and removes any stubborn leftover soap residue.
Clean with mild soap and water. Dry immediately and well. If horn has other inlaid material, do the same. If inlay is Silver, polish with silver cloth. Once every few months, rub a bitt of jojoba oil into item to maintain it in a good condition. Never soak, as material will swell and dry out.
Keep your ivory jewellery away from moist places like bathrooms. Dust your ivory jewellery with a soft, fine-tipped paintbrush. If particularly soiled, dampen a soft, lint-free cloth with warm water and gently wipe your ivory jewellery.
You can use flannel or a cloth that you would clean your eyeglasses with. Do not use soap or any other household products. Please note that Ivory will turn yellowish overtime.
Leather should not be treated with water at all. If soiled, use a mild soap and a wet cloth to wipe off the dirt. Dry immediately. Depending on the item, you can oil the leather with leather preservative such as mink oil.
To clean a mother of pearl piece, dip a soft cloth into some olive oil, gently rub the oil into the piece and finish by polishing it with a piece of silk. Make sure the piece is completely dry before returning it into storage. Do not use soap or water, it is not good to get mother of pearl too wet and the contents of soap are likely to be too harsh for mother of pearl and will degrade it.
... Opal
Because opal is not a stone but rather a combination of minerals, it is not nearly as hard and durable as a diamond or sapphire. It's recommended that you clean Opal in a special way so you don't scratch it. Prepare a lukewarm water and unscented soap solution, and scrub the stone gently with a soft toothbrush. When you finish scrubbing, rinse the stone with running water for a few seconds. Pat the opal with a tissue, microfiber jewellery cloth or small piece of silk. This will help the opal dry quickly and give it a shiny appearance.
Onyx is a material that needs to be cared for, liquid can easily be soaked into the onyx therefore try and keep it dry and clean. Light marks on an onyx item can be wiped up with a soft cloth that has some rubbing alcohol on it. Avoid using large amounts of liquid and chemicals as this might change the colour of the Onyx.
Petrified Wood and Ammonite have essentially the same quality as rock. Hot water and a cloth should do the trick here. For fingerprint stains a simple silver cloth can also help to bring back the shiny polish.
Tribal Silver: Use a silver polishing cloth. Please note, the dark oxidised features is part of the tribal silver look, so do not attempt to make them shine like sterling silver.
Use a 100% cotton cloth to wipe the shells free from any dust or grime that may spoil their shine. Do not use any other chemical products, as that will damage them.
Most stones are resistant to liquid and can be cleaned with a simple water and soap solution and then dried off well with a cloth.
... Wood
To clean wooden pieces (including wooden plugs) all you need is a soft damp cloth and some olive oil. Take the soft cloth like a chamois cloth and make it damp. Then wipe off the wooden jewellery until the dirt and dust is off the wood.
After you clean the wooden jewellery you need to put oil on the wooden jewellery or it could crack from being too dried out. Take some olive oil and put it on a small piece of soft cloth then rub than the wood with the cloth soaked in the olive oil. Once the olive oil is in the wood you should shine the item with a soft dry cloth. Please note that wood will darken in colour over time, especially after oil treatments. Never soak, as material will swell and dry out.
To clean Zamac, use soft cloths such as cotton terry or chamois and a mild soap and water solution. Never use paper towels, paper-based wipes, cellulose or plastic sponges as well as fake chamois cloths as they are highly abrasive and could mar the chrome finish.