Mussel Shell Earrings
Balmy Summer days at the beach, sun on your back and sand between your toes, splashing in the cool salty water while searching for the perfect shells.
My little Mussel shell earrings are made in polished sterling silver. The silver is then oxidised, sanded back on the inside of the shell, and hand painted with iridescent porcelain paint. Hanging from oxidised sterling silver earhooks.
The shells (including ring) measure approximately 20mm x 7mm.
Jewellery Care
Lilygriffin jewellery is dainty and delicate, so care must be taken when wearing and storing it.
Please do not wear while exercising, swimming, gardening, showering, cleaning or sleeping. Store in a soft protective pouch or box out of direct sunlight and away from excessive heat or cold. Avoid contact with household chemicals, perfumes, creams, and hairspray/gels.
I would be delighted if you wanted to wear my jewellery everyday, but please be aware that you will be able to enjoy your handpainted and 24k gold embellished pieces longer if they are not worn on a day to day basis.
For removing tarnish, I recommend using Hagerty professional cleaning products.
All Sterling Silver Lilygriffin items can be given a 10 second swish in Hagerty Silver Clean, which should remove all or some of the tarnish, depending on the level of tarnish. **Please do not leave the handpainted items in this mixture for any longer than 10 seconds. Handpainted pieces must be rinsed and thoroughly dried after dipping**
All Gold or gold accented Lilygriffin items should ONLY be cleaned with soap and water, or Hagerty Jewel Clean (in the gold box). Usually 30 seconds is enough!
HANDPAINTED PIECES
Porcelain paint is used to add colour to some of my pieces. The paint is heat fired, so is scratch and water resistant, however, care must be taken not to knock, scratch or soak.
GOLD ACCENTED PIECES
The layers of 24k gold I use to accent my jewellery are soft, so can be scratched; the gold will also wear and diffuse into the sterling silver layer underneath over time as I do not use any Nickel barrier in my jewellery. Nickel can be a health hazard, and is a known allergen to some people.
GOLD FILLED PIECES
Gold fill, or `rolled gold' is (usually) a solid 14k thick layer of gold bonded on to a jeweller's brass core under pressure. The layer is thicker than gold plating, but can be thinned out during forging (hammering). 14k gold is more durable than 24k gold, as it is a composite of pure gold and other materials, but may still scratch or abrade.