Although considered a precious metal, one of the biggest things to be mindful of when it comes to sterling silver is that it is composed of a soft metal. Yes, although it’s precious, sterling is soft!

 It is definitely more bendable and pliable than for instance, stainless steel, which is a hard metal.

Care must be taken when pulling too firmly on chains, whether inadvertently or not. One of the number one cause of chain breakage is from briskly pulling a sweater or T-shirt over the head, catching a finger on the chain, and the fine chain breaks.

In regards to earrings, be mindful to be gentle with the post on your stud or hoop earrings.

Sometimes earring posts can bend slightly and need to be straightened. Because of the softness of sterling silver, with a slight touch of the fingers, they can easily be moved back into place. But it's important to remember to do this slowly and gently, with your fingers held firmly on the whole post (as opposed to just the tip), as you move it into place.

 In regards to returns of Shorewood Jewelry, we are happy to refund or replace a piece of jewelry if the cause of damage is not in any way the fault of the customer. An example of this would be that a gemstone or crystal that has fallen out of a pendant.

In almost all cases, no matter whether sterling or even pure gold, we believe that the reason a fine chain will break is from a force pulling on it, causing it to break, so unfortunately, we cannot refund or replace broken chains.

As well, if a stud earring’s post has been bent or moved too quickly or with too much force, it can break off. So, unfortunately the same policy applies to earrings with a broken-off post.

We believe that sterling silver jewelry can last forever, if it is well taken care of.