Care and Cleaning

Sterling Silver
White Bronze
Yellow Brass
Gold Bronze (discontinued)
Leather Belt Straps

If you have any questions about caring for your sterling silver, yellow brass, white bronze or genuine leather items that are not covered in the section below, or your item needs repair please contact us and we will see if we can help.

Sterling Silver Care and Cleaning

All fine sterling silver does tarnish. We recommend that you do not wear it in the shower, hot tub, sauna, ocean, and swimming pool. All of this exposure will only quicken the tarnishing process. One of the best ways to slow down the tarnishing process is to store your item in a dry sealed zip lock bag when not in use. If you are one who does not mind the darkened tarnish look of sterling silver, you can just leave it alone. If you prefer a bright and shiny look for your sterling silver, use a polish cloth to restore the jewelry to its original appearance and read below for general care and cleaning tips.

Caring for your sterling silver buckles and jewelry

After each use, wipe the surface with the polishing cloth we have provided before storing your sterling silver item to remove any body oils and dirt.

Store your items in a cool, dry place. The soft bag provided will slow tarnishing and prevent scratching by other pieces in your jewelry collection but for even more protection, place your item in a dry sealed zip lock bag. We also provide an anti-tarnish tab that should be placed with your item in its storage bag or container. (anti-tarnish tabs will help to protect your item from tarnishing for 6 to 12 months)

To keep your sterling silver buckles and jewelry looking their best:
-Never shower, swim or bath with sterling silver items on.
-Keep your sterling silver items in a dry non-humid place
-Don't keep sterling silver items in the bathroom
-Keep your sterling silver items away from household chemicals & cleaners

Cleaning your sterling silver buckles and jewelry

Use the jewelry polishing cloth that was provided to clean your sterling silver items. Never use paper towels or tissue to clean or dry your item as they contain fibers that can scratch the surface.

If your sterling silver buckle or jewelry is dirtier than normal, or has begun to tarnish, you can clean the item by using your polishing cloth while providing more rubbing power. By hand polishing your sterling silver piece with more force your item will return to its original polished luster. The reason we do not recommend other cleaning methods like motorized buffing, commercial cleaners or even the natural baking soda and hot water method is that these processes can end up removing the oxidized dark details that were applied by hand. If you find that your item needs a deeper cleaning, consult a professional or contact us and we would be happy to recondition your sterling silver buckle or jewelry piece.

White Bronze Care and Cleaning

White bronze, as it is commonly named, is actually not bronze, but an alloy of varying amounts of copper, tin, and zinc. It is an ideal substitute for silver because of its similar appearance and chemical properties. White bronze is highly resistant to corrosion and breakdown, non-magnetic and has one main advantage over silver in that is does not tarnish as easily. But we live in a world that has a lot of air pollution and white bronze will yellow over time and needs to be polished periodically.

Caring for your white bronze buckle

Our white bronze buckles need little maintenance. You can occasionally wipe the surface with the polishing cloth we have provided or a soft cloth before storing it to remove any body oils and dirt. If you notice your white bronze piece taking on more of a yellowish color follow the steps below to clean your piece.

Store your items in a cool, dry place. The soft bag provided will prevent scratching by other pieces in your jewelry collection but for even more protection, place your item in a dry sealed zip lock bag.

As with sterling silver, to keep your your white bronze buckles and jewelry looking their best:
-Never shower, swim or bath with white bronze items on.
-Keep your white bronze items in a dry non-humid place
-Don't keep white bronze items in the bathroom
-Keep your white bronze items away from household chemicals & cleaners

Cleaning your white bronze buckle

Using the polishing cloth provided, a soft cloth or old t-shirt, gently wipe your bronze item free of any dust or debris. Never use paper towels or tissue to clean or dry your item as they contain fibers that can scratch the surface

If your white bronze buckle is dirtier than normal of has taken on a yellow hue, you can clean the item by using a soft cloth or polishing cloth while providing more rubbing power. By hand polishing your white bronze piece with more force your item will return to its original silver luster. The reason we do not recommend other cleaning methods like motorized buffing or commercial cleaners is that these processes can end up removing the oxidized dark details that were applied by hand. Also if you happen to have a gemstone set in your buckle some commercial cleaners may harm the stone. If you find that your item needs a deeper cleaning, consult a professional or contact us and we would be happy to recondition your white bronze buckle.

Yellow Brass Care and Cleaning

Yellow brass can become tarnished or change color over time, and while this change can be seen as desirable to some, others may like a more high polished look. To keep your yellow brass item looking its best follow the simple steps below.

Caring for your yellow brass buckle

To slow the tarnishing process of your yellow brass items you can wipe the surface with the polishing cloth we have provided or a soft cloth before storing it to remove any body oils and dirt.

Store your items in a cool, dry place. The soft bag provided will slow tarnishing and prevent scratching by other pieces in your jewelry collection but for even more protection, place your item in a dry sealed zip lock bag. We also provide an anti-tarnish tab that should be placed with your item in its storage bag or container. (anti-tarnish tabs will help to protect your item from tarnishing for 6 to 12 months)

As with sterling silver, to keep your yellow brass buckles and jewelry looking their best:
-Never shower, swim or bath with brass items on.
-Keep your brass items in a dry non-humid place
-Don't keep brass items in the bathroom
-Keep your brass items away from household chemicals & cleaners

Cleaning your yellow brass buckle

Using the polishing cloth provided, a soft cloth or old t-shirt, gently wipe your brass item free of any dust or debris. Never use paper towels or tissue to clean or dry your item as they contain fibers that can scratch the surface

If your brass buckle is dirtier than normal, or has begun to tarnish, you can clean the item by using a soft cloth or polishing cloth while providing more rubbing power. By hand polishing your brass piece with more force your item will return to its original polished luster. The reason we do not recommend other cleaning methods like motorized buffing or commercial cleaners is that these processes can end up removing the oxidized dark details that were applied by hand. Also if you happen to have a gemstone set in your buckle some commercial cleaners may harm the stone. If you find that your item needs a deeper cleaning, consult a professional or contact us and we would be happy to recondition your yellow brass buckle.

Gold Bronze Care and Cleaning

We have discontinued casting in gold bronze but for those that happen to own one of our early gold bronze buckles please follow the directions below for care and cleaning of your buckle. Gold bronze is and alloy of copper and tin and naturally darkens and tarnishes with age. To slow this process and maintain a desired color, our gold bronze buckles have been hand coated with several applications of paste wax. Because of this, our pieces should not be buffed or polished on a machine or with a heavy hand as it may remove these coatings. To keep your gold bronze buckles looking beautiful please follow the care and cleaning tips below.

Caring for gold bronze buckle

Our gold bronze buckles need very little maintenance.  You can occasionally wipe the surface with a soft cloth before storing it to remove any body oils and dirt. Because our gold bronze items have a waxed finish there is no need to polish the item as this may remove the protective coating. If you do notice your gold bronze buckle has started to tarnish the protective wax layer has probably been rubbed off and will need to be completely removed.  Please follow the directions below on re-waxing.

Store your items in a cool, dry place. The soft bag provided will slow tarnishing and prevent scratching by other pieces in your jewelry collection but for even more protection, place your item in a dry sealed zip lock bag.

Cleaning your gold bronze buckle

Using a soft cloth or old t-shirt, gently wipe your yellow bronze item free of any dust or debris.  A soft bristle paintbrush may be used to get into textured areas. 

If your item is dirtier than normal you can use a damp soft cloth to gently wipe away debris (do not use cleaners or solvents or the wax coating will be removed). Never use paper towels or tissue to clean or dry your item as they contain fibers that can scratch the surface

Re-Waxing your gold bronze buckle

Applying a light coat of wax to your gold bronze buckle on a yearly to bi yearly basis with keep it protected and looking beautiful.

To re-wax an item you need to clean the item first using the steps above.

Once the gold bronze item is completely dry, use a soft bristle paintbrush to apply a thin coat of a good quality paste wax. We recommend Trewax brand clear paste wax.  Trewax can be purchased from your local hardware store (ACE hardware usually carries Trewax brand paste wax). 

Let the wax set for approximately 20 minutes, then gently buff with a soft rag or old t-shirt.  Any white residue, which remains in the lows of the bronze item, can easily be buffed out with a soft clean paint brush. (Your bronze item must be at room temperature or cooler or the wax will not dry.)

If you need to remove the existing wax coating to polish the buckle before applying a new coating soak the buckle in denatured alcohol and rub with a clean cloth. Once the wax has been removed you can follow the directions above to re-coat your buckle.
Please note: If the waxing method seems to laborious and you do not mind the buckle darkening over time, you can leave the wax coating off and let your buckle tarnish naturally or just hand polish the item every month or so to keep the tarnish in check.

Genuine Leather Belt Strap Care and Cleaning

Our handmade genuine leather belt straps need very little care. Each leather strap is conditioned with neatsfoot oil before being dyed and then sealed with a final clear finish coat. Once the strap has completely dried it is again sealed with two to three coats of hand buffed natural wax. Because of the added oil that is sealed into the finished strap it should be many years before you would need to oil or recondition the strap.

Caring for your genuine leather belt strap

You can occasionally wipe the surface with a soft cloth before storing it to remove any body oils and dirt.

Store your belt straps in a cool, dry place. It is not a must, but the optimal way to store a belt strap is flat with no bends or kinks. One way to do this is to hang your strap from a coat hanger in your closet, not draped over the hanger from it's middle but hung from its top, keeping it straight from tip to end.

Cleaning your genuine leather belt strap

If your belt strap is dirtier than normal and a wipe down from a dry soft cloth does not do the trick, you can use a damp soft cloth to clean your strap. Once you have cleaned the strap with a damp cloth, go back over the strap with a dry soft cloth to remove any moisture.

If you ever feel your leather belt strap is drying out and may be prone to cracking you can use a natural commercial leather conditioning cream or oil following the products directions. Do not use a conditioner very often (wait at least a year between conditioning and only if the strap is truly in need of conditioning) as an over conditioned or saturated leather strap can cause leather strap failure just as a dried out strap can cause cracking.