caring for your locket

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About each locket:
Each Abel Locket is cast and hand-assembled by a local micro-foundry in Seattle, Washington, and lined with felt by hand. Because this is a handmade rather than a machine-made piece you may find slight imperfections. This said, every effort has been made to provide you with something gorgeous and of the highest quality.

Important—opening and closing the locket:
The locket latch should only be moved by holding the locket closed tightly with one hand and gently pushing up or down at the end of the latch where the gemstone sits. Avoid pushing the latch toward the locket as that will cause the latch to scratch its surface. However, if scratches do occur, you can minimize the scratch by polishing the locket with the Sunshine® polishing cloth included with your locket. Also, keep in mind that this piece of jewelry is meant to be worn and enjoyed. So, scratches and wear are inevitable and add character and love to your locket.

Keeping the locket latch closed and your rings safe:
The latch mechanism relies on a small bump and gravity to keep it closed. For this reason, the locket should be worn as a pendant on a chain or neck ring rather than kept in a pocket.

Polishing your locket:
Within the locket packaging, I’ve included a Sunshine® polishing cloth for you to gently polish and clean your locket. The cloth contains “special chemical cleansing agents and non-scratching micro-abrasives.” Before you use the cloth, make sure there is not dust or grit on your locket. Note: If you see any black substance on your locket when you first receive it—this is polishing agent, not tarnish. The polishing agent can be removed with the polishing cloth, too.

Maintaining your locket’s felt lining:
Do nothing! The felt lining was been carefully applied to your locket with water-soluble glue. For this reason, if you need to replace the lining, it’s easy. You can send it back to Abel Lockets, and it will be replaced by hand for you for a small fee. Also, at any time, you can remove the felt yourself and simply wash any glue residue off the locket with warm water. And voilà! You’ll have a shiny, felt-free locket.

Maintaining your neck ring:
The silver in your locket is high-grade and resistant to scratching and tarnishing. The silver in your neck ring, however, is not as high quality. Also, it is self-annealing. This means that it may change it shape over time and need to be reworked into shape by a professional jeweler. You can help the neck ring stay in shape by not pulling it open to place it on your neck. Rather, separate the two ends with a slight twist and gently place the neck ring.

If you are interested in buying a locket or have questions, please email me.