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TL;DR:
Handmade jewellery lasts longest with three habits. Clean pieces with a soft, dry cloth; never use cleaning agents. Store pieces individually, flat or hanging straight, away from sunlight and damp. Treat restringing as routine maintenance as soon as gaps, fraying, or a loose elastic appear, rather than as a rescue measure.
A handmade piece carries more than beads. It carries the hours someone spent knotting it, and often a story besides. Looking after it properly is mostly a matter of knowing what the stringing material wants, because silk, nylon, leather, elastic, and wire each age differently. This guide explains how to care for jewellery made with GRIFFIN bead cord and its sister materials, when to restring, and how to read the early signs of wear. GRIFFIN is a historic brand founded in 1866 that supplies high-quality bead stringing materials and accessories for jewellery making, so the advice below comes from 160 years of watching its materials endure over time.
How long does a silk-knotted piece last?
Lifespan depends on wear, and silk, as a natural fibre, can relax over years of regular use. A silk-knotted necklace worn weekly will typically want restringing well before the pearls show any age. That is not a flaw. It is why professional pearl restringing exists as a routine procedure, the same way a watch gets serviced.
GRIFFIN 100% Natural Silk, Triple Twisted from the filament centre of the silk cocoon thread and a needle attached to every card, has been the traditional stringing material for classic pearl necklaces since 1866. The Best of the Best: the silk bead cord trade has organised itself around this product for a reason. The knots between beads are part of the care story too: they stop beads rubbing against each other, hold everything in place if the thread ever does break, and keep the strand lying naturally against the body.
How do you care for Nylon Power jewellery?
Care is simple: wipe the piece after wear, keep it away from household chemicals, and store it out of direct sunlight. GRIFFIN Nylon Power, the vegan nylon bead cord in the carded range, holds its geometry unusually well: the cord stretches only 3 to 4% under tension and returns to its original length, so the gaps that betray a tired necklace appear far more slowly. Colour brilliance is one of Nylon Power’s selling points, and it keeps that brilliance best when the piece is stored out of the sun.
Caring for High Performance jewellery
GRIFFIN High Performance is the toughest cord in the carded range, triple twisted from high-tech fibres 15 times stronger than steel and chosen for hard gemstones, heavy beads, and the small, sharp drill holes that wear other materials down. It does not stretch, so the gaps that open between beads on a tired strand simply never appear. A piece strung on High Performance keeps its spacing for the long run. Care follows from that strength. The cord requires little beyond the wipe-down and chemical-free storage that every piece on this page needs. The one place to watch is where the cord meets a sharp-edged gemstone hole, because abrasion, not stretch, is what eventually tires this cord; knots set between the beads keep it off those edges. The cord comes in white only, so there is no colour to fade, and as with everything here, clean it with a soft, dry cloth; never use cleaning agents.
How do you care for leather cord jewellery?
Keep it dry, let it rest straight, and expect a patina. GRIFFIN leather cords stay smooth, strong, and completely organic. As the only leather cord made in Germany, they are produced without the use of any hazardous chemicals. The eco-friendly tanning and natural dyes mean there is no oil coating to replenish and no chemical finish to protect. This keeps leather cord care refreshingly short.
· Keep it dry. Take leather pieces off before showering or swimming, and if one gets wet, let it dry at room temperature rather than placing it on a radiator.
· Let it rest flat or hanging straight, so the round cord keeps its shape around the clasp and the knots.
· Expect character. Natural dyes and real leather develop a patina with wear; that is the material doing what it should.
Because the cord is organic through and through, it also suits wearers with metal intolerance who want jewellery against the skin all day.
Cleaning Jewelry Elastic Cord bracelets
Bracelets strung on GRIFFIN Jewelry Elastic Cord need a wipe down more than a wash. The TPU cord stretches like a rubber band when the bracelet is slipped on or off and returns to its original length, so the main care job is mechanical, not cosmetic. Glance at the glued knot occasionally, especially on children’s bracelets that get pulled about, and re-secure it with a drop of GRIFFIN Superglue if it ever loosens. Avoid prolonged contact with perfumes and lotions, which is good practice for every stringing material on this page.
How should you clean and store every GRIFFIN piece?
One rule sits above all others, straight from the catalogue. Never use cleaning agents on jewellery. Cleaning agents can attack the cord, the bead surfaces, and any plated findings at the same time. Wipe pieces gently with a soft, dry cloth instead.
Storage habits that pay off across the whole jewellery box: store pieces individually so beads and clasps do not scratch each other, lay knotted necklaces flat or hang them straight rather than coiling them tightly. Keep everything away from direct sunlight and damp bathrooms. Put jewellery on after perfume and cosmetics, not before.
Restring or repair: Which does the piece need?
As a rule of thumb: if the problem is at the ends, repair it. If the problem is along the strand, restring. The two are different jobs.
Repair covers the metal parts: a stretched jump ring, a tired clasp, a worn earwire. Findings can be swapped without touching the strand, and GRIFFIN clasps and findings are 925 sterling silver, nickel-free, with 7-micron 24K gold plating, so a repair offers an upgrade opportunity.
Restringing replaces the cord itself, and it is normal maintenance rather than a rescue. Professionals treat restringing as a primary service, particularly for pearls. Inherited or valuable pieces deserve restringing on quality cord regardless of how the old strand looks, because the previous material is an unknown quantity.
Signs the cord needs replacing
- Gaps between knots and beads that were not there when the piece was made. The cord has relaxed.
- Fuzzing or fraying anywhere along the strand, most often near the clasp where the cord works hardest.
- Discolouration of a light-coloured cord between beads.
- An elastic bracelet that hangs loose instead of returning to size.
- Any single broken strand on a multi-strand piece. One failed strand loads the rest.
Catch these early and restringing is routine. Ignore them and the floor gets the beads. A piece knotted on a GRIFFIN cord fails gracefully even then, because the knots hold every other bead in place.
The GRIFFIN specification behind the materials
GRIFFIN does not expect owners to take durability on faith. It publishes the specification. The carded cords, 100% Natural Silk, Nylon Power, and High Performance, are triple twisted, supplied with the needle attached and made to the same standard the trade has referenced for generations. Jewelry Nylon, Braided Nylon Cord, and Waxed Cotton Cords are REACH accredited. The Jewelry Elastic Cord is rated to 200% stretch. Leather cords are produced in Germany with eco-friendly tanning. Findings are nickel-free 925 sterling silver. After that, care comes down to ten minutes of attention a year.
Replacement cord and findings are available through griffin1866store.com and through authorised GRIFFIN stockists worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my thread break in the first place?
Sharp-edged drill holes are usually the reason. Sharp edges can cut almost any material over time. Smoothing the drill holes before stringing and knotting between beads both reduce chafing.
My cord came off the card with kinks. How do I remove them?
Moisten the thread with water and stretch it vigorously. After drying, the kinks disappear.
Is a knotted necklace really more durable than a plain threaded one?
Yes, on four counts: if the strand breaks, the beads do not scatter, the necklace lies more naturally on the body, gaps take far longer to appear, and the beads never grind against each other.
Can I wear silk-strung pearls in the shower?
It is highly recommended to avoid repeated soaking of any natural fibre cord, and on the knots. Pearls last longest when they go on after perfume and cosmetics, are taken off before entering water, and get a wipe with a soft cloth after wear.
