How do I care for my jewelry?

It depends on what the material is. Most metal will tarnish in time. We provide sunshine polishing cloths for all bronze, gold and silver pieces. They require a little love here and there, especially brass and bronze!

Gold plating will eventually begin to wear down. We work with a heavy gold plate to avoid this, but we cannot guarantee the life of gold plate, especially with daily wear. We offer replating of select pieces for $12.

We recommend leaving all jewelry in a cool dry area, meaning keep it out of the bathroom! Humidity can impact the patina but our care cards will explain how to maintain your shine. And please try to avoid swimming in your jewelry, even though we know we look cute poolside.

Items that are gold fill will resist tarnish and wear the best. They are higher in price but gold filling is one of the most valuable and tarnish resistant processes there is. GF jewelry is composed of a mixed metals including solid gold. Typically in gold filled items, gold constitutes 5% of the item's total weight.

Each CID order comes with a jewelry care card that contains some useful home remedies for jewelry maintenance, and includes a small sunshine polishing cloth.

Will my CID jewelry cause an allergic reaction?

All of our jewelry is nickel free. Our earring posts are all surgical steel or sterling silver. If you struggle with metal allergies, we do offer electroplating. Please send us a message to learn more.

Does brass/bronze turn your finger green?

It might! We can’t say yes or no. It all depends on your PH, weather, chemicals, etc. On a hot summer day my finger has been known to turn green. Sometimes when I’m about to start menstruating it also turns my finger green. It’s never consistent, but please know that this skin reaction does not mean poor quality. It can be easily avoided by applying some clear nail polish on the interior of your ring. We also lacquer all of our brass and bronze items to help avoid this, and we offer additional plating options upon request.

Do you offer repairs?

YES! We offer an array of affordable repair options. We want to rescue your previously loved accessories!

Please send an email to:

meghan.citiesindust@gmail.com with the subject line “ATTN Repairs” that includes a photo of your item and your repair needs. We will evaluate the damage and get back to you ASAP.

Do you offer returns?

We do not offer refunds but we do offer exchanges for up to three weeks from your purchase. Item/items must be in resellable condition to be accepted. We also understand there are extenuating circumstances and we want to make sure you love your item. If you’re not 100% happy with your CID item, please email us. We want to make it right!

How do I know my ring size?

Here is a useful link to ring sizing. You can also purchase a ring sizer from our site HERE

What does your shipping and turnaround time look like?

Cities In Dust has an assortment of ready to ship items but we also hand fabricate a large portion of our collections.

Allow up to three weeks for shipping of all hand fabricated pieces.

All domestic orders will ship USPS First Class. International orders will ship First class express. Please note, international orders can be subject to duties or additional taxes once they have entered your country. This is not something we can control and CID is not liable for any additional fees.

Custom orders and/or anything over $1,000 will ship Fedex. Custom orders and fine jewelry require different insurance, so shipping and handling prices will be quoted on a project base. Please inform us if you prefer a signature required upon delivery.

Cities In Dust can not be held responsible for lost or stolen packages.

Can I shop CID Jewelry in person?

Please check out our stockist list for a CID retailer near you! We have wide representation in the US. We will keep you updated with in person events.

Do you offer local pickup?

Yes, for Chicago customers we do. Please email us to arrange: meghan.citiesindust@gmail.com

Do you do custom orders?

We love doing custom projects! You can see a gallery of our custom work on our fine jewelry Instagram page here. We love collaborating with people to create unique and inspiring one-of-a-kind pieces! Our projects range from custom engagement rings from scratch to repurposed heirlooms. Our minimum for repurposed fine jewelry, meaning the customer provides the stones and some material, is $1,000. Custom pieces that require stone sourcing of any kind have a minimum of $3,000. We have a detailed process for custom projects. Please complete the custom projects request form here (LINK) and we’ll get back to you ASAP. We can’t wait to work together on something special!