Caring for your 3D crystal keepsake
How to clean, display and store an engraved photo crystal so it looks the same in twenty years as it does today.
Written at Shop K33, Werribee Plaza ·
Optical crystal is tougher than it looks and easier to ruin than people expect. The engraving itself cannot fade, scratch off or peel, because it is inside the block rather than on it. What does show is the surface: fingerprints, dust, and the haze left by the wrong cleaner.
Cleaning
A dry microfibre cloth handles almost everything. For fingerprints, breathe on the surface and wipe; the moisture in your breath is enough. If it needs more, use a cloth barely dampened with water and dry it immediately.
Avoid anything with ammonia, which includes most blue window sprays. It will not touch the engraving but it can leave a film on the polished faces that is difficult to remove.
Where to put it
Crystal rewards light. On a windowsill it catches the afternoon sun; on a shelf it needs its LED base to do the same job. Direct, prolonged sunlight will not damage the engraving, but it will warm the base and shorten the life of the LED, so a spot with indirect light is kinder.
Keep it away from the edge of a bench. Crystal is heavy and unforgiving on tile.
The LED base
Most bases run on a small mains adaptor or batteries. If the light dims, it is nearly always the batteries rather than the base. Wipe the contact ring occasionally; dust sitting between the crystal and the light is the most common reason a piece stops looking as bright as it did.
Keychains
The keychain crystals live in pockets and handbags, so they will pick up fine surface marks over the years. That is the trade for carrying it. The engraving inside stays exactly as it was. Press the cap button in short bursts rather than holding it; the cell lasts far longer.
Storing it long term
Keep the presentation box. Wrap the crystal in the cloth it came with, or in a soft cloth of your own, and store it away from anything that can knock against it. Do not store it in a plastic bag in a hot car; condensation and heat are the two things that dull a polished face.
If something goes wrong
Bring it into Shop K33. We would rather look at it than guess over the phone, and a base that has stopped working is usually a five-minute fix at the counter.
Ready to turn your photo into crystal?
Send us the photo and we will tell you honestly which shape suits it. Or come to the studio at Werribee Plaza and hold one first.
