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Keepsake jewelry is a special way to keep memories alive forever; it is a precious piece of jewelry made from someone's own special keepsakes such as breastmilk, formula, ash, dried flowers (wedding bouquets, funeral flowers, etc.), locks of hair, placenta capsule, sand, and really anything that holds deep meaning to you. Breastmilk jewelry is our most popular keepsake choice and commemorates the beautiful but difficult journey of breastfeeding and the eternal bond formed between a mama and her baby.
At Milk Couture Co., we celebrate and honor all mamas and all motherhood journeys! We will happily make a piece out of other keepsakes! If you don't see your keepsake type listed when selecting customization options at checkout, just shoot us an email to make sure it is possible with our preservation method and stone design process before placing an order.
The preservation process usually takes at least a few weeks to a month, including a degassing period to ensure the stone is fully cured and degassed before we set it and send it to you. The degassing period depends on the type of resin used; I use two different kinds and one degasses a lot faster, so it really does depend! The current wait time is approximately 4-16 weeks from when we receive your breastmilk/keepsake to when you receive it in the mail and is subject to change. This timeline is an estimate.
You can always make it a rush order, which will decrease your wait time by about 4 weeks (if not more)! This will just ensure that your piece gets priority and will get moved to the front of the line for me to make.
Milk Couture Co. is run by me, myself and I! I am the only one crafting your jewelry. My top priority with this company is maintaining the absolute best quality craftsmanship and I will never rush the process.
The process is a bit different depending on the keepsake. For our breastmilk jewelry, I spent a ton of time (and tears) perfecting a preservation method that involves meticulously removing all bacteria from your sample and adding our proprietary preservation powder and Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers/UV stabilizers (in most cases) to the sample to guard against long term discoloration. The breastmilk paste is then dried and ground down by hand with a mortar and pestle until an extremely fine powder is achieved. I then create the stone by adding your preserved keepsake to jeweler's grade resin according to your custom preferences (adding crushed opal, genuine diamond dust, gold flakes, shimmers, lusters, etc. according to your customization choices). After the resin is fully cured and degassed, I place a glossy protective barrier on it (in most cases), set the stone into your setting, polish, hand-wrap it with love in our premium packaging and send on its way home to you!
You can rest assured that as a mama and business owner, this is my life's passion and I take extreme care in my systems and organization. I am a one-woman show here and I am the ONLY person who will handle your precious keepsakes. The pillars of this company are integrity and quality craftsmanship. When an order is placed, you will receive an invoice number that stays with your keepsake through the entire process - from the time you place the order until you pick it up from your mailbox!
If you're still a little apprehensive, I totally understand! I added the option where you can purchase a process video that will show me creating your piece from start to finish using the exact bag you sent me in the mail! The preservation process takes about a week so the video will show cuts, but it will have your order number/name and your exact milk sample throughout. Hopefully it is a way to give peace of mind! Feel free to add that to your cart by clicking here.
Yes! It can be in the freezer for many years and will still work perfectly for jewelry!
To order your piece, simply click on "shop" at the top of our page. From there, you can browse and make your selection. I highly recommend checking out our instagram and TikTok @milkcoutureco to see examples of videos, stone design elements, ring styles, and stacking sets to see different options. We also have a stone design lookbook here on the website to help you through the design process. The possibilities are truly endless and each piece is so special and unique to you and your journey!
After placing your order, you will receive an email with detailed instructions on how to ship your milk/keepsakes to me as well as the address to send it to.
Absolutely! When you select a jewelry piece, you will see many stone design options to choose from. Some of our rings are also available with birthstone customization as well. I currently do not offer specific designs with hair (spirals, hearts etc.). You can request that it be placed down the middle, or on the right or left side, but due to how the resin settles and moves while it cures, it may not be possible to fulfill your exact request. You can also request heavy or light shimmer, etc.
We now offer birth flowers and crushed genuine raw birhtsotne that can be added to the keepsake stones.
Faceted stones have facets, or flat sides, like a diamond. These are a lot more difficult to create which is why there is an added cost. Cabochon stones are smooth and rounded. Please note that faceted style stones may have a more matte finish than cabochon style stones. White shimmer, pearl shimmer, and white stone look best with lighter colored keepsakes. Diamond dust is made from a genuine rough diamond and may have some small gray inclusions. When you are purchasing from me, you are trusting my eye as an artist and I would never sell anything that I wouldn't be proud to wear myself!
Check out our stone design lookbook for some gorgeous customization examples and inspo!
The best choice for frequent wear and/or to pass down for generations is SOLID GOLD. 14K/18K solid gold is much more durable and less prone to tarnishing than the silver and silver with plating options. The keepsake stones are similar in hardness to an opal and if worn frequently they can eventually scratch. I am hoping to offer a repair service for that reason in the future!
Detailed instructions on how to send your milk and/or inclusions will be sent via confirmation email once your purchase is complete. The address will be included in this email. If you do not see the email in your inbox, check your spam folder. If you still cannot locate the email, please contact cait@milkcouture.co. You will be responsible to pay usually around $5 to ship your milk/keepsake to me. You must get tracking information and keep your receipt. Do NOT require signature for delivery.
Special instructions for international orders will be sent in the automatic email (it's still super easy so don't worry)!
And whatever you do, DO NOT SEND BREASTMILK IN ZIPLOCK BAGS - IT WILL BE A LEAKY MESS. Trust me, I unfortunately know first-hand. Not a good sitch for either of us!
DO NOT SEND ME THE LAST OF YOUR BREASTMILK OR KEEPSAKES. There are rare occasions when it can get lost in the mail. Milk Couture Co. is not responsible if this happens and will not issue refunds for this issue. Avoid this tragedy completely by you not sending the last of anything!
For breastmilk, you will need a small bubble mailer and 3 breastmilk storage bags. Please only send 1/2 ounce of thawed/room temperature breastmilk in a breastmilk storage bag. Place this bag in another sealed breastmilk storage bag, and then another (triple bag the breastmilk). Write the purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on the outside (3rd) bag. Place in a small bubble mailer and send it on its journey!
For ash, I only need 1 tbsp. Double bag it (ziplock is fine). Write the purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on the outside bag. If you are purchasing a larger piece, please include 3 tbsp. Send in a small bubble mailer. No tape please. I will return any unused ash.
For dried flowers, send 5-7 FULLY DRIED petals in a ziplock bag and place extra bubble wrap around the bag. Write the purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on the bag. Send in a small bubble mailer.
For hair, please send about 25 strands. The best way to do this is tie a small elastic around the hair, THEN cut it right behind the elastic. Place in ziplock bag and label with purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on bag. No tape please. I will return any unused hair.
For placenta, put one enclosed capsule in a ziplock bag and label with purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on bag. No tape please. I will return any unused.
For umbilical cord, it must be fully dried. Only send a small portion of stump. Place in a ziplock bag and label with purchaser's name, piece of jewelry ordered, and invoice # on bag. No tape please. I will return any unused.
For all other inclusions, please email me and I will give you specific instructions for your keepsake.
You have 7 months from the date of purchase to send in your milk/inclusions. If we do not receive your milk within that timeframe, an empty setting will be sent to your address. I will attempt to contact you via email before I send the empty setting to make sure it didn't get lost in the mail. We do not keep stock inventory of settings. Each setting is made custom for each client. From time to time, our suppliers discontinue settings. Since we do not keep stock inventory, this is out of our control. If this happens, I will email you and give you store credit to use to choose a different setting of equal value.
Go to the order status page and input the email address associated with the order and the order number into the text fields.
You will then be shown which step your order is in the process.
The "processing milk/inclusion" step means that we have received your milk or inclusion and are in the preservation process. If it's been 3+ weeks since you've sent your milk/incusion and you haven't seen this step yet, shoot me an email because that could be a sign it got lost in transit.
The "stone creation/crafting jewelry" step means we are creating, curing and degassing your stone and setting it into your setting.
Please do not contact me asking where your order is at in the process because I will just refer you to the order status page. If your order hasn't been sent to you and it's 2+ weeks past your estimated delivery timeframe, you can shoot me an email and we will check on it for you.
Treat your precious keepsake jewelry/items as you would treat your grandmother's heirloom pearls - with great love and care. Do not shower, bathe, wash hands, do dishes, work out, sunbathe, swim, or sleep while wearing your jewelry. Do not expose your jewelry to chemicals (lotion, perfume, hairspray, laundry/dish soap, etc.), extreme temperatures, humidity, extended UV light, or essential oils. Do not store your jewelry in direct sunlight or in a humid area like a bathroom. We recommend storing in a dark, dry area - preferably small ziplock baggie with an anti-tarnish strip. Do not store mixed metals together as that can accelerate tarnishing. For example, do not store silver pieces in the same place as gold plated pieces.
A silver polishing cloth is included with each jewelry order. We caution against using the cloth frequently on plated pieces and vermeil as it can strip the plating.
Please do not resize your keepsake rings. The stones do not hold up to the resizing process. If the ring is too loose, you can get a ring wrap which is a small plastic piece you can cut to size and wrap around the bottom of the ring to fig as snug as you'd like.
Preserved milk and leftover inclusions will be kept on-hand for 2 years from the date of purchase in case you would like to purchase an additional piece. An additional 2 years of storage can be purchased here. Leftover cremation ash, hair, umbilical cord, and placenta will always be sent back with your the finished piece. I will not send back any preserved milk.
YES! We finally ship internationally and so excited to be able to offer this to mamas all over the world! We currently ship to Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I'm happy to ship to any other country and add it to my store, just email me cait@milkcouture.co and we'll make it happen! <3
Yes. It is included in our shipping pricing. I am not responsible for lost or damaged items in the mail since it is out of my control, however, shipping insurance will cover the cost of another piece of jewelry. These items are so precious and I don't want to even risk sending these without fully insuring them.
Milk Couture Co. is for ALL mamas and all budgets! I wanted to make sure there was a variety of pricing and metal/stone options within our collections.
The classic collection includes rings that are made of .925 sterling silver with gold and rose gold plating options. Select classic collection pieces have solid gold options. Side stones in the classic collection are simulated diamonds. The Heirloom and The Blessing ring have genuine diamond and genuine birthstone options if you purchase them in solid gold.
All pieces in the diamond collection are available in .925 sterling silver, 18K gold vermeil (thicker 2.5 micron plating), 18K solid yellow gold/rose gold, 14K white gold. I chose 18K yellow gold over 14K because 18K has a warmer more luxurious color as it has a higher percentage of pure gold. 14K white gold is more aesthetic than 18K because 18K white gold has yellow hue. Side stones have the option of simulated diamonds or genuine conflict-free lab grown diamonds.
If you are wanting a piece to wear frequently and pass down for generations, please choose SOLID GOLD. It is much more durable than sterling silver/plated, which is more suited for occasional wear.
In stone design, we offer many special inclusion enhancements such as genuine diamond dust, crushed lab grown white opal, crushed etheopian fire opal, genuine crushed raw birthstones, birth flowers, and genuine meteorite.
At Milk Couture Co., we take pride in the fact that our pieces are heirloom quality and made to last. We use solid .925 sterling silver, 18K gold vermeil, 18K & 14K solid gold, and 18K gold plating/rhodium plating. I am offering plated pieces in order to make the keepsake jewelry accessible to all mamas and all budgets. The plating on plated pieces will wear off and need re-plating at some point. Vermeil is a much thicker layer of plating but may eventually fade over time as well and need re-plating. You are paying for the sterling silver underneath the plating. Plating lifetime depends on many factors such as an individual's body chemistry, time spent wearing the piece, jewelry care, etc.
If plating wear or tarnishing concerns you, please choose SOLID GOLD. It is much more durable and less likely to tarnish than sterling silver/plated, which is more suited for occasional wear.
A polishing cloth and storage box/bag is included with every jewelry order. You can use this cloth to polish silver and solid gold pieces. We caution against using the cloth frequently on plated pieces and vermeil as it can strip the plating.
Some mamas would like their piece to include breastmilk from breastfeeding each of their babies. Preservation for each additional milk costs $25 each.
Not necessarily. Our preservation method may alter the color. A lot depends on the chemical/macronutrient makeup of your breastmilk sample and how it reacts with our preservation powder & process. Our preservation powder used to preserve your milk is white, so it usually whitens your sample quite a bit. If your milk sample is extremely yellow or translucent, you may want us to add a bit of white pigment or white shimmer to brighten and accentuate the natural beauty of your milk. You can do this by selecting "whitener" in the stone design section when you are placing your order. If I am creating your stone and it is looking extremely translucent or yellow, I may add a bit of brightener to it. If you do not want me to do this even if it's looking translucent or yellow, please add a note to your order and specify that you do not want brightener.
Each piece is unique as all inclusions (breastmilk, ash, dried flowers, etc.) are unique. Some inclusions are more difficult to work with than others and no two pieces will ever look alike. There will always be some variation to each jewelry piece which can include but not limited to: translucency, bubbles, evidence of sanding/handcrafting, stones not sitting completely flush on the setting, and other minor imperfections. These are all within normal limits of handcrafted jewelry. By making a purchase with Milk Couture Co., you are agreeing that your jewelry piece will not be 100% perfect/without any flaws.
Yes! You will see a selection for "rush order" when you are choosing your options for your jewelry piece. The rush order selection ensures that you get bumped to the front of the line, but does NOT ensure any specific time range you will get your piece. You will absolutely get it sooner than you would if you had not selected rush order. It typically bumps it up about 4 weeks sooner than you would get it without rush.
Yes! I'd highly recommend checking out our instagram and highlight icons at the top of our IG page to see tons of photos/videos of the many customized options available! We also have a lot of examples on our TikTok, Pinterest and Facebook pages as well. You can join our private Facebook MCC Mamas Club group too for Mama Club only discounts (and an insider/BTS look at everything!).
Yes! We love the look of faceted keepsake jewelry and pride ourselves in making gorgeous faceted designs. The diamond collection offers a brilliant cut faceted stone option for each piece. It is significantly more time consuming and difficult to create these stones, which is why there is an additional cost. I do not typically add a glossy top coat to faceted stones as it will ruin the facets, therefore it usually has a more matte finish than cabochon stones. Please rest assured, I would never sell anything that I don't think is stunningly beautiful and wouldn't wear myself.
I do not currently have this option available. Since all of our stone molds are custom made and specific for our pieces here at MCC, none of our stones would be guaranteed to fit your setting.
Yes.
If your keepsake stone falls out of the setting and you still have the keepsake stone, we will repair it for free for a period of 60 days after you received your item from us. We cannot guarantee past 60 days. You are responsible for the cost of shipping the setting/stone to us. If you cannot locate the stone and the 60 day period has not yet passed, we can re-make the stone for you although you might need to send us more milk/keepsake inclusion.
Prongs may become loose if the jewelry piece is handled roughly at any point. Local jewelry repair stores can provide services to fix loose prongs for a small fee.
Discoloration can occur on ALL resin items as this is the chemical properties of all resin. As stated in the jewelry care instructions, please keep our pieces out of extended sunlight, away from heat, water, chemicals, etc. We use jeweler's grade resin for most pieces which contains UV stabilizers that guard against discoloration, however no resin is 100% able to mitigate damage from harsh chemicals, heat and extended UV light. Also, each sample of breastmilk is unique and some may appear more yellow than other samples as it goes through the preservation process. Some milk can even have a slight blue tone to it. To ensure your stone is white, please select the "white stone" option in stone design and we will add a bit of white pigment to whiten your breastmilk stone. We guarantee no discoloration will occur in the first 3 months (90 days) after you receive your item. If there is an issue with the preservation, the discoloration would happen within the first 3 months.
Please inspect your jewelry upon reception and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged or if you receive the wrong item, so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right. If a setting is defective upon receipt of the jewelry piece or the keepsake stone appears to have major flaws, you have a 5 day grace period after receipt of the item to email me photos with your concern. It is up to MILK COUTURE CO., LLC to determine whether the flaw falls within the normal variation range. If it does fall within the normal range, an exchange or return will NOT be accepted. If you have failed to notify MILK COUTURE CO., LLC by email after 5 days upon receipt of item, an exchange or return will NOT be accepted. You have 14 days after we address your concern via email to send the piece back to us. If we do not receive the piece within 14 days, we will not issue an exchange or return.
I will not accept returns or exchanges under any circumstances after your order is placed due to the custom nature of keepsake jewelry.
That being said, I want you to absolutely LOVE and cherish your jewelry. If you have any problems, please contact me at cait@milkcouture.co and we will work to get your issue resolved!
Each piece is unique as all inclusions (breastmilk, ash, dried flowers, etc.) are unique. You must be 100% sure of your ring size before placing an order as I CANNOT issue a refund/exchange if you ordered the wrong size. If you don't know your ring size, I recommend getting it checked at any local jewelry store or purchasing a simple ring sizer from amazon. Settings are custom ordered for each piece and we do not keep stock inventory. Some inclusions are more difficult to work with than others and no two pieces will ever look alike. There will always be some variation to each jewelry piece which can include but not limited to: translucency, bubbles, evidence of sanding/handcrafting, stones not sitting completely flush on the setting, and other minor imperfections. These are all within normal limits of handcrafted jewelry. By making a purchase with MILK COUTURE CO., LLC you are agreeing that your jewelry piece will not be 100% perfect/without any flaws.
Again, we will not accept returns or exchanges of any kind. This includes buyer's regret or the "wrong piece" being ordered as a gift for someone, or regret of choices that you made in the design process.
You have 48 hours after placing your order to cancel the order and there is a 20% restocking fee with any cancellation. I cannot cancel/make changes to orders past 48 hours as the settings/supplies are promptly custom ordered to ensure the fastest possible turn around time for our clients. This is why you must be absolutely SURE of your choices for stone design elements and setting style before placing an order. I recommend triple-checking your order details at check out!
Requests to change order details must be completed within 24 hours after purchase. As all settings/supplies are promptly custom ordered, I cannot guarantee these requests will be fulfilled. This request must be submitted to cait@milkcouture.co. DMs on instagram or any other social media are not acceptable outlets to request changes. Handwritten notes left in your package with your breastmilk to make changes are absolutely NOT an acceptable way to make a request. You MUST email me. If I have already ordered the supplies/settings for your jewelry, an order change will not be accepted. I will inform you via email if your order qualifies for a change.
Usually, no. If you've already placed an order and a week or so later decide you'd like to add to it, you can keep your place in line and I will ship them together in most cases. Just make sure and email me after you purchase your second additional order and give me a heads up so I will know to combine the orders.
Sure thing, as long as I haven't sent it out yet! Just email me - cait@milkcouture.co and I will make sure to send it to your new address. You must EMAIL me though, as I don't always check DMs or other contact methods.
Email for sure! Shoot me an email any time - cait@milkcouture.co and I will be glad to help you!
Email me ASAP - cait@milkcouture.co and we will get it sorted out!
Word of mouth is everything to me!! It would mean the world to me if you could post a video or photo of your piece on social media and tag us @milkcoutureco! I'll always repost it on instagram too! If you'd like to write a testimonial for our website, email it to me and I'd love that so much! And I would love your forever if you leave a 5 star review on any kind of review website/google/Facebook! Thank you so much! <3
Heck yes we do! Join our MCC Mamas club Facebook group and let it all out! It's not just about getting club discounts and early access to new collections/designs, although I will post all of that! We are all here to support each other and lift each other up through the good times and bad in this crazy, beautiful, bittersweet #momlife we live. Memes are highly encouraged too :P! As one of my favorite people said to me once, "sometimes you gotta laugh so you won't cry" and that is just too true.