Caring for Sterling Silver Jewelry
Simply Tips on How to Take Care of your Jewellery
Here you can read some simple tips on how to take care of your jewellery. After all you have spent time and money on choosing your jewellery. Now, naturally, you will want to know how you can take care of your jewellery. Learning the basics of how to take care of your jewellery and gemstones is pretty straightforward. The key is to check it and clean it on a regular basis.
How to Take Care of your Jewellery: what is tarnishing?
Tarnishing is when your silver “turns black” and is a perfectly normal occurrence. If you have Sterling Silver jewellery, then it will “tarnish.” However, if you know what it is and how it happens, then you can prevent or delay it from happening.
Tarnishing is a chemical reaction which occurs due to the metals in sterling silver. “Pure silver” is a soft metal, too soft to make jewelry with. Consequently, some other metals, such as copper need to be added to the silver to make it “harder.” Since Sterling Silver is a minimum of 92.5% silver, this means there is 7.5% of other metals “mixed in.” Oxidation occurs when the metals in this 7.5% react with a variety of things, such as oxygen, moisture and sulfur. Thus, you can expect your sterling silver jewellery to tarnish faster in places with high humidity and air pollution.
This oxidation process then causes a thin corrosive layer to form on the surface of the sterling silver. However, unlike rust which eats away at each layer of a metal, the layer of tarnish only affects the silver’s surface. This thin corrosive layer is what we call “tarnish” and results in a dull yellow, brown or black colored coating. However, do not worry, if it were not Sterling Silver then it would not tarnish!
How to prevent tarnishing
As tarnishing is a natural process you cannot prevent it. However, if you understand what tarnishing is and how it occurs, then tarnishing can be slowed down. It just takes some simple and regular cleaning to keep it bright and shiny.
Wear it !!
Wearing your sterling silver jewellery regularly is one of the easiest ways to slow down tarnishing. Not too difficult since that is what we bought it for in the first place. It is the constant moving of the silver against your clothes and skin along with handling the jewellery that helps to keep it clean.
However as with anything, do not wear it 24 hours a day for months on end. Sterling Silver jewellery is subject to wear and tear the same as anything else. So, once in a while, give it some “time out” and wear something else for a while.
How to Take Care of your Jewellery: Use a Polishing Cloth regularly
A simple habit of how to look after your jewelry to get into is to use a “Polishing Cloth” regularly. Polishing cloths are simply “cloths” which have been designed to remove the layer of tarnish from your sterling silver jewellery. They are usually made from 100% cotton with one side impregnated with an anti-tarnish agent, and a silver polish on the other. Thus, with regular use, they remove tarnish, polish the jewelry, and prevent future tarnishing. At the end of the day when you put your jewelry away, simply spend a minute “polishing” it with a polishing cloth. This makes sure that any lingering moisture, oils or dust are removed.
Incidentally when you use a polishing cloth, you may well be surprised by how ‘black” it gets. This is absolutely fine and is what is meant to happen. As such, do NOT wash it just because it is “dirty”, as this can remove the chemicals from the Polishing Cloth.
Keep Sterling Silver away from moisture and “Chemicals”
Keep your sterling silver jewelry away from “chemicals,” solvents and sulfur compounds as much as possible. Unfortunately, in the modern world and the way we live means we are constantly in contact with chemicals. And in addition, sadly there is now a lot of sulphur / pollution in the atmosphere.
When thinking about how to take care of your jewelry remember to avoid certain common household products. Common household examples are things like cosmetics, hairspray, perfume, deodorant, body lotion, bleach, etc. Likewise, things like chlorine in swimming pools can speed up tarnishing. If you are going to wear your jewelry in a pool for example, then be sure to rinse and dry any jewelry when you get out. Also be careful when handling coal or oil, and when preparing foods containing sulphur such as eggs, onions, fish or shellfish. All of these can speed up the tarnishing process. So be aware of these factors and wear your jewelry appropriately.
How to Take Care of your Jewelry: Store It Properly
As we have seen tarnishing occurs when sterling silver is exposed to moisture and chemicals. Therefore, when we are not wearing our sterling silver jewelry it is important to limit exposure by storing it properly. Stored jewelry does get damaged, usually from pieces knocking together or getting tangled. It's an important part in how to look after your jewelry.
Be sure to avoid storing jewelry in a particularly humid place, such as the bathroom. Humidity does speed up tarnishing so ideally your clean, dry sterling silver jewelry should be stored away from free-flowing air. Hence using an airtight jewelry box or similar is always a good idea. If you do though, be sure that the jewelry cannot “roll around” and touch one another. Precious metals and gems vary in hardness and harder pieces can easily scratch softer ones. In addition, keeping your individual pieces in separate velvet pouches can make a big difference.
Another good idea is to store each piece in a separate zip-lock bag. Making sure you have gotten of as much air as possible before sealing it. With the air removed, the metal will not be able to oxidize from the air. You can also add a piece of chalk to absorbs moisture, or if you find that too dusty, use silica packs or anti-tarnish strips.
The “Last on, first off” Rule
Another important rule to get into the habit of, is that your jewellery should be the last thing you put on and the first to be taken off. This is true for everyone, but particularly important with people who wear make-up and perfume.
