- How to Care for Your Silver Jewelry
- Picking your Favorite Silver Jewelry
- Scratches and Tarnish
- Oxidization
- Simple Tips to Go by
How to Care for Your Silver Jewelry
As in any jewelry including gold, platinum jewelry studded with diamonds or precious colored stones, we recommend that you check your jewelry every 6 months Prongs can wear thin and let stones fall out. Chains and Pearl Strands weaken with wear. Ring shanks wear thin through time. With proper care, your fine quality silver will last a lifetime. Contrary to popular belief, silver does not tarnish especially rapidly unless items are left in an atmosphere where sulphur is present.
Picking your Favorite Silver Jewelry
It is important to consider your lifestyle when selecting the shape of the stone and the design of the ring. Be realistic about the wear-and-tear your ring must make and realize that no piece of jewelry is indestructible. Silver or precious or semi-precious stones, Pearls or shells are natural. Therefore, they are susceptible to natural occurrences. We are well advised to learn how we can care for our jewelry well to enjoy for many wonderful occasions and years to come!
Scratches and Tarnish
To minimize scratches and other damage, store your silver jewelry either in a cloth pouch or in a separate compartment in your jewelry box. Avoid exposing your silver to household chemicals when cleaning with bleach or ammonia, or when swimming in chlorinated water, as these chemicals can damage silver.
Oxidization
Over time, oxidation reactions will occur naturally, especially with sulfur and oxygen. Care should also be taken to prevent silver tarnish buildup, a dulling that naturally occurs when silver reacts with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the ambient air. To clean your silver, use polishes formulated specifically to remove tarnish. You can find fine silver polishes, solutions, or cloths appropriate to remove tarnish at most hardware stores or specialty craft stores. Tarnish is most easily removed when it first becomes visible.
Simply wearing your jewelry helps prevent, or at least slow, the oxidation process keeping your jewelry looking new. To minimize scratches, silver jewelry can be stored in cloth pouches, small zip lock bags, or in separate compartments in your jewelry box. Although wearing your silver jewelry often is the best way to prevent tarnish from building up, regular cleanings of all your silver items will prevent tarnish and keep your silver bright and sparkling.
Simple Tips to Go By
- Silver is scratch resistant but not scratch-proof
- In addition to the general jewelry care steps, silver jewelry care can benefit from special silver jewelry cleaning solutions. Check with your jeweler about these.
- Prevent your silver from being exposed to direct air and light contact.
- Avoid placing silver in chlorine-containing materials.
- Be selective in what you use to clean your silver, i.e. pads, cloths, etc. Felt works well, as do special cleansing cloths designed for silver cleaning. Other materials, including tissue, should be avoided.
