How should I store my sterling silver jewelry?

 

With proper care, your fine quality sterling silver jewelry will last a lifetime. To minimize scratches and other damage, store your silver jewelry either in a cloth pouch or in a separate compartment in your jewelry box. You can also store jewelry pieces in separate plastic bags to reduce tarnishing and oxidation.

 

Should I avoid chemicals while wearing my sterling silver jewelry?

 

Avoid household chemicals including chemicals such as bleach, chlorine, ammonia or cleansers that may damage the finish on your silver jewelry. Try to avoid beach sand which may scratch the antique finish or shine.

 

How should I clean and care for my sterling silver jewelry?

 

Care should also be taken to prevent silver tarnish build-up on your jewelry, a dulling that naturally occurs when silver reacts with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the ambient air. To clean your sterling silver jewelry, 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. Use a treated sterling silver polishing cloth to easily remove excess tarnish from your silver jewelry. Take extreme care not to remove antique style finishes during polishing.

 

All people who wear sterling silver jewelry need to care for it on occasion. Sterling silver tarnishes, and we need to clean and polish it to keep it sparkling.  Highly polished silver can reflect up to 95% of direct light back to the viewer, giving it a truly mirror like finish. Some jewelry pieces just don't look right unless they're really polished - to a bright shine - while other pieces look their best with an "antique style" finish.

 

While silver jewelry is easy to care for and can be cleaned like any other metal object, most of us like to keep the patina that develops on silver jewelry over time because it gives the metal a deep shine and a glow other metals just can't compare to. Cleaning sterling silver jewelry can remove this patina along with the tarnish. We never clean our personal silver jewelry if at all possible ... we polish it. Polishing silver jewelry gives it a soft look instead of the stark, harsh look silver gets after the patina has been removed.

 

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.

 

What do the markings on my jewelry indicate?

 

Most high quality silver items are stamped with a "fineness" or "quality" mark. This mark designates the precious metal content of the jewelry, and under federal law, must be accompanied by a maker's mark or registered trademark.

 

Look for the fineness mark and the maker's mark on the underside of the silver jewelry you are considering to ensure the quality.

 

Many silver plated or alloys may include silver, but for genuine sterling silver jewelry, look for the following markings which are generally stamped on all fine sterling silver jewelry.

• Ster
• Sterling Silver
• Sterling
• .925

What does .925 mean?

 

Pure silver, also called fine silver, is relatively soft, very malleable, and easily damaged so it is commonly combined with other metals to produce a more durable product. The most popular of these alloys is sterling silver, which consists of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper.

 

Although any metal can make up the 7.5 percent non-silver portion of sterling, centuries of experimentation have shown copper to be its best companion, improving the metal's hardness and durability without affecting its beautiful color.

 

The small amount of copper added to sterling has very little effect on the metal's value. Instead, the price of the silver item is affected by the labor involved in making the item, the skill of the craftsperson, and the intricacy of the design.   

 

Sterling Silver Jewelry Care, Cleaning and Polishing

 

Use commercial dip solutions only rarely.  It is much like using bleach on fabric -- bleach helps to remove stains, but takes the color from the fabric along with the stain. We suggest using solutions like this rarely -- basically as a last resort to remove stubborn tarnish.

 

To polish your jewelry, use a jeweler's rouge cloth. This is a two part cloth - one side is a deep red color that contains a polishing compound (rouge). First rub the jewelry with the rouge cloth. Then give it a sparkling polish with the yellow cloth. This will remove the tarnish but leave that nice patina, and make your silver jewelry shine. Wash your silver jewelry after cleaning or polishing to remove all traces of polish and cleaner.

 

Beware of plated silver! A good polishing will take the silver plating off! It can be pretty disappointing when you discover your favorite silver pendant isn’t .925 silver jewelry after all.

 

Sure, real silver jewelry needs a good polishing now and again. But you’ll find that if you keep your sterling silver necklaces, rings and other jewelry in a thick plastic bag (be sure to get the air out as much as possible before sealing) when you aren’t wearing them, they will stay untarnished for quite a while. The bag should be just a little larger than the silver sterling jewelry you are keeping in it.

 

All untreated, real sterling silver jewelry will tarnish when exposed to the air. If you don’t have a polishing cloth you can use baking soda mixed with water. Just make a thick paste of baking soda mixed with water and rub it into your silver jewelry. Sterling will be back to its gleaming, beautiful self in short order. Be sure to rinse all the baking soda off and then give your sterling silver jewelry a good buff with a soft cotton cloth for a real sparkle.

 

And the best care tip for your jewelry is also the easiest! The more you wear sterling silver jewelry, the less often it needs to be polished!