Keep Your Silver Jewelry in Sterling Condition!

How do I spruce up my sterling silver jewelry?
Silver dips are not recommended to rid your sterling silver jewelry of oxidation, unless in startling tarnishing instances. A great deal will leave tiny pits in the sterling silver material that will cause your pieces to darken faster down the line. To prevent such a thing, it is recommended that you store your jewelry in a pouch, shut box, or plastic bag. Silver will deteriorate with airborne sulfur, perfume, soaps, manual oily excess and harsh chemical exposure. Prolong the quality of your sterling silver by occasionally cleaning it while keeping it in a safe place. You can follow the following methods to clean your jewelry.

To Use a Soft Silver Polishing Cloth
A wonderful polishing cloth that can be used on both sterling silver jewelry & rolled gold is available to purchase at most jewelry stores - a well-known brand being Sunshine Polishing Cloth. While the cloth darkens during usage, it is still usable for a very long time. The chemical cleanser mixture in it will rid your jewelry of tarnish without stripping your jewelry of any lasting lustre. Use it upon noticing a lusterless glow to your jewelry pieces. We may begin to sell this cloth on our website if there is a significant demand for it.

How to Clean Sterling Silver Settings
You can clean your jewelry with warm water & phosphate-free detergent as well. Make sure that the water isn't hot, for it causes the cracking of some stones. Add a few drops of non-antibacterial detergent to the lukewarm water and clean your jewelry with a soft toothbrush to reach those tight places. After a thorough wash, do rinse & dry with a paper towel quickly to prevent water-caused mineral residue. The results of this simple process will amaze you! If you have gemstones in your jewelry settings, the new shine will make your pieces shimmer. This process will also work on pearls & soft stones. You can buy the mild gold cleaners at any jewelry store for you to use. Do ensure that it is safe on the stones in your setting.

How to Clean Your Sterling Silver with Dry Baking Soda
Arm & Hammer baking soda is great to clean even the most tarnished sterling silver. To clean your sterling silver, do begin by filling a small & thick freezer baggie that is halfway filled with baking soda. After dropping in your jewelry, immediately seal your baggie so that you do not inhale the baking soda powder. Squeeze your baggie to rub the dry baking soda powder into the silver. You would then take your sterling silver piece from the bag and shake it out, while ridding the piece of residue with a soft toothbrush. Use the toothbrush with care to avoid stripping the silver of the antique (the dark color that highlights recessed patterns). Do tap the piece on a paper towel to make sure that all of the baking soda is removed. You can also rinse the baking soda off with warm water & use the toothbrush gently. Do not forget to thoroughly rinse to avoid soiling your clothing with baking soda residue. Do dry with a paper towel immediately afterwards. You will become used to this cleaning method after a few times. I was surprised at how well this dry sterling silver cleaning method worked.

How to Clean Pearls
Since pearls attract oil from the skin, it is always best to clean them every time that you wear them. To clean your pearl jewelry, simply wipe a delicately damp cloth over each pearl after you have finished wearing them. If there is stubborn dirt that remains, we suggest that you soak them in a mixture of ¼ teaspoon of liquid soap (such as Ivory soap or phosphate-free detergent) & two cups of lukewarm water. Do not use an antibacterial soap to clean your pearls. Afterwards, you should rinse thoroughly & pat your pearl jewelry dry with a paper towel. If you prefer, you can use professional silver cleaning tarnish remover that is just as safe for pearls.

How to Clean Your Silver with Professional Tarnish Remover
If you choose, you are also able to use a professional tarnish remover that is especially made to clean your jewelry. Do ensure that it is safe for pearls or soft gemstones such as opal or turquoise. You can apply most of these pastes to your pieces and remove the solution with a dry cloth. If dealing with an antique piece, do proceed with caution so that you don't remove it.

How to Clean Sterling Silver & Chemical Reactions
You can find a polishing cloth at most jewelry stores that will effectively clean both rolled gold & silver jewelry. The dirt & oils from outside environments may increase tarnish that sits in the recessed spaces of your skin, that possibly causing the jewelry to darken as well. Metal is often considered to be a culprit behind tarnishing, but a thorough cleaning often reveals the actual problem to be dirt & oils. In addition, some people are allergic to certain types of metals, their skin darkening in reaction.

How to Clean Sterling Silver with a Matte Shine
While this is not recommended for everyone, you can dare to use this method for a more antique look to your jewelry. At times, a jewelry piece is characterized by having a combination of a high polish & shiny look with a matte finish or a somewhat dull antique style. If you are interested in lessening the high shine of your polished piece, you can soften its shine with a fine steel wool (as used on wood between varnish coatings) to provide with an antique look. However, if you dull it too much, you can polish it back to its shine with a soft cleaning cloth or baking soda. Do be mindful that steel wool can cause mild abrasive marks on your sterling silver, thus causing the matte look. Thus, use this method ONLY on spots that you would like to have a matte finish at.

Ionic Cleaners
I have so much jewelry to care for that I bought an ionic cleaner, which you can find at some jewelry stores. If requested by popular demand, I might ultimately sell them on this website. Ionic cleaners are effective in cleaning jewelry because of the electricity in the conductive solution. Quick & simple, I cleaned a squash blossom necklace that was tarnished for a client of mine in approximately ten seconds. Though there have been no problems with my pearls & stones, I do not suggest this solution for soft stones such as opal or coated stones, as well as glass (such as the Aura Borealis coating) - for the coating's color may be altered. Also be mindful to NOT zap your jewelry for too lengthy a time period. (Ten seconds would be a sufficient amount of time). Afterwards, you should remove and rinse your jewelry off. Repeat the process if it still is not clean.

Cleaning Your Rhodium-Coated and Plated Jewelry
A rhodium-coating or a rhodium-plating is added to silver jewelry to prevent it from tarnishing, and to preserve it longer. Rhodium is frequently used to coat jewelry to make is more durable. Rhodium is a highly reflective precious metal and is used to plate white gold or silver. It is a very hard wearing metal and does not tarnish if the proper methods are utilized when caring for your item.

When taking care of your jewelry make sure to never use any chemicals on your rhodium plated items. Before taking a shower or washing your hands you must remove your jewelry for its optimum care. Never use or allow your rhodium plated jewelry to come in contact with toothpaste, soaps, lotions, or detergents. Never use abrasives of any kind. Never use silver dips or ammonia based products. You may use a polishing cloth that is designed specifically for rhodium plated jewelry. Don't use polishing cloths that are intended for use on uncoated silver or for gold jewelry as that may ruin the finish of your rhodium plating.