Care of sterling silver jewelry

There are many websites telling about care for sterling silver.

We will try to provide only useful information for you.

Understanding sterling silver

To better understand proper care of sterling silver we have to go to the basics.

Sterling silver is a precious metal that comes from silver. Silver alone is a quite soft metal which makes it easy to work with and that's the reason why is very popular with artists and jewelery makers. Because of that softness it doesn't hold shape too well. That was the reason why sterling silver was developed. Sterling silver (also known as a standard silver) is at least 92,5% silver and 7,5% of other metal - usually copper.

Sterling silver does tarnish. It's caused by reaction of silver with oxygen and sulfur. The presence of hydrogen sulfide in any material that silver comes into contact with, is one of the prime reasons for silver tarnish. Over time, sterling silver can develop antique look which is appreciated by many people.

Some sterling jewelry is coated with rhodium which gives it the platinum-like look. Covering sterling silver with rhodium is designed to make your jewelry tarnish resistant. Presence of rhodium requires a different care for jewelry. You don't want to use silver dip because it can damage the rhodium finish.

To minimize oxidation process you need to store your jewelry in air tight container lined with something soft that will prevent scratching your sterling silver jewelry. If we have doubts about container being air tight you can put a piece of tissue paper inside. This way, if there is any presence of moisture, it will be absorbed by tissue paper.

Cleaning sterling silver jewelry

Common cleaning methods include warm water with mild soap, using toothbrush and toothpaste works also well. It's important to always dry your sterling silver jewelry with soft cloth. Frequent hand wiping your sterling silver with wipes is always recommended. There is a great variety of silver jewelry cleaners on the market as well, but you always want to read instructions on how it will react with other parts of the jewelry e.g. stones.

Silver jewelry has unique and unforgettable look. With little bit of care and proper maintenance it will last long time.