How to Care for Your Sterling Silver Jewelry

Fine silver contains 99.9% silver or more and is generally considered too soft and malleable for durable jewelry worn frequently.   Sterling silver contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals (usually copper).  Both fine silver and sterling silver are precious metals.  All the silver used in our jewelry is sterling silver unless otherwise stated in the product description.

During our packing and shipping process we have wrapped your sterling silver jewelry in acid free tissue paper in a sealed airtight bag (or we have provided this inside the jewelry box for your storage).  These help to prevent tarnish build up in the silver.  Tarnish is a dulling that naturally occurs when silver reacts with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide in the air.  You can substitute a soft cloth for the acid free tissue paper during storage.

When your jewelry is not being worn we recommend wrapping each individual sterling silver jewelry item in acid free tissue paper or a soft cloth and then in a sealed airtight bag or container.  This will prevent tarnish build up, slow down the oxidation process and prevent scratching.  You may also try gently buffing the silver with a 100% cotton cloth.  A favorite in the jewelry industry is the Sunshine ® Cloth which cleans, brightens, and removes tarnish and fingerprints with special non-scratch micro-abrasives.
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Gold Jewelry Care Tips

Gold jewelry is beautiful and popular. Gold comes in many styles and colors, but all gold jewelry will benefit from some tender, loving care!

Care Tips for All Gold Jewelry

• Don’t wear your gold jewelry while bathing or cleaning. Soap won’t harm gold, but it will leave a filmy residue that will coat karat gold jewelry, causing it to appear less lustrous and dingy. If you prevent the film from forming, it will be easier to keep your jewelry beautiful and will reduce cleaning time and effort. 
• Avoid chlorine! Don’t wear gold jewelry in the pool or hot tub or when using chlorine bleach or cleaners. Chlorine reacts with gold, particularly at high temperatures. Exposure to chlorine can permanently damage and discolor your gold jewelry. 
• Use a chamois cloth to clean gold jewelry. A chamois cloth is a gentle, safe material for returning the luster to your jewelry. 
• Avoid storing or otherwise exposing gold jewelry to hard, abrasive materials. Gold is a very soft metal, easily scratched even by rubbing against other jewelry.

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Gold Jewelry Care

Gold has been the fashion metal for centuries and still rules the roost. Girls preserve it as their priced possession and families own traditional gold jewellery to be passed on to their future generations. Gold has been a favourite investment option for many as it provides definite returns. Shopping for gold jewellery has always been a tiresome job. Getting the right design, the correct purity and also taking care of your budget is always a matter of concern. All reputed jewelers now have a mark on their jewellery stating their label and the purity level of the piece. Branded gold jewellery has now entered the market in a big way.

Branded gold jewellery provides world class designs and bears a mark of authenticity. They provide warranty on their products and thus are safe purchases. Shopping online for such jewellery is a better option as one can go through the array of available models and the ones you like are delivered at your doorstep. Online jewellery shopping makes it convenient to go through many varied designs at a time and even make a comparison with popular comparison based shopping websites like naaptol.com. Thus the effort put in buying gold jewellery is fruitful if it is well preserved. Gold jewellery face wear and tear and the resultant erosion depreciates its value. Thus proper care should be taken to maintain the precious metal and retain its true worth.

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Silver Jewelry Care

1) Sterling Silver tarnishes from the interaction of silver and sulfides in the air. First the tarnish will take on a golden hue, and eventually, it will turn the piece black. This is a natural process.

Higher sulfide levels are associated with humidity and/or air pollution. Remember, the more humid the climate, the faster sterling will tarnish. On a summer day in Miami, Florida, all you have to do is walk out the door and the sterling starts turning black very quickly.

(2) Sterling silver will polish up by rubbing or buffing it with a soft cotton cloth.

A chemically treated cloth, like a Sunshine Cloth, makes the job a lot easier and faster.

(3) Sterling silver dips are fast and easy. However, be careful!

First, many dips will take the color and polish off many gemstones.

Second, when using a dip, if you leave the piece in too long, or don’t rinse it well enough with fresh water, white residues will be left on the piece when it dries. The residue is difficult to rub or pick off.

When using a silver dip, dip the piece quickly in and out of the dip. Then immediately rinse it in clean water. When the piece dries, buff it with a soft cotton cloth or a Sunshine Cloth. The buffing brings out more of the shine, helps take off any residue left on the piece, and with a Sunshine Cloth, leaves a little bit of a protective anti-tarnish coating on the piece to keep it shiny longer.

When using a dip, it is better to do an in-and-out dip, then rinse and dry, then another quick in-and-out-dip, then rinse and dry, than to leave the piece in the solution for a long time.

We use a dip – Rey’s Tarnish Remover – which works better, and has less of a residue problem, than many dips you’ll find in your local drugstore, like Tarn-X. Any dip, however, including Rey’s, is a last resort. The piece would have to be very difficult to buff up with a soft cloth.

(4) Tarnish Shield, or similar lacquer shield, will keep the piece of jewelry shiny until the tarnish wears off. We rarely use this ourselves. We primarily use this when we make a lot of jewelry that has to be on display for a long time, such as when we’re selling our pieces at an arts and crafts fair.

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