Jewelry Care

Storing Silver Jewelry

If you leave sterling silver out in the open, over time it will tarnish and turn to a golden brown and eventually black.  The main ingredients for tarnish occur is sunshine, moisture and oxygen, so it is good to store your silver when it is not in use.

Most silver will stay in great shape if it is stored in airtight bags, like the Ziploc kind you buy at the store. We keep all of our jewelry in Ziploc bags until it is shipped, and some pieces we ship in the bags, allowing the customer to open it when they present the gift.

Cleaning Silver Jewelry

For jewelry that you wear a lot, it is good to polish it with a polishing cloth once in a while, to remove any oxidization.  If you do not have a proper polishing cloth, a soft 100 cotton t-shirt will do, or a piece of flannel cloth.

Do not ever rub the silver harshly, or you may scratch it. Rub it softly and slowly.

For fine jewelry that is quite expensive, your best bet is to take it to your favorite jeweler, and he will probably clean it for free or for a small fee.  Then you get a good check up on any mounted stones.

We caution against using cleaning solutions or spray polishes on silver, they are not all the same and not all silver will react the same.  It is possible to make your own cleaning solution using water and mild detergent, but do this with caution.  Using the same dipping solution on several items will produce different results and you risk damaging any gemstones dipped into a cleaning solution. Any jewelry with stones, you may remove the polish on the stones and they you will have problems with cracking.

Also, all jewelry paste has some kind of abrasive in it, so again you want to apply it gently and rub softly, never in a circular motion, but always in straight lines if possible.

Some people use toothpaste or baking soda to clean jewelry.  If it is heavily tarnished, you may want to give this a try.  If you use baking soda, get the silver slightly wet, pour on liberal amounts of baking soda and rub it very lightly. Be sure to rinse and dry your jewelry carefully so that no cleaning solution is left.  We do not recommend these methods of cleaning, but many jewelers see no problem with this.

Ultrasonic cleaners are generally safe for jewelry that does not have any gemstones.