Taking care of your 925 sterling silver jewelry

Global brand names giants such as Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Chrome Hearts, Gucci, Bvlgari, etc all have came out with their line of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry. With the popularity of designer jewelry manufactured using 925 sterling silver, it is also important to learn how we should care and maintain our 925 sterling silver jewelry!

Storing your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry:

As rules of thumb, always keep your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry in a jewelry box (or the original gift box) when not in use, as it should be kept clean and it is best that it is kept away from dust. It is also recommended to store it in a cool and dry place, at the same time keeping your 925 sterling silver jewelry away and separate from jewelry made of other metals. This is to prevent any potential adverse reactions between the metals. Also, it will be good to keep each 925 sterling silver jewelry in an individual cloth pouch to prevent it from being scratched. Alternatively, you may like to wrap each piece of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry with a piece of non-buffered tissue paper. Be sure to ensure that the tissue paper is acid-free and of archival quality. You may also use an anti-tarnish tissue to guard against changes in humidity. This anti-tarnish tissue will protect against changes in humidity and will also protect your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry from harmful materials in the environment.

Never store your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry by wrapping it in newspaper or binding them together using rubber bands, as these will react with 925 sterling silver causing some discoloration. Such discoloration may need professional polishing to be removed. Tarnish on your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry can be minimized during storage by placing each piece of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry in individual polyethylene bags (some people may like to use Ziploc bags) and sealing the bags.

When storing your of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry in a display case, there are several measures to take to prevent the formation of tarnish on your of 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry. One measure to minimize tarnish will be to use a water absorbing silica gel to keep the relative humidity low. It is good to use a silica gel canister, especially those with a inbuilt moisture indicator which will turn the gel from blue to pink when it is saturated with moisture. When this occurs, it is time to dry the canister in the oven. Do read thoroughly all instructions that come with the silica canister. Alternatively, activated charcoal and other similar ready made products for this purpose will also remove gases in the environment that will encourage tarnishing. While storing your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry in a dispay case, do note that some paints, oils and fabrics which are used to make the case can encourage the formation of tarnish. Therefore, it is good to cover the interior wood surfaces with lacquer or polyurethane. Some latex paints can be used but they must be completely dry before storing your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry. To make things simpler, it is best to use a glass display case instead of a wooden one.

Maintaining your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry:

925 Sterling Silver Jewelry will naturally tarnish with time as the 925 Sterling Silver is exposed to elements in the environment. 925 Sterling Silver is tarnished by sulfur-containing materials, for example hydrogen sulfide. Tarnish may be caused by items that we come across daily such as wool, paints, certain kinds of food stuff (such as eggs, mayonnaise and onions), latex items (such as hand gloves) and rubber bands. Therefore, it is important to try to minimize contact the contact of your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry with these items. Also, it is important to keep your 925 Sterling Silver Jewelry in a cool dry environment as tarnish is accelerated in a humid environment.

However, not to worry because genuine 100% solid 925 sterling silver jewelry can regain its shine by polishing it using a non-abrasive silver polishing cloth. While polishing your tarnished 925 sterling silver jewelry, the 925 silver polishing cloths will naturally become black as it removes the top layer of tarnish from the metal. It is not necessary to remove the layer of tarnish by polishing, prior to storing it. You can polish it just before using it.

Some people will also recommend using a little soap and water to wash your 925 sterling silver jewelry. However when doing this, always use a soft dry cloth to dry your wet 925 sterling silver jewelry. Avoid using paper towers or even soft tissue paper to dry your 925 sterling silver jewelry. You may purchase a silver polishing cloth from www.themirabeauroom.com .

While using your 925 sterling silver jewelry, it is important to prevent your 925 sterling silver jewelry from coming into contact with chlorine (even in swimming pools), salt water at the beach, detergents that may contain certain bleaches and also lotions that contain unknown chemicals.
Some people may use the method of lacquering and or waxing to protect other kind of metals. However, lacquering and waxing are both not recommended for maintaining 925 sterling silver jewelry. This is because it may be extremely difficult to obtain an even coating over the surface of the 925 sterling silver jewelry, and there may be small holes or streaks.

Maintaining your 925 sterling silver jewelry regularly will be ideal. For example, 925 sterling silver jewelry that had been used can be gently washed and dried with a soft non-abrasive cloth immediately will prevent tarnish from forming on the item. If no tarnish is present on your 925 sterling silver jewelry, you may use a detergent that is free from phosphate to clean it after using. Also, while washing your 925 sterling silver jewelry, never allow it to come into contact with other metals or rough surface as these may scratch the jewelry.

Tarnish on your 925 sterling silver jewelry usually form as a mild yellowish tint initially and is easily removed when first noticed. This mild yellowish tint on your 925 sterling silver jewelry will eventually become light brown and later black if left unattended and not polished. When it reaches this stage, your 925 sterling silver jewelry will prove increasingly more difficult to clean and polish. Therefore, regular mild polishing and cleaning will be recommended as he tarnish will tend to get stubborn after some time and professional polishing may be needed.