Sterling Silver Care
Sterling silver can hold a high polish, bright white shine. But one of the neat things about it is that is can hold a deep black patina ~ which is really cool in some designs.
The patina can be applied, but sterling naturally reacts with the environment to develop a patina or tarnish over time. If you want to keep your piece bright, or maintain the high contrast in a piece of jewelry, I've compiled some suggestions for you.
There are a couple ways to keep sterling sparkling. Wearing your jewelry often is the best way to prevent tarnish from building up, but proper storage and cleaning are super helpful.
* Store each piece in an airtight plastic bag, tarnish resist bag or box with anti-tarnish paper. Exposure to air, light and humidity will encourage tarnish, so eliminate the environmental factors as mush as you can. (I include a strip of anti-tarnish paper in my jewelry orders. It is good for about a year.) Another benefit of storing your jewelry in individual bags is to reduce scratching ~ most metals & gemstones can be scratched over time.
* Try not to get any cleaning or make~up products on your gems & precious metals! Some of them can interact with the metals. You guessed it ~ discoloring or marking them. Chlorine from pools should be avoided. And of course for safety, you should remove jewelry when doing handy work, gardening, and other heavy physical work.
* Buff with a plain soft cotton cloth or a polishing cloth after wearing. Mild dish detergent and water is gentle enough for removing any heavy dirt. The jewelry specific cloths often have a cleaning compound embedded in the fiber. These are available at jewelry, grocery, large department and some hardware stores. ZestyBeads.etsy.com is another source.
* if you notice tarnish, start with gentle cleaning. Try the jewelry cloth first.
* I don't suggest coating/sealing or the silver polish solutions. Sealing can wear unevenly. Solutions are intended for silverware and leave residue on the surface. But if the coloring is deep, you can try an old home-made solution:
Hot tap water in an aluminum pan ~ add 1t salt & 2t baking soda and soak the ring for 10 minutes. Remove and dry throughly with a soft cotton cloth.