Silver Jewelry Care

STERLING SILVER JEWELRY CARE
Sterling Silver offers the ideal balance of durability and shine. We use Sterling Silver which is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, which is stronger than pure silver, making Sterling Silver pieces perfect for long-term wear.

STERLING SILVER TARNISH

Tarnishing is a natural process which is caused by oxygen and moisture coming into contact with various types of metal. If your once shiny metal has turned dull and dark or even looks like it has dark stains, this is likely to be the reason why.

Understanding tarnish is key to cleaning your jewellery. All precious metals can tarnish to some degree. Platinum and pure gold are the most tarnish-resistant metals and will show very minimal (if any) tarnish over many years.

By contrast, sterling silver jewelry will tarnish relatively easily, meaning it will turn a brown, grey or black colour over time. This is a normal process.

You may have read that pure or fine silver won't tarnish, but that isn’t true: it does, just more slowly and in a less noticeable way than sterling silver. Pure silver can be cleaned in the same way as sterling silver.

The reason sterling silver tarnishes more easily is because it is an alloy of pure silver with copper. This has the benefit of making the metal harder and much more suitable for making jewellery than pure silver, which is too soft for many uses. The downside is that the small amount of copper content will tarnish more noticeably over time.

HOW TO PREVENT TARNISH ON SILVER:

It's important to keep pieces out of flowing air and humidity when not being worn. In particular it's not a good idea to store your jewellery in your bathroom. If you live in a humid place you should take extra care to protect your jewellery from humidity.

Keeping a humidity absorber near where you store your jewellery can help.

Cleaning your silver jewellery more regularly will also help to keep tarnish at bay.

The longer you leave it, the more tarnish it will have and the harder it will be to clean.

Finally, wearing your silver jewellery regularly can help to slow down the process of tarnishing as the metal moving against your skin and itself will help to keep it clean.

However, a very small number of people seem to have something about them which speeds up tarnish a lot when they wear silver jewellery. This could be caused by environmental, chemical or biological factors which can be hard to pinpoint.

CLEANING YOUR JEWELLERY

You should clean your jewellery whenever it's needed - and pay close attention to how it looks so that you don't miss the signs. When you're wearing certain pieces every day it can be easy to miss that they are looking increasingly dull and grimy.

 

Day-to-day Care

  • To preserve the polish of your sterling silver jewelry, avoid exposure to household cleaning products, bleach and other strong chemicals.
  • Remove your jewelry prior to swimming and exercising to maintain its shine.
  • Sweat and body oils naturally build up on your jewelry over time, but they can be removed by using the cleaning steps above.
  • Always store your jewellery pieces individually, preferably in your Ceros Jewels soft-lined box or pouch so that they don’t rub together, scratch or tangle. Particular care should be taken with gemstones to ensure that they do not knock against one another when stored. Also remember to keep your chains fastened so they don’t become tangled.
  • Living in a humid environment? Store your jewellery with a small packet of desiccant crystals to help reduce tarnishing.

 

  • Your gold vermeil and silver jewellery should be kept in a dark, cool and dry place. With time and wear, sterling silver will naturally become oxidised and eventually tarnish. Storing silver jewellery in a sealed plastic bag or airtight box when it is not being worn will keep out the air that causes oxidation. The oxidation process is also slowed down by wearing your jewellery often. If however your jewellery is stored for long-periods of time, occasional cleaning is recommended to maintain shine and keep oxidation at bay.
  • Your jewellery is particularly susceptible to damage from the effects of chemicals present in perfume, hairspray, make-up, nail polish remover, body oils, sun tan lotion and deodorant.
  • Do not keep jewellery in direct sunlight as prolonged exposure to sunlight can cause many gemstones to fade and lose their colour. Amethyst, rose quartz, chalcedony and smokey quartz are just some of the gemstones that can become paler from exposure to sunlight.
HOW SHOULD I CLEAN MY JEWELLERY?

Clean your jewellery carefully with a soft, non-abrasive and lint-free cloth or chamois; this helps maintain or bring back its shine. If necessary, you can use a mild washing up liquid with warm water and a soft toothbrush, then rinse with clean water and pat dry with a soft cloth.

Avoid using ‘dip’ polish or abrasive jewellery cleaners as these contain harsh chemicals and can destroy your jewellery over time. We do not recommend the use of any jewellery polishing cloths which have been treated with cleaners or polishing agents.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE FOR METAL ALLERGIES

If you are allergic to gold-plated earrings, or get a rash or itchy reaction when wearing them, try putting a little bit of clear nail varnish on the post and scroll. When it eventually wears off just re-apply it.