Sterling silver jewelry: silver and gemstone rings, sterling silver earrings, bracelets and pendants are some of the hottest fashion accessories today! Sterling silver jewelry is enjoying an unprecedented popularity with today's fashion conscious public. You know how beautifully sterling silver jewelry complements fashionable clothing and how it sparkles and shines; now here is the rest of the story.
Silver has been used since ancient times, but has not survived as well as ancient gold because it tarnished and decomposes. There have been times, however, when silver was "in"; we are going through such a vogue today.
Silver is the most common of the precious metals. Fine silver is pure silver, which is seldom used for jewelry because it is too soft. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 of copper, the alloy most often used. Silver weighs about half as much as gold, has greater flexibility, but is not as malleable, it has always been less expensive as well. A comparable piece of gold jewelry might cost four or five times that of a piece of sterling silver jewelry.
The current fashion trend toward black clothing has made silver jewelry more popular than ever. Silver likes to be worn; it stays cleaner & shinier through movement and friction. So sterling silver is a perfect accessory for today's fast paced lifestyles. Much like gold, sterling silver needs to be cleaned.
Care and Cleaning of your Sterling Silver Jewelry
1.) For daily cleaning it is recommended to use a simple jewelry polishing cloth that is impregnated with special jewelry cleaner. These are widely available and are very easy to use. Store your cloth in a plastic zip-lock bag, and keeping your jewelry drawer or armoire. It is a good idea to have one cleaning cloth for gold and one for silver.
2.) For a slightly more "in-depth" cleaning you may want to use a liquid jewelry cleaner.
3.) For cleaning badly tarnished silver, here's a neat little trick
a) Cover the inside bottom of a heatproof glass dish on bowl with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up.
b) Place the tarnished silver in the bottom of the dish, contacting the aluminum foil.
c) Add 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda, and then slowly pour boiling water to cover the piece. The tarnish will gradually collect on the aluminum foil.
d) Remove your silver, rinse thoroughly, and polish.
Here are Some Tips for Greater Enjoyment of your Sterling Silver Jewelry
1.) Are your silver chains all tied-up in knots? If so, here's a nifty little trick for straightening them out. Dust your chain with a little talcum powder and then try to unknot it. If the knot is stubborn, place a small drop of baby oil on a sheet of wax paper. Lay the knot in the oil and work it out with two pins; then clean the chain as instructed below.
2.) Always apply make-up, perfumes, oils or colognes before you put on your jewelry.
Sterling Silver Jewelry Today
Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry How To Guide
Knowing how to clean and care for your Sterling Silver Jewelry is not as simple as you may think. These instructional tips give you the know how on cleaning your sterling silver properly with out damaging the finish and making your items last from generation to generation.
Step #1: Deciding on the proper cleaning products to use is some what confusing and extremely important. Choosing products such as: bleach, ammonia, alcohol, acetone, and other such products can damage your Sterling Silver beyond repair. Stay with a mild cleaner and be sure to dilute them with water (just to be safe). Some good home products to use are: baking soda, non abrasive tooth paste, mild phosphate free detergents as well as commercial silver cleaners.
Step #2: Choosing a cleaning brush. Be careful on the type of brushes you choose to deep clean Sterling Silver. Stay away from hard bristle brushes with horsehair and abrasive style brushes. The best cleaning brushes to use may be a baby tooth brush, a mushroom brush, very soft bristle toothbrush also consider using a sunshine cloth, which can be used wet or dry.
Note: When cleaning Sterling Silver always clean up and down motion NOT in circular motion.
Step #3: When drying your sterling silver jewelry choosing the proper cloth material should be taken very carefully. Use 100% cotton materials such as: old T-shirts, sweat shirts, cotton balls, soft flannel materials (all unbleached), and silver wipes. Using these types of home and commercial materials can help prevent your Sterling Silver from being scratched or even completely damaged.
There are many misconceptions on what to do to keep your precious Sterling Silver Clean and lustrous. Following the steps provided will insure your Sterling Silver will be taken care of properly and will last a lifetime.
What Exactly is 925 Sterling Silver?
A great deal of silver jewellery available today is called 925 silver. Have you ever wandered why we in the jewellery trade add the number 925 in front of sterling silver? Before you part with your hard-earned money buying jewellery for yourself, or as a gift for someone else, it is worth finding out what exactly 925 silver is. Furthermore, it is important to understand why you must always insist that your silver jewellery is up to the high 925 standard.
Before we look at what 925 silver is, we must first consider the properties of this fascinating metal. Pure silver is extremely malleable and therefore can easily damage. It also softens over time, even at room temperature.
Obviously, in this state silver is useless for jewellery purposes. To avoid the problems of malleability and softening, and thus to increase the life-span of your silver jewellery, other metals are added to the pure silver. The result of this blending process with alloys is a combined silver and alloy substance which is far more resistant to scratching and damage.
925 sterling silver jewellery is actually a combination of 92.5% silver and usually 7.5% copper. Sometimes the craftsman replaces copper with another material, or even a combination of materials. Over the last decade lower copper prices and an abundance of copper due to improved refining techniques have made it the first choice of many designers and jewellery stylists.
The beneficial properties gained by adding the copper to the pure silver have made the resulting product extremely popular with a host of silver craftsmen. Earrings, rings, bracelets and all other forms of jewellery can be carefully designed with the assurance that each intricate bend and turn will remain firmly in place.
925 silver is therefore a combination of mostly pure silver and a lower percentage of infused alloy metal. The addition of copper, or occasionally a similar copper-like substitute, helps to enhance your silver jewellery and does not in any way detract from its quality.
It is important to check that your silver jewellery is high quality 925 sterling silver before making a purchase. In the UK nearly all 925 sterling silver jewellery is hallmarked. All of the silver jewellery Purdice sells complies with relevant hallmarking requirements. If you are purchasing in another country, we advise you to check with the regional or national silver jewellery hallmarking body to find out if retailers can sell inferior lower grade silver jewellery without informing you.
Remember that in many countries the 925 hallmark is an assurance to you that your silver is of the highest quality.
