About Sterling Silver
Silver is one of the world’s most useful metals and valuable metals. It is beautiful but soft, if kept in its pure form. Silver, when combined with other metals, is much more durable. Most sterling is combined with other metals like copper, 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper and/or germanium. This gives sterling the workability and durability for heirloom jewelry.

Care and Cleaning Sterling Silver
Jeffery Herman, from the Society of American Silversmiths, wrote the article “Silver Care” . It is one of the most comprehensive yet easily understood articles that I’ve read.

All of our findings are sterling silver. Many of our pieces contain a large amount of sterling silver. Silver is a metal; there fore it is subject to tarnish. There are certain things that are known accelerants. Sulfur, wool, rubber bands, certain foods like eggs or onion, and skin oil are the biggest offenders. I have also found that some brands of spray starch and bleach can turn silver black.

Tarnish starts with a yellowish tinge, then it moves to brown and then black as the tarnish builds up. In the early stages, wash the jewelry using a phosphate-free detergent. As it progress, use a cloth that is designed for Sterling Silver. I like Sunshine Polishing Cloths for early stages of tarnish.

If the tarnish has moved into the dark brown, I would recommend a rouge cloth. If you are using a red rouge cloth, rinse very well. Red rouge can be messy on the hands. If you wear acrylic or gel nails, I would strongly suggest that you were gloves.

Please read any products instructions before cleaning your jewelry. Several types of cleaners don’t work well with pearls, opals, turquoise, amber, coral, and many other stones. Rinse the jewelry thoroughly after cleaning. Then dry with a soft cloth, airdrying creates spots on the silver and can produce a tarnish stain that has to be wheel buffed out.

Tarnishing on silver jewelry, when worn on a regular basis, usually does not occur. Storage for a prolonged time causes silver jewelry to tarnish. So does contact with hairspray and cosmetics. Certain perfumes can cause spots that are hard to remove, sometimes impossible. Taking certain medications can change the body’s acidity of your skin may cause silver jewelry to tarnish.

If you venture into chorine pools, lakes, rivers, or salt-water oceans with our art jewelry on, I may not be able to bring back the shine on the silver. It’s almost impossible to bring back the luster of most pearls and most of the softer gemstones.

I do not recommend silver dips, many damage the finish of silver. They also take the polish and sheen from many gemstones, such as pearls, turquoise, amber, and coral. The dips will also take the AB coating off of many of the accents beads. The chemicals are very harsh and should use with care. Again, I do not recommend any of the silver dips on our jewelry, (this is worth repeating). Nor do I recommend toothpaste; it is too abrasive and scratches the surface.

If you have any questions about cleaning the jewelry or are in doubt about a cleaner, contact me at Moon@MixedMediaJewelry.com.

One of the best ways to keep your jewelry looking shinny and bright is to store it correctly. Stored in plastic bags can also help to prevent tarnish. I recommend storing them in a dry container, a plastic bag with anti-tarnish paper. All of our jewelry is shipped with anti-tarnish paper. This will aid the buyer keeping the jewelry as beautiful and clean as it first arrived to you.

~Moon
2006