We care about making meaningful jewelry for our customers, so we want to help you care for it when you receive it! Here are some tips and tricks to help you keep your jewelry in tip top condition.
Tarnishing
Over time, any sterling silver jewelry piece exposed to air will tarnish. Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. It’s the other metals, primarily copper, that cause sterling silver to tarnish. The copper reacts to moisture and sulfur in the air, causing the tarnishing reaction. Silver tarnishes faster in areas with high humidity and air pollution. We recommend taking your jewelry off when showering, swimming, exercising, and sleeping. Chemicals like hairspray, perfume, deodorant, body lotion, bleach, etc., can speed up the tarnishing process.
Blackening
Make-up present on the skin or clothing is the most common cause of the blackening or smudging. Cosmetics often contain chemical compounds which are harder than the jewelry itself. Metallic abrasion occurs when these hard compounds come in contact with the jewelry metals and wear or rub off very tiny particles of metal which appear as jet black dust. To prevent this, cosmetics which contain zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, ferric oxide, and calamine should be avoided. If this is not possible we recommend that you remove rings and other metal jewelry while applying cosmetics. Also, clean with soap and water those skin areas which will be in contact with your jewelry. Be sure any cosmetics, perfumes, etc. are dry before putting on your jewelry.
Cleaning
We clean all of our jewelry with soft dry polishing cloths. This should take care of most tarnishing and fingerprints. If the polishing cloth doesn’t remove all the tarnish, wash silver jewelry in warm water with a few drops of mild dish washing liquid. Immerse the sterling silver in the water and gently hand wash. Use a cotton swab for tight corners, or soft baby toothbrush can be used for more abrasive cleaning if needed. Thoroughly rinse your pieces after washing, and completely dry the sterling silver before storing, as moisture is one of the factors that contribute to tarnishing.
We do not recommend using toothpaste or baking soda for cleaning as it may scratch the surface of the silver. Do not use harsh chemicals such as bleach, acetone, etc, to clean your silver because they can make silver more dull, and ruin the surface.
Storage
Store your sterling silver jewelry in a cool, dark place away from sources of sunlight, heat and moisture. To reduce scratching and tarnishing, store your pieces individually in small zip-lock plastic bags, removing as much air as possible. You may also want to put a small strip of anti-tarnish paper in each bag with the jewelry.
One of the best ways to keep our jewelry beautiful is to wear it!