Tips for Caring Silver Jewelry

Jewelry has been in use as a marks of beauty & social status since time immemorial. Silver jewelry adds a different look to a person’s personality and can be matched with every occasion and event. Silver jewelry is a popular gift item in youngsters because it is light on their pocket and is still impressive!. Jewelry makers spend a lot of time to make quality artistic jewelry. Often jewelry is hand crafted and it takes a lot of effort to maintain the high standards in craftsmanship. As a jewelry consumer it is also your prerogative to take care of your loved possession. Unless you take good care of silver jewelry, you will soon start seeing the wear and tear effects on the jewelry item.

These are some helpful hints on how to look after your silver jewelry.

1. Silver is scratch-resistant but not scratchproof. Polish your silver jewelry regularly using non-abrasive cleaning cloth, to maintain the original condition of silver jewelry.

2. Soap & water will also help keep your silver looking good. But do not dry silver with paper towel or tissues, always use soft cloth only.

3. When you are not wearing your silver jewelry, store them in a cool, dry place. Zip-lock bags or the individual cloth pouches are ideal for this and will help prevent both tarnishing or scratching with other pieces.

4. Never immerse your silver jewelry in chlorine, salt water, mineral spring, & suntan lotion. Be careful some household cleaning lotions contain chlorine bleach, these will cause discoloration & might harm the gemstones in the jewelry.
5. Never use an ultrasonic cleaner, ammonia or any chemical solution to clean opaque gemstone, such as turquoise, malachite, onyx, lapis lazuli and opals.They are porous stones & they may absorb the chemicals, & cause discoloration. Simply wipe them gently with a moist cloth until clean.

6. To remove tarnish or oxidation film from silver you can use fresh, uncontaminated commercial silver dip liquid, polish paste or polish cloth, available in jewelry suppliers or hardware stores. Make sure there are no loose stones or parts.

7. Limit the gemstone's exposure to silver cleaners - cleaners may harm certain kinds of gemstones.

Last but not least, wear your jewelry! Your body oils will help prevent tarnish and you won’t even have to clean it as often. You silver jewelry will benefit from you showing it off with affection!