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Silver Jewelry is beautiful, no question, but some people avoid silver jewelry because it tarnishes. If you know how to keep your silver jewelry looking like new, there is no reason not to enjoy the fabulous liquid look of fine Sterling Silver. Sterling Silver is metal that contains at least 92.5% pure silver with other metals added to improve the hardness, finishing and durability of the jewelry. Pure silver is just too soft and can be easy scratched and bent with your fingers. Learn how easy it is to take care of your silver and wear it as often as you like!
Always use a soft cloth, like an old t-shirt to clean silver with. I have heard of people trying to clean silver with a toothbrush, but that can leave the polished surfaces dull looking. Silver is much softer than your teeth and should not be cleaned with anything rough or abrasive. To clean silver it helps to know why it tarnishes; the black tarnish is silver oxide, or "rust" because silver interacts with the air it is exposed to. Warmer, humid conditions will cause it to tarnish faster than cool dry air.
Sterling siver can be easily and quickly cleaned by just dipping it into ammonia, clear ammonia is best as it allows you to see the tarnish loosening from the surface. Ammonia is poisonous and smells bad, but it just takes a little ammonia and a cotton swab to clean the worst tarnished silver. Rinse the silver with water after dipping into ammonia and then rub the surface gently with a soft cloth to have it shine like new. Be sure to wash your hands too so you get any traces of ammonia off your skin, it can irritate your skin.
You should not leave silver "soaking" in ammonia or the surface can get dull and pitted. Ammonia can dissolve silver if given enough time.
To keep your Sterling Silver jewelry looking like new when you are not wearing it you should store it in a tightly closed container with baking powder - NOT baking soda! Baking powder can also be used to clean your Sterling Silver, rubbing it gently with a soft cloth and a little baking powder can shine it up when it is not badly tarnished.
If your Sterling silver jewelry has stones you might prefer the baking powder method. Ammonia will not harm diamonds at all, but some porous gemstones can be discolored with ammonia. If you aren't sure if you can use ammonia with the stones in your silver jewelry you should use baking powder and not ammonia, to keep the stones pretty longer.
The same methods can be used to clean and shine your gold jewelry, if it is at least 10Kt gold. Not recommended for cleaning plated jewelry. Plated jewelry will look good for awhile and then it will start to lose the plating; there isn't any way to make it look like new again once the plating wears off. This is why it is better to spend a little more and get jewelry that you can wear for the rest of your life.
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