Archive for June, 2008
Sterling Silver Jewelry Storage and Tarnish Prevention
How To Care For Your Sterling Silver Jewelry
Nothing can quite more höher than the almost elegance Sterling silver. The brilliance the silver decoration appeals at nearly each humans each age, also unabhängig from the ***. In addition, it becomes more ber à ¼ the raised Raffinesse that gold decoration seems always to à ¼ bertreiben. & lt; br/& gt; & lt; br/& gt; If you apparent do not think in agreement with these simple Erklärung, you of a person - each person, fà ¼ r this affair - carrying a load from only Sterling silver decoration. Let& #39; s deck this person in few Ohrringe a Sterling silver. Then you let placement silver rope try us around this person the neck. We können hinzufà ¼ towards to go a few silver rings along. And fà ¼ nahme, we will even throw r a good Maà into or two rings a silver toe. And which you have? You see nothing more, but each day carrying. Now, picture that the same person trägt accurately same decoration, only this mark, then ¼ ck it presents each Stà that we in gold. Now, which you do? They see a person imitate fully lit up Christmas tree. & lt; br/& gt; & lt; br/& gt; We are à ¼ bertrieben, natà ¼ rlich. Nevertheless, this in its entirety shows the Komplexität the raised one was found probably only in Sterling silver decoration. Indeed, if you möchten, let us können mix and match Sterling silver decoration with another Schmuckstà ¼ ck or mineral and it becomes still rather send look. Only few kinds of decoration to reach, this kind of versatility and a kind äuà know ern Raffinesse and elegance. Zirkonia decoration or CZ decoration, particularly CZ CZ of rings and Ohrringe are often paired with silver. And you suspect it, this combination always succeed yourselves, marvelously. & lt; br/& gt; & lt; br/& gt; In order to state however that, should know brilliance you above all, how you silver decoration the correct attention needs your Sterling. After everything, how you will succeed, genieà EN you its Sterling silver decoration, if her not in their in the long run at the best condition? First, which you should be noted that are that them to treat their silver-exactly so, as it is worthwhile itself. They wà ¼ do not rden surely carry you approximately at the best dress to do low work around the house or do hard ätzend applications, wà ¼ now rden you? They want its treatment Sterling silver decoration in the reason the same way. It wäre best, if you your sign könnte decoration from scratching or before schädlichen material (e.g. Säuren, bleach, colors, etc.). The best option is probably on your Sterling silver decoration switches off, während in contact with this schädlichen material. & lt; br/& gt; & lt; br/& gt; Another thing, which you should be noted are that reliably cleaners do an occasional cleaning with silver decoration könnten you some well, as good. In the course of the time to develop one or Rà ¼ ckstände of months (even years) fà ¼ r the use it can hren to the fact fà ¼ that silver too trà ¼ ben and searches at the age (somewhat grey and yellow on Verfärbungen). With this, möchten perhaps a schedule gewöhnlichen cleaning said you, thereby your Schmuckstà ¼ cke as cleanly as möglich the whole time. However you should carefully, if them your cleaning Sterling silver. This is above all, if her one on the other co-ordinated with other jewels or minerals. Sterling silver decoration indeed has an unparalleled Raffinesse and elegance. However you should retain always your decoration you it always from its best side. & lt; br/& gt; & lt; br/& gt;
Six common questions about sterling silver jewelry
How do I clean sterling silver jewelry?
It depends. Usually, it is sufficient to use a jewelry cloth (with two layers of cloths in different colors) that you can get from a jewelry accessory store. Don’t use any hard object to clean sterling silver jewelry; even paper towel could scratch the surface. You should rub any dirt off using a jewelry cloth, not fingernails. Silver-dip is another commonly used sterling silver jewelry cleaner, which can also be obtained from jewelry store. The entire silver jewelry is immerged in the solution for half a minute to a minute and then rinsed with water. Make sure the silver jewelry is not plated with any other metal before using the silver-dip or the plating will be damaged.
Where do I store sterling silver jewelry?
It is very important to store sterling silver jewelry properly when it is not used. The ideal place to store sterling silver jewelry is cool and away from sunlight. Heat and light will turn a silver jewelry yellow and cause it to tarnish quickly. Even indoor light source like florescent lights or light bulbs turn the color of silver jewelry over time. If you expect not to wear a certain piece for a long time, put it in a air-tight bag and store it in a drawer.
What types of silver jewelry plating are there?
Unlike gold and platinum, however, pure silver is rather unstable and oxides rather quickly. Therefore, silver jewelry is usually plated with another metal to protect it from tarnishing. There are two kinds of plating for silver jewelry: nickel and rhodium plating. Nickel plating has a more whitish look and rhodium plating has a darker look. Rhodium is used to plate white gold and platinum jewelry and is much more expensive than nickel, and it give better protection to the silver underneath. On the other hand, some silver jewelry is not plated. For instance, high polished sterling silver jewelry does not have any plating and the surface is polished by machine to render shininess. Also, “oxidized silver” jewelry is oxidized on purpose to give a dark antique look and is not plated with any other metals.
How do I know the purity of my silver jewelry?
The purity of sterling silver refers to 92.5% of silver in the alloy. In order to confirm the purity, the metal itself has to be sent to a laboratory to be tested. However, most of the sterling silver jewelry produced nowadays has a “925″ stamp to indicate the authenticity of the jewelry. Although there are cases where stamps are forged and the metal is either not silver or the purity is not as stated, they are very rare.
How about engraving and resizing?
Engraving and resizing of sterling silver rings is rather simple due to the ductility and relatively low melting point. However, make sure your jeweler understands the process of refinishing the ring and that they possess the necessary equipment to do so. Not all jewelers have the equipment to recoat the rhodium plating after cutting and welding the ring. Also, rings set with stones are sometimes not resizable because resizing might cause the stones to pop out. Such settings include channel and invisible settings.
Can I wear sterling silver jewelry if I am allergic to nickel?
Yes, just make sure the jewelry is pure sterling silver, not plated with nickel. Even Rhodium plated sterling silver jewelry sometimes contains a nickel layer between the silver and the rhodium to act as an adhesive. Hence, buy only high polished sterling silver jewelry if you are allergic to nickel.
By: Greg Peterson
About the Author:
Greg Peterson got his MBA from MIT business school and is now working as marketing manager for jewelry businesses featuring wholesale sterling silver jewelry and wholesale hip hop jewelry.