Jewelry Care – Sterling Silver

Caring for your Sterling Silver Jewelry

jewelry care, jewelry cleaning, sterling silver, silver cleaning

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For our jewelry, we use the finest formula for sterling silver available on the market today. While it does contain anti-tarnishing agents,  all fine sterling silver will eventually tarnish.

We recommend that you do not wear it in the shower, hot tub, sauna, ocean, and swimming pool. Exposure to high chlorine and/or bromine contents will only hasten the tarnishing process as will high mineral contents in your home water source.  Cosmetics, moisturizers, and lotions will also accelerate tarnish.

So what can you do to ensure that your sterling silver jewelry stays sparkly and shiny? In addition to regular cleanings, store your jewelry in a cool, dry place.  If you do not have a jewelry box, there are anti-tarnish bags available on the market or you can store jewelry in felt or velvet bags.  We recommend keeping the felt pouches that your Gallery Byzantium jewelry arrives in to help keep your pieces tarnish-free.

Don’t forget regular cleanings to keep your sterling silver jewelry looking good! The best part? You already have the ingredients right in your kitchen to make an effective cleaner – jewelry care has never been easier!

(**If your tarnished piece is set with a stone, we do not recommend this method. While hard stones like diamonds, rubies, or sapphires would likely be safe, softer stones like turquoise, garnets, or amethyst could be scratched). 

What you’ll need:

  • Aluminum foil
  • A dishpan/bowl
  • Baking soda
  • Warm water

Instructions:

  • Place a double layer of aluminum foil to the bottom of a dishpan or bowl.
  • Add warm water (enough to cover the foil and completely submerge your jewelry)
  • Add 2-3 heaping tablespoons to baking soda to the water.
  • Place the tarnished item in the pan/bowl.  Make sure that it is in contact with the aluminum foil.
  • Let soak for a few minutes and the tarnish will come off.
  • Rinse the item(s) well with warm water and buff with a soft polishing cloth.

If your jewelry is heavily tarnished, this method may not be effective.  In that case, we recommend our Jewelry Cleaning Kit.  The kit includes an instructional cleaning card, polishing cloth and tube of Simichrome Metal Polish and will help to restore the luster in your sterling silver pieces.

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