Tips for cleaning your silver Jewellery
At some point in our lives I'm sure we have all rediscovered a forgotten pair of earrings at the back of our jewellery box, or the necklace that slipped down the back of the dresser that didn't get retrieved for months... and after the initial excitement of having a new piece of jewellery to wear again, there's the realisation that it's not as sparkly as it once was and is going to need a clean... Ugh!
Not to worry though, Silver is really quick and easy to get sparkling again, so I've put some tips below to help you get your jewellery looking like new again!
I re-discovered these old favourites (the original prototypes of my hollow pebble studs) that I'd not worn since my son was born 2 years ago - I recently decided to brave his curious hands to try and enjoy wearing earrings again, which I'm happy to say was (surprisingly) successful!
They were looking rather worse for wear though - almost entirely black with tarnish - so I gave them some much needed TLC and documented the progress as I went.
Sterling Silver naturally tarnishes over time, as a reaction with the oxygen and moisture in the air. The more you wear your jewellery on a regular basis, the less it will tarnish as the oils in your skin and the movement against you and your clothes will help keep it polished.
But if for any reason your jewellery does get tarnished, the best and safest way to clean it is with a silver polishing cloth. I include a small cloth with all my orders of silver jewellery, but they can also be bought inexpensively online from companies such as Town Talk and Goddards or even sometimes from your local supermarket. The cloth is soft so it won't scratch the metal, and is impregnated with a special chemical to clean the tarnish away - so don't ever wash the cloth!
As you start to gently rub the item with the polishing cloth you will see it turn black - this is perfectly normal and just the tarnish being removed from the silver. You can continue to use it until it is entirely black. Try to get the cloth into any little crevices or corners as best you can.
It won't take long before you can see the transformation and your silver should be lovely and sparkling again!
Rinse and dry once you've finished to remove any chemical residue, and your jewellery is now ready to wear and enjoy!
Over the coming weeks I will also be writing tips on how to clean your Gemstone, Pearl, Gold & Brass jewellery, so sign up to receive my promotional emails here to make sure you don't miss out! Or of course if you have any questions in the meantime please don't hesitate to get in touch!
