Sterling Silver Necklaces - Its Blackening And Causes
Aug0
I love silver jewelries and I own a collection of them. It all started when I was in high school, around 10 years ago, when I had this penchant to buy these jewelries. I have sterling silver necklaces that I rarely wear because the styles had become outdated so I stored them in a jewelry box in my room for safekeeping. A few days ago I decided to take them out to see which ones had designs that I can wear again. I was so taken aback to see that most of my precious sterling silver jewelries had turned to black. My initial reaction was to think that I had been duped. That some of the pieces I bought were fakes. I took them all out and went to a local jeweler to have them looked over, turns out they just tarnished over time.
I got curious about how this happened and what can be done to prevent it. I went to an Internet cafe and search for information about it and I discovered that sulfur, an easily found substance makes the fluid brilliant coating of our sterling silver jewelries to tarnish and turn black as the night. I went back to the jeweler to confirm this and he was kind enough to give me some advise on how to handle my sterling silver necklaces for long term storage. He also gave me some cleaning instructions to help keep my sterling silver jewelries nice and shiny.
First off, make sure that your jewelries are always clean. It is advisable to wash them daily with gentle soap and tap water and dry them thoroughly before putting them in your jewelry box at night. You can also use metal polish once a week but not the kind with granules as they can damage the shiny finish of your sterling jewelries. Now in the event that the jewelries become tarnished, what then is your next step? In this case, let a professional clean the jewelry for you and your local jeweler will always be your best friend here. However if you’re on a tight budget you can make a home cleaning solution. With a pyrex container, mix baking soda with water, put your sterling silver necklaces on it, and boil.
Secondly, if you intend to store your jewelries for the night you can simply put in your jewelry box so you can access it easily the following day. For long term safe keeping you need to make sure that your sterling silver necklaces and other sterling silver jewelries are thoroughly clean, wrapped in tissue and stored in airtight containers. If you are wondering why they need to be in airtight containers, the experts say that sulfur can be airborne and to be sure your sterling silver jewelries will be protected from tarnishing you need to keep them in airtight containers.
Sterling silver necklaces have characteristically elegant and brilliant finish, proper care of these items will result to your jewelries maintaining their luster for a longer period of time. For more ideas on the proper caring of your silver jewelries and to discover innovative designs available please visit http://www.overstocksilver.com/.