My goal when I make a piece of jewelry for you, is that I am making you something that will last a lifetime! However, especially with silver, you need to make sure that you take the proper precautions to try and help preserve it as much as possible!
First of all, what exactly is tarnish?! Tarnish is, unfortunately, unavoidable with almost any metal your jewelry is made from. Some metals do tarnish faster than others. Over time, your jewelry is exposed to moisture, oils from your skin, acids (even if on accident), and sulfur in the air. The mixture of all of these causes a reaction that will eventually leave a thin layer of tarnish on the surface. Another factor that depends on how fast it tarnishes, is how your care for the jewelry, your skin composition (is it oily or dry?), and what type of environment you live in (humid or dry).
Here are some tips to help with the tarnishing:
How you store them:
Because there is so much moisture in the air (especially if you live in a more humid area!!), keeping it in the open will make it tarnish faster. Make sure when you store your jewelry in a box or a bag that you can seal – you should do this with all the jewelry you own. For instance, the box that I send with your package is great to store your jewelry in! If you don’t have a small box to put it in, you can put the jewelry in a Ziploc bag and put it in your jewelry box. Try not to put too many pieces in the same bag, as when they rub against each other, it could scratch the metal and stone. Make sure you do not keep your jewelry in the sun, as it will fade the color of the stone.
An Easy Tip:
Do you know the silica packets that you get when you buy a purse or even shoes? Those are perfect for absorbing the moisture in the air. Just stick 1 or 2 in with your jewelry and it will help immensely!
Everyday Wear:
I don’t know about you, but I love wearing jewelry every day, especially rings. However, you need to be careful with this. Washing dishes, showering with them on, using chemicals, working out, putting lotion on – all of these and more can increase how fast it tarnishes and can alter the color and composition of the stone. I do forget sometimes to take my rings off, so just make sure you dry them completely or wash off any oils, lotions or chemicals as soon as you can! Here is an example of a ring that has changed colors on me because it was exposed to an abundance of water. The lighter stone is the way I got it and the darker is after being exposed to water.
How you can care for them:
Regularly polishing your jewelry with a silver polishing cloth can help reduce the tarnish. This will remove the layer of tarnish, as well as any oils that may be on it. If you have silver jewelry WITHOUT a stone, you can also use jewelry cleaner you find at the store or an ultrasonic cleaner. However, if you have a piece of jewelry WITH a stone, DO NOT use either of these methods. They will ruin the stone, alter the color, and could make it very fragile. You can also use dawn dish soap and an old soft toothbrush and scrub it. Make sure you dry it off with a soft towel completely so the moisture isn’t stuck on it when you put it away.
Give your jewelry a break too. Sometimes, I even forget to take them off for a bit because I love them so much! However, give them a break and polish them so they can “breathe” a little.
I hope these tips help you out some! I know that I would love to pass some of my jewelry on to some of my kids one day, so I want to keep them in tip top shape! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out!
