One of the questions we get asked most frequently in the shop is "How do I clean my silver jewellery?".
Quite often the item of jewellery in question has been tucked away somewhere safe and has been re-discovered by its owner, the jewellery normally needs a little bit of TLC to make it wearable again.
Sterling silver jewellery will tarnish over time if not cared for but if you follow a few easy tips your jewellery should keep its lustre.
- Always keep silver jewellery in a jewellery box or the gift box it came in, sunlight can speed up tarnishing.
- Keep a silica gel sachet (You normally find these in a new purse or handbag.) in the box next to your jewellery, moisture can cause tarnishing.
- Never keep silver jewellery on a jewellery stand, as this exposes the jewellery to sunlight and moisture in the air.
- Don't wear your silver jewellery in a swimming pool, the chemicals in pools can cause terrible tarnishing.
- Remove any dirt or make up from jewellery using an old toothbrush
- If the dirt is really stubborn soak the jewellery in a mild mixture of washing up liquid and warm water, then clean out the jewellery using your old toothbrush.
- Never use a jewellery cleaning liquid on hollow jewellery, or jewellery set with pearls, turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli or any other porous stone. Always follow the manufacturers instructions carefully!
- Make sure you rinse out the jewellery really well with cold water after using a jewellery cleaner.
- With really heavily tarnished silver you may need to dip the jewellery a couple of times, if the jewellery is cleaner but still has a 'yellowy' look to it you will need to polish it up with a silver cloth.
- You can also use a mild bicarbonate of soda and water solution to clean silver jewellery.
- The best way to bring back the shine to your jewellery is to use a silver cloth which will remove most tarnishing.
- A silver cloth is also the best way to clean chains, pull the chain gently through a fold in the cloth and repeat until the chain is bright and clean.
www.equinoxsilver.co.uk
