Sterling silver jewelry has been a well known commodity for hundreds of
years. Sterling silver is reasonably priced and still delivers much of the
luster offered by metals like gold and platinum. The large variety of sterling
silver jewelry calls for specific know-how in order to choose the right piece
as well as ensure that it stays in fine quality as long as possible.
How do I clean sterling silver jewelry? That depends. The best way of cleaning
sterling silver jewelry is to use a jewelry cloth. Massaging sterling silver
with paper towels or some other tough surfaces would damage the finish and
destroy the shine. If your sterling silver isn't plated with some other
precious metals it is fine to make use of a silver dip to wash the surface.
Cleaning using a silver dip is straightforward. All you need to do is leave
your jewelry within the dip for approximately 25 seconds to a minute and then
rinse the item off using water. Ensure the silver jewelry is not plated along
with any other metal prior to using the silver-dip or the plating will likely
be damaged.
It is crucial to place sterling silver jewelry properly when it is not
used. An excellent place to keep sterling silver jewelry is cool and away from
sunlight. Heat together with lighting will change a silver jewelry yellowish
and make it tarnish fairly quickly. If you expect to not wear a particular
piece for some time, put it 1nside a air-tight pouch and also store it in a
cabinet.
As opposed to gold and platinum, 100 % pure silver is actually relatively
unstable and oxides quickly. Therefore, silver jewelry is often plated together
with some other metal to safeguard it from tarnishing. These types of metals
are either nickel or rhodium. Rhodium is definitely a superior quality finished
look. It is more expensive compared to nickel and provides far better
protection to the actual silver. Rhodium is also applied to plate white gold
and platinum. However, some silver jewelry is not plated. Sometimes silver is
actually purposely oxidized to present it an more matured appearance.
The purity of sterling silver refers to 92.5% of silver contained in the
alloy. A lab can test the purity of the metal, in order to ensure it really is
authentic. A '925' stamp is now used to indicate that the piece is, in reality,
.925 sterling silver.
Engraving sterling silver can be achieved as a result of silver's ductility
and rather low melting point. However, ensure that your jeweler is aware of the
task of refinishing the ring and that they possess the required machines to do
so. Not all jewelers have the particular tools to re-coat the rhodium plating
upon cutting and welding the ring. Additionally, rings set having stones are
sometimes not re-sizable due to the fact resizing could result in the gemstones
to pop out. It is common among the channel and even invisible settings.
By: Lisa Coopers
