Sterling Silver Information
Sterling Silver Jewellery
Silver jewellery is very popular with manufacturers and customers.
- Silver is cheaper than gold
- It is very malleable. Manufacturing of silver is an easy metal to work with.
- It is white. White metals are very fashionable and popular. Silver, Platinum, titanium, tungsten, steel or white gold are all highly sought after by customers.
Silver is a very soft metal and pure silver is too soft to wear as jewellery. So most silver jewellery is made from “sterling silver”. Sterling silver is more durable than pure silver because it is mixed with copper. Sterling Silver contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Copper makes the silver stronger and more durable so it can be made into jewellery.
Most silver jewellery will be stamped with 925 which means that the jewellery is made from sterling silver.
Why does my silver jewellery tarnish?
All silver pure or mixed will tarnish. When silver is exposed to the air and atmosphere, it causes a chemical reaction that creates something called silver sulfate. Silver sulfate is black and that is why your silver turns black.
Silver is a natural metal that reacts to chemicals. Those chemicals can be the air or other chemicals in your bodies skin.
Silver can have a bad reaction to wool, rubber bands, latex gloves, natural skin oils and sweat, ammonia, chlorinated water, carpet padding, air pollution, perfumes, hair spray, onions, salty foods, vinegar, salad dressings, humidity.
The main reasons for silver tarnishing are humid weather, natural skin oils and sweat and body creams and perfumes.
Can you buy silver jewellery that does not tarnish?
It is possible to buy silver jewellery that has been protected with a thin layer of metal protection. This is called “flashing” and manufactures use either a silver or rhodium layer to coat the outside of the jewellery to keep the tarnishing to a minimum. So until that plating wears off your silver jewellery will stay looking clean and shiny.
How do I clean my silver?
The good news is that is very easy to clean up your silver. A simple buff up with a good silver cloth and your jewellery will be looking new again in a few moments.
Cleaning your Silver Jewellery with warm water and drying it with a soft cloth after you wear it, will remove any oily residue and slow the process down as well.
How do I store my silver?
Because silver reacts to air and oxidises and becomes black, the best way to keep your silver jewellery is in individually sealed plastic bags, this will delay the process of tarnishing.
Keeping your Jewellery in Tupperware or plastic air tight boxes works well.
No comments:
Post a Comment