charlie high design - specialist in silver jewellery for men, women and children

Jewellery Care

Storing your sterling silver jewellery

Storing your sterling silver in the open air for extended periods of time can cause it to tarnish or start to turn black.
To reduce tarnish and keep your pieces tarnish free for months at a time, it is recommended that you keep your sterling silver jewellery in an air-tight protective bag made of tarnish proof cloth or you can use a plastic re-sealable bag made of Mylar (turkey cooking bags) or polyethylene. Be warned that some plastic contains sulphur compounds, which can cause your jewellery to tarnish faster or stain. Never use polyvinyl plastic bags.

Although your jewellery is scratch resistant it isn't scratch proof, so I recommend that you store your jewellery so that it isn't rubbing up against other articles, like in a loose drawer or jewellery box.

Avoid storing your sterling silver jewellery directly on wood surfaces, because wood usually contains acids that can mar the finish. Oak seems to be the worst for this. Also, avoid storing your sterling silver with other metals, like pennies, and rubber, these too cause tarnish and damage.

Cleaning your sterling silver jewellery

Type of cloth to use:

Clean your sterling silver jewellery with a soft 100% cotton (nub free) cloth or flannel cloth and gently rub off any excess makeup. Remember silver is a very soft metal and you can scratch it if you aren't careful so don't rub it too briskly.Never use anything but clean 100% cotton or a special sterling silver cleaning cloth (Goddard’s do a soft polishing cloth as well as one that is specially impregnated with tarnish remover). A very soft bristle brush, like a babies’ toothbrush can also be used. Paper, polyester, and coarse fabrics often contain wood fibres or synthetics that can cause tiny scratches in the surface of your fine sterling silver jewellery. Dirt left over from previous cleanings can scratch the surface as well.

Types of cleaners to use:

For light cleanings: To remove light dirt, fingerprints or makeup just use a small amount of mild liquid detergent to a 1/2 cup of warm water and rinse thoroughly with clean fresh water. (Remember: be careful because too harsh a cleanser could damage the polish on the stones.) Dry it completely before storing it in a re-sealable bag.

Should you have a great deal of tarnish and need more cleaning than a polishing cloth or mild detergent can do, you will probably have to do a deeper cleaning using a silver paste cleaner or a silver polish spray. Be careful! silver paste cleaners can damage gemstones like turquoise, so be sure to try and keep it off of your gemstones when cleaning your sterling silver.

Remember that all metal cleaners have some type of small abrasive particles that help them to clean and will inevitably cause some form of fine scratches. These are not that obvious and after a time will blend with the fine scratches just from wearing the piece and are not that obvious.
If you wear your sterling silver jewellery regularly, your body oils help to keep the tarnishing down and cleaning to a minimum.