Caring For Your Silver Jewelry Properly

Talking about how to care for your silver jewelry isn’t the most exciting topic, but I bet you have a piece you’ve purchased in the past that just looks, well, meh. A far cry from how it looked on the day you bought it. 

What if I told you that in a few simple steps, you could get it back to its former glory? Well, now the subject doesn’t sound so dull (no pun intended), does it? Plus, I’m gonna tell you some tips and tricks to keep it looking new for years to come. 

Your silver jewelry is an investment and worth protecting, so you can enjoy it for as long as you have it. Additionally, you’ll know how to care for future pieces you haven’t bought yet. So let’s line them up and knock ‘em down, the how-tos of caring for your silver jewelry. In this post, I will cover the following - 

• Give reasons as to why silver jewelry tarnishes so you can avoid them going forward

• Show you how to care for your silver jewelry

• Teach you how to clean your silver jewelry and restore its brilliance

• How to keep your silver jewelry from tarnishing

• Best way to store silver jewelry

I’ve already mentioned that your silver jewelry is an investment, but what if you have old pieces that your grandma gave you? Or, maybe you received a piece from a loved one that carries tremendous sentimental value. The same rules apply. 

Silver’s Popularity Makes It a Great Option For Jewelry

There are so many reasons why silver jewelry is excellent. It’s affordable, it’s widely available, perfect for any occasion, and there are endless styles to choose from that it could make your head spin. The biggest drawback, however, is that it is very prone to tarnishing. This chemical reaction results in an ugly discoloration that can be so severe that the metal appears almost black. 

But, there is a silver lining through all of this. You can prevent this from happening by understanding its causes and avoiding those situations in the future. 

1. Corrosion - Humidity and wet conditions both contribute to erosion. This deterioration of metal most certainly results in tarnishing. Add in any chemicals present in your sweat like ammonia or salt and sugar from breaking down protein, and you have a double cocktail of tarnishing effects. 

   1. Leave your jewelry at home before you get your burn on. 

   2. Please, just don’t wear your jewelry to the beach or take it surfing. Really, the only jewelry appropriate for this setting is puka shell necklaces. 

2. Metallic Abrasion - Sephora junkies beware because chemical compounds like zinc oxide and calamine found in makeup can also cause tarnishing. 

   1. Get in the habit of putting your jewelry on last after you get ready.

3. Air Pollution - This one is nearly impossible to avoid unless you live in a town of 500 people or less. The sulfur emissions from burning fossil fuels are probably the biggest culprit of your jewelry tarnishing. Also, unless you want to give up eggs and onions, your sweat could contribute to the problem.

   1. Pass on Denver omelets and awesome blossoms forever, or just remember to polish your jewelry every now and then. 

   2. Don’t leave your jewelry laying out where it can be exposed to air. Air, unlike all living things, is like death to silver jewelry.

4. Household Chemicals - Cleaning products and even perfume can accelerate the tarnishing process by reacting with the metal. 

   1. Cleaning your house is not a glamorous job. Leave the razzle-dazzle for going out and take your jewelry off before you start.

   2. This falls under the same habits of putting on your jewelry last after you’re done getting ready, makeup, perfume, and all.

5. Direct Sunlight - I promise you that if you were to leave a silver bracelet on the dashboard of your car, it wouldn’t be long before it turned black from tarnish. Both the direct sunlight and exposure to air create the perfect conditions for tarnish to thrive in. 

   1. Instead, wear your silver jewelry often. I know this might sound counterintuitive after going on and on about your sweat being an offender regarding tarnishing, but your skin’s natural oils help keep your silver shiny. You may have noticed this already with jewelry that you wear every day versus pieces that just sit in your jewelry box. 

Cleaning Your Silver Jewelry

Sometimes life gets in the way of following best daily wearing practices or you have jewelry that has already fallen victim to tarnish. In these types of cases, it’s time to consider the next steps. However, it’s worth mentioning the earlier you can catch the effects of tarnish, the better. The kind that has remarkably settled into your jewelry as if you allowed it to pack its bags and move in, it’s much more difficult to remove. 

In that spirit, the following tips for cleaning your jewelry will cover light-duty maintenance to more challenging and stubborn removal of unwanted tarnished tenets. Up your satisfaction level of how shiny your jewelry can be after following any of these steps; just give it a good polish after. I recommend these polishing cloths.

1. Soap and Water - A mild soap and warm water should do the trick of light upkeep. Honestly, just wearing it in the shower works wonders. 

2. Baking Soda and Water - If you start to see the first stages of tarnish settling in with an amber-yellow discoloration, it’s time to step it up. Make a paste of baking soda with water and gently scrub with a toothbrush. Don’t be tempted to use toothpaste because it has a similar viscosity, and you’ve probably heard that it’s an acceptable way to clean jewelry. It’s not...I mean, have you ever read the ingredients list? Better to just stick with the basics.

3. White Vinegar and Baking Soda - Replace the water with a little acid to your baking soda to tackle tarnish when it gets to the brown stage of oxidation. Combine a half cup of vinegar with two tablespoons of baking soda and soak your jewelry for two to three hours. 

4. This is for code black tarnish jobs. This is for when your tarnish has moved in and needs to be evicted. This recipe actually reverses the chemical reaction of tarnish.

   1. Cover the bottom of a bowl with aluminum foil.

   2. Bring enough water to a bubbling boil to cover the bottom of your bowl.

   3. Add one tablespoon of baking soda per cup of boiling water. If the solution froths, you nailed it.

   4. Place your jewelry into the bowl on top of the foil. Make sure it has contact with it for this to work correctly. 

   5. Pour the solution of boiling water and baking soda over the jewelry and into the bowl.

   6. Let it sit for at least ten minutes. It may need more time depending on how badly the tarnish has settled in. 

   7. Allow it to dry and enjoy your jewelry’s newly minted shine.

Storing Silver Jewelry

At this point, you have a pretty decent idea of best practices for caring for your jewelry, and these allude to this next part, storing your silver jewelry. For instance, if exposure to air is the enemy of silver and a friend to tarnish, then minimizing it should be an excellent place to start in how to store your jewelry. Spoiler alert, it is and should be the first line of defense. Let’s break this down.

1. Not all bags are created equal - Sure, ziplock bags will do the trick in a pinch as long as you squeeze the air out before resealing it, but you can do better. These anti-tarnish bags are a more tailored option for the intended use - which is storing your silver jewelry. 

2. Store your silver jewelry with chalk - A super accessible and low-tech way to absorb all of those nasty chemicals that love to conjure the undesirable effects of tarnish. 

3. Use anti-tarnish strips - If the name doesn’t already imply the exact use these were made for, then….ok, they use copper-based polymers that neutralize gases that cause tarnishing. They are cheap and effective. Find them here. 

4. Keep your silica packs - You know those little packets that almost look like single-serve salt and pepper that arrive in your shoe boxes? Repurpose them to store with your jewelry because they suck moisture out of air like the Grinch sucks joy out of Christmas. 

5. Wipe your jewelry down with anti-tarnish cloths before storing - These are treated with tarnish-hating chemicals; the good kind to help you win the war over dull jewelry.

6. The woes of wood - Stained wood contains chemicals that will give your jewelry the tarnish treatment. Store your jewelry in something other than wood if you can.

7. Store away from your car’s dashboard or any other place that you could get a tan - Any cool, dark place will do. 

Conclusion

I usually try to recap, but in this case, I feel this post itself is a recap of all things related to caring for your silver jewelry. So, what I’ve done instead is create a downloadable guide that is completely free for you to download right now. Go forth and conquer, my friends. Keep your silver jewelry looking brand-spanking new for years to come. Enjoy!