Cool And Easy Way to Clean Your Sterling Silver Earrings
Because of its complicated designs and exquisite structure, sterling silver earrings are the most difficult jewelries to maintain. Compared with rings that have simpler embellishments, earrings have drops and often inlays of semi-precious stones that is daunting to clean to say the least. If your silver earrings get stained your most likely choice is professional cleaning that cost so much. Here are ways to clean your silver earrings and any other intricately designed jewelry.
Sterling silver becomes tarnished due to a chemical response that takes place when silver encounters the substance sulfur, which is naturally found in our environment. The dark substance that forms in the surface of the silver is called silver sulfide. Using polishing solution, this dark substance on the silver’s surface can be removed. But do you know that during the polishing process you are actually losing parts of your silver jewelry to all the rubbing and polishing.
But fortunately, you can clean your sterling silver earrings without rubbing and without hurting the earring’s delicate construction. The solution is so basic and very easy to perform and execute and the best of all the materials are right there within your house. With the help of science and simple chemistry you will be able to bring back the shine and elegance of your jewelries. The best thing about it is that all the ingredients in the cleaning solution is right in your kitchen and they only cost a fraction of what you will spend on professional cleaning.
You will need some aluminum foil that will wrap inside the bottom of your glass or hard plastic container. Put boiling water on the receptable, enough to cover the jewelry pieces and combine with a few tablespoons of washing soda or sodium carbonate. As soon as the washing soda is dissolved put the jewelleries inside the container and let them settle nicely on the aluminum foil. Ensure that the jewelries are not on top of one another, as in a heap, and they are laid out flat on the bottom, on the foil. You will notice that the solution will immediately get bubbly and a steamy vapor that emits a foul smell in the likeness of rotten eggs. Let the jewelries stay there for about one minute, then bring them out and rinse with cold water. After this short process, your sterling silver earrings will have its old glitter and elegance restored.
With care, storage and attention, your sterling silver earrings will last for ages. Visit http://www.overstocksilver.com/ for additional pointers on how to keep your silver jewelries beautiful and shiny, along the way you may be in for a big surprise to find new jewelry pieces that you are dreaming about.
My Sterling Silver Necklaces Turned Black!
One of my passions is silver jewelries and I own a collection of them. I started buying them about 10 years ago when I was still in high school. I have sterling silver necklaces that I rarely wear because the styles had become outdated so I stored them in a jewelry box in my room for safekeeping. To my dismay, when I opened them out last week, I had the biggest surprise of my life. I was so taken aback to see that most of my precious sterling silver jewelries had turned to black. My initial reaction was to think that I had been duped. That some of the pieces I bought were fakes. I took them all out and went to a local jeweler to have them looked over, turns out they just tarnished over time.
The curiosity in me grew and I set out to find out how can I prevent this from happening. I went to an Internet cafe and search for information about it and found out that sulfur, an easily found substance causes the smooth shiny finish of our sterling silver jewelries to tarnish and become black as the night. I consulted again with the local jeweler and he was kind enough to give me some advise on how to handle my sterling silver necklaces for long term storage. He also gave me some cleaning instructions to help keep my sterling silver jewelries nice and shiny.
To start off, clean first your jewelries and keep them that way. It is advisable to wash them daily with gentle soap and tap water and dry them thoroughly before putting them in your jewelry box at night. A metal polish is also an option but don’t go for the kind with granules as this can destroy the brilliant look of your sterling jewelries. Now in the event that the jewelries become tarnished, what then is your next step? In this case, let a professional clean the jewelry for you and your local jeweler will always be your best friend here. But if you’re on a tight budget you can make a home cleaning solution. Mix some baking soda with water and here you can boil your sterling silver necklaces or any other sterling silver jewelry in a pyrex container.
If you just want to temporarily store your jewelries, you can always take out your jewelry box and store your jewelries there for easy access the next day. For long term storage, ensure that your sterling silver necklaces are completely cleaned and dried, fully wrapped in tissue and put in airtight receptables. If you are wondering why they need to be in airtight containers, the experts say that sulfur can be airborne and to be sure your sterling silver jewelries will be protected from tarnishing you need to keep them in airtight containers.
Sterling silver necklaces have characteristically smooth and radiant finish, proper attention to these items will result to long lasting luster of your jewelries. For more tips and advice on how to properly care for your silver jewelries and to view latest trends available please visit http://www.overstocksilver.com/.