Sterling Silver Care & Polishing Tips

There was previously a tutorial on how to clean/polish .925 sterling silver with lime juice and baking soda. I have most recently tried something new that I recommend which works way better! Follow the steps below to polish  your sterling silver and get back to its original silver shiny color!

It is recommended to shower with or wash your .925 sterling silver if worn daily. Although the pure silver in sterling silver does not react and tarnish at room temperature, the copper added can easily react with the salt and sulfur in the air, making sterling silver rust/tarnish (appear pink, yellowish). Tarnishing can take place even faster if sterling silver come in contact with detergents or cosmetics. Our natural body chemistries can also affect how fast your sterling silver tarnishes.  If you store away your jewelry - particles in the air or pollutants can contribute towards tarnishing as well. To remove the rust/tarnish and make your jewelry look brand new and sparkly again, follow the fast and simple steps below by using just two simple over the counter ingredients. 

 ***If your sterling silver is gold plated, overtime, you may notice (black/brown) spots of rust, even if its stored away. If this happens, a polishing wipe can be used to remove this rust/tarnish. It is not recommended to shower with gold plated sterling silver, as the layer of gold will eventually wear off or rub off.  If the gold tone rubs off, your jewelry will turn back to its original silver color as silver is the base metal. If this happens your jewelry can be re-dipped or re-plated by a jeweler. Sterling silver does not and will not turn your skin green, however, the jewelry itself may turn a darkish color due to rust/tarnishing, but this can be easily removed and polished by following the simple steps below. Please also use the link below to view a quick tutorial on instagram on how we re-stored sterling silver back to sparkling silver! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzCQzUzuf8j/?hl=en 

Steps to clean/polish your .925 sterling silver:

1. Use a zip lock bag and add Windex 
2. Add jewelry to the zip lock bag then add enough Windex to cover your jewelry
3. Run the zip lock bag containing the jewelry under warm-hot water  for 10-15 minutes; may place the zip lock bag in a bowl filled with warm-hot water.
4. for intervals of 5 minutes for 30 seconds shake the zip lock bag containing jewelry, gently, (the vibrations make it so that the dust and particles stuck to your jewelry starts rubbing/coming off
5. Empty the windex out of the zip lock bad 
6. While jewelry is moist-to-dry finish by polishing with a jewelry polishing cloth  
7. You will notice any fire-marks gone and your jewelry will be shiny all over again. 
8. To clean the zirons/ moissanite and gemstones, grab a small toothbrush or brush  and brush lightly.