Silver Jewelry Cleaning Tips

It is known that silver gets tarnished after being used for some time, and this makes silver jewelry require a lot of attention and care. It is possible to clean silver jewelry at home using techniques that require just few tools. The method that is used to clean the sterling silver jewelry in the house is simple.

The first thing to do is to collect all the ingredients that are needed for the cleaning. The necessary ingredients are baking powder, salt, water and an aluminum plate. These are things that are commonly used for the household chores hence it is effortless to collect them. Once the ingredients are in place, put a tablespoonful of baking powder and salt onto the plate, add some lukewarm water to the plate and stir it until the mixture of baking powder and salt gets dissolved. Place the silver in the solution for a moment. Ensure that you do not use boiling water as that might end up causing damage to sterling silver jewelry. The time that the silver takes before losing the black stains will depends on how it was tarnished in first place.

If it was very tarnished, it will need a lot more brushing. You should use a brush that has soft bristles and run it gently on silver for around ten minutes after it has been immersed in the solution that was prepared earlier. When cleaning jewelry that is plated with silver, the brushing should be minimum and done gently in order to prevent the scraping off of silver plating.

This method should not be used when cleaning the antique silverware, as it could have been oxidized to have the vintage look. Putting it in a concoction that has salty water will make the oxidization peel off. The other affective way of cleansing silver jewelry is by using toothpaste. A gentle layer of the toothpaste should be applied on silver followed by scrubbing for about a minute.

After the scrubbing, the silver should be washed using lukewarm water and then wiped with a clean towel. After the cleaning, it will get its shine back. When drying the sterling silver jewelry, it is important to choose the right cloth material. The cloth that is used should be 100 percent cotton like sweat shirts and T-shirts. The other materials that can be used for drying are cotton balls, silver materials or soft flannel material that is unbleached.

Silver Jewelry Care Tips

Since the prices of platinum and gold are very high there are many who have turned to buying sterling silver jewelry. Silver is the most white metal and the whiteness of silver even exceeds that of rhodium or platinum. This is the reason why a silver surface that is flat and polished resembles a perfect mirror. The only problem with silver is that it gets tarnished.

This is because the molecules of silver on its surface combine with oxygen and the result is the formation of silver oxide that is blackish in color. This is a big contrast with the whitish appearance of silver. That is why when making a mirror; the silver is usually covered using glass. Glass is used to block oxygen and this prevents tarnishing. Since it is not possible to buy silver jewelry that is coated with glass, it will tarnish after some time.

There is some silver jewelry that is plated using rhodium to prevent the tarnishing. This kind of silver should not be polished as this will remove the rhodium plating. Although rhodium is in the platinum group of metals, it does not have a whitish appearance as silver does, so it is at times an advantage to acquire silver jewelry that is in its natural state. When buying silver jewelry from a store, it is important to ask whether the piece is coated with rhodium so that it is clear about how it should be cleaned.

There is some silver jewelry that does not need to be polished regularly because tarnishing is prevented by the skin oils and frequent washing. This means that jewelry that is worn close to the skin like a chain, a ring or cross tends to remain untarnished. The tarnishing only occurs when the jewelry is exposed to harsh chemicals that increase the rate of oxidation.

A good illustration is when someone who is wearing a silver cross on the neck swims in a pool that has chlorinated water, the jewelry will quickly turn black. Swimming in a pool that draws water from a spring or a lake does not tarnish the sterling silver jewelry. Silver is highly reactive and it reacts when it gets into contact with oxygen, chlorine or sulfur.

The reaction leads to formation of compounds that are blackish. Those who use water that has a high content of sulfur or has traces of chlorine will notice that their silver jewelry will keep tarnishing. The same thing happens if the person wearing the jewel has chemicals in the skin oil due to diet or body chemistry

How to Sell Sterling Silver Jewelry Online

Silver is becoming one of the most popular metals in the jewelry industry. New buyers seem to come on board all the time with something much needed for a business, especially a new one. If you are thinking of starting a business online, selling sterling silver jewelry could just be one of the best options that you have at your disposal. This is thanks to the ever improving technology which is making every impossible thing possible. With the internet you have a completely unlimited customer base, as you can access and market your products in any part of the world. Below are some of the ways you can use to utilize the internet technology to your advantage to sell sterling silver jewelry.

A well built ecommerce website: For those whose budgets are not fixed, the best thing to do is to put some money into building a silver jewelry website. A well designed and attractive website will always attract visitors and it is out of these visitors that you will get potential buyers. You may also want to employ a few people to handle the marketing, sales and taking care of the website.

EBay: If your budget is a little bit tight, you may need to opt for EBay. Although you will still need to put in some money, as you will need necessities like a computer, some simple application knowledge, an internet connection (a fast one will be of advantage because slow connections sometimes disappoint), especially if you are chatting with a client.

Social network sites: Many people go to social sites to make friends and when they come up with a product to sell, they normally forget about the social network that they have online. Social network sites like Facebook, Tagged, Twitter and Myspace can be the best places to build a customer base. Just let everyone in your network know you are selling sterling silver jewelry and you will be surprised how fast the information is distributed. You can offer your network members commissions if someone buys from you through them.

With the above options you can always succeed in your sterling silver jewelry business online. The more successful sales you make the more your customer base will expand, as word of mouth will also be playing a part in marketing your products. Just like in any other business, you may not make money as fast as you expect, but a little bit of patience and time dedicated to the business will always see you progress.

The Glamour and Elegance that Silver Jewelry Holds

Since the olden days of ancient civilizations, jewelry has been linked to elegance, glamour, status, power, wealth and beauty. Silver jewelry has undoubtedly revolutionized the whole fashion industry by giving gold jewelry very stiff competition. This is because silver is cost effective and fashionable at the same time. At the present time, the price of silver jewelry has sky rocketed but, surprisingly, demand has continued to increase day by day. Since time immemorial, this precious metal has been used for jewelry and adornments because of its white color that gleams and its exceptional brightness.

Currency that was used worldwide a few centuries back was mainly excellently crafted silver coins. This shows that silver was very valuable even back then. Silver has also been thought to have mythological powers. It was believed that silver had an ability to repel vampires and that is mostly why it is used in the coating of mirror borders. Apart from silver jewelry, silver has been used over time in the manufacturing of precious antiques that people of status cherished very much. Nonetheless, sterling silver jewelry is what made this precious metal very significant.

Silver jewelry has made a comeback in the fashion industry that has even threatened the place of gold. Designers nowadays fuse silver jewelry with precious stones such as rubies to create very elegant ornaments. The versatility used in the designs also deserves accolades. This is because designers have managed to mix the modern culture of ornaments with traditional concepts to come up with jewelry that appeal to all. Silver jewelry consists of necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings, chokers, anklets, armlets and bangles. These jewelry designs normally change with the rate of fashion trends.

In conclusion, the perfect finish (which also shows in the brightness of silver jewelry) is the determinant of the level of perfection. It is always advisable to buy silver jewelry from trusted sources so that you do not get imitations or coated pieces. There are plenty of deceitful jewelers out there who will con people out of their hard earned money. There are also various tests that will enable you to identify the real from the fake. There is a famous acid test that you can use on the jewelry to establish its authenticity. There is also the luster and color factor that you should train your eye well to see, to be able to identify real silver jewelry.