Caring for your Jewellery

Sterling silver is an alloyed metal, normally made of 92.5% pure silver and other metals. Sterling silver is a popular metal because of its affordability and malleability, but it also tarnishes quickly because of its composition.

If you’re looking at a piece of jewellery that is darkened or appears dirty, then your silver has tarnished; but, there’s no need to neglect this piece or get rid of it!

Tarnish is simply the result of a chemical reaction with oxygen or sulphur particles in the air. With a few easy-to-follow tips, you can take care of your sterling silver jewellery and make it last for years to come!

How to clean your silver jewellery

Soap and warm water: This is our most recommended method because of the gentleness of soap and water. When washing silver, only use one that does not contain lemon, citrus, or phosphates.
Instead make a paste from baking soda and water, apply a small amount onto a cloth or tooth brush and scrub gently.
White vinegar and baking soda: This gentle cleaning method is great for removing heavy tarnish. Soak your sterling silver in ½ cup of white vinegar and 2 tbsp of baking soda (combine these in the sink and prepare yourself for the fizzing and foam) for two to three hours. Rinse jewellery and pat dry.
Finish with a polish: After you’ve given your jewellery a good cleaning, you can finish the process by using a polishing cloth like TOWN TALK- Silver Polishing Cloth that's specifically for sterling silver. This is available for purchase on our website.

You can repeat this process as often as needed. The key to keeping your sterling silver clean is to keep up with regular cleanings to remove tarnish as it builds.

Purchase Polishing Cloth

For your daily wearing, we’ve put together this list of tips:

Wear it often: Believe it or not, your skin’s natural oils will help keep silver jewellery shiny. One of the easiest ways to prevent tarnish is to simply wear your silver often as opposed to letting it sit in a jewellery box unworn.
Remove during household chores: Substances with additional sulphur like household cleaners, chlorinated water, perspiration, and rubber will accelerate corrosion and tarnish. It’s a good idea to remove sterling silver completely before cleaning.
Keep out of direct sunlight: Before you hit the beach or pool, be sure to remove your silver jewellery. Sunlight can cause silver to tarnish as well.
Put your jewellery on last: For generations, women have been putting their jewellery on last and that’s for good reason! Lotions, makeups, hair spray and perfumes will accelerate tarnishing.
Baking soda and water: If you come across suggestions to use toothpaste, we highly recommend you ignore that tip and use baking soda and water instead. When toothpastes were simple non-whitening, non-gel based pastes, they could be used on your jewellery. However, they include many more ingredients now that may damage your silver.

Caring for your Jewellery

How to clean your silver jewellery

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