Knowing how to care for your sterling silver charms and other pieces of beautiful jewellery is essential if they’re to last you for the rest of your life… and the good news is that it isn’t particularly hard to do! With just a little bit of tender loving care, your accessories will stand the test of time and continue to bring sparkle to your life for years to come.
As an alloyed metal (which means that it’s a mixture of various elements), silver can tarnish quite quickly if you’re not careful, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone the way of the ghost and it’s very easy indeed to rescue your jewellery if it does look a little dirty or if the colour appears to have darkened in places.
In fact, there are various ways you can help prevent tarnishing from happening in the first place, such as by not wearing your jewellery when doing chores around the house, since cleaning products can cause discoloration, tarnish and corrosion.
Also store your accessories in a soft cloth bag or jewellery box when you’re not wearing them, so they’re not tarnished by sunlight.
When it comes to cleaning, all you really need is a bit of soap and water, and a microfibre cloth (which won’t scratch the metal). You can also use a soft toothbrush to get into the little nooks and crannies that are hard to reach - but avoid using toothpaste, as this can cause problems of its own.
Baking powder and water is also another way to keep your jewellery clean, applying a small amount of the mixture to a cloth and giving your accessories a gentle going-over. And that’s all that needs to be done!
If you would prefer to buy something to clean your jewellery we recommend Connoisseurs Jewellers Wipes, they do an excellent job and a box will last a long time.
Check out some of the latest jewellery trends for summer over on Who What Wear!