The Care and Cleaning of Sterling Silver Jewelry

With proper care, sterling silver jewelry will last for generations. Strong and beautiful, affordable, hypoallergenic, and fashionable, it can be polished to a lustrous sheen no other metal can match. With minimal care, it can be worn often.

Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. Fine silver (99.9%) is too soft to resist much wear, so manufacturers add other metals to increase its strength and durability. Silver does not react with oxygen or water at normal temperatures, but the added metal may react with oxygen and other substances, tarnishing the finish, first creating a yellow tinge, and over time, a black residue on the surface of the silver. The higher silver content the piece has, the less chance that it will tarnish. Many manufacturers will plate their silver jewelry with rhodium, which is a member of the platinum family. Rhodium plating produces a shiny, long-lasting finish which resists tarnishing, scratching, and corrosion.

The best way to keep your silver jewelry lustrous is to simply wash it in a phosphate-free detergent and warm water after each wearing, and dry the piece thoroughly with a soft cloth (never paper). Eyeglass cloths are excellent for this purpose. Your jewelry may be stored in an airtight zip-lock polyethylene bag or an anti-tarnish cloth or bag; jewelry chests with anti-tarnish linings are also available. Never store your sterling silver jewelry in newspaper, plastic cling wrap, or cardboard boxes that are not archival, as this will cause the finish to tarnish rapidly.

Remove your jewelry before using any product that contains bleach, ammonia, acetone (in many nail polish removers), or turpentine, and before swimming in chlorinated water. These chemicals will break down the alloys in the metal and may leave the surface with pits or a dull finish. Avoid direct contact with perfumes and lotions as they may also affect the finish.