Silver is still one of the most popular precious metal to be used in the jewelry industry. A lot of jewelry designers went back to using silver in their one-of-a kind designs and a lot of women get to enjoy these beautiful creations. We want to keep silver's lustrous glow forever but even the best of silver, 925 sterling will tarnish over time. There are no one way to completely prevent silver from tarnishing but with the right method and care, we can enjoy our silver jewelry for a much longer time.
Try the following methods:
When you see a light yellow tarnish appearing on the silver, try a liquid, non-abrasive, and unscented aloe-free hand sanitizer, such as Purell. Use a large cotton ball and rotate it regularly to expose unused surfaces, as the tarnish can be very abrasive. Then dry the jewelry with a soft cotton dish cloth.
Ionic cleaners such as Speed-Brite works well on chains. One of the most effective chemical methods which you can do it yourself at home is as follows:
Use an aluminium surface which could be a flat surface, foil, sometimes you can wrap around the object with holes poked in it. Begin by placing the object on the aluminium surface. Make a mixture of simmering water and electrolyte salts. The aluminium is attacked and the sulfur is removed, returning the silver to metal on the surface of the object. It takes only a few minutes.
The easiest way to prevent tarnish is to wipe silver jewelry after every use with a clean soft "silver cloth" and store them in sealed bags or drawers with anti-tarnish strips. An old-fashioned approach is to store jewelry in a drawer or box with camphor or a small bag of activated charcoal! You can also wrap silver jewelry in "silver cloth", a cloth interwoven with silver that absorbs the sulfur first, therefore protecting the object inside from tarnish for a long period of time.
