If you love your sterling silver jewellery as much as we do, you’ve probably wondered what the best way is to take care of your beloved pieces so that you can continue to wear them for as long as possible. How do you keep sterling silver from tarnishing? And how do you clean and store your silver jewellery properly?

Our sterling silver care guide will answer all your questions and explain how to care for sterling silver rings, necklaces, bracelets, hair jewellery, brooches, and earrings, the right way. But first, it’s important for you to understand why silver jewellery tends to tarnish after a while.

What causes sterling silver jewellery to tarnish?

All silver jewellery pieces will tarnish over time. When a piece of jewellery tarnishes, it will start getting a blue or brown colour. This occurs due to a chemical reaction known as oxidisation. It can be caused by a number of different chemicals, including sulfur, chlorine, moisture and even your own skin’s PH level.

The use of certain cosmetic products might also have an effect on the colour of your jewellery pieces as silver can react with the chemicals in these products and as a result, produce oxides, which create the darker colour. In other words, there are many factors in your everyday life that can cause your jewellery to tarnish and change colour, which makes it almost impossible to avoid.

Luckily, there are ways to remove tarnish and clean your sterling silver jewellery. And with gentle care, you are able to slow down the process and stop your sterling silver jewellery from tarnishing, ensuring that your precious jewellery pieces always retain their beauty and shine.

How to prevent sterling silver jewellery from tarnishing

If you’re wondering how to keep your sterling silver jewellery from tarnishing, keep reading – we’ll explain some of the best ways to do exactly that. Even though it is nearly impossible to stop sterling silver from tarnishing completely, there are some things you can do to help slow down the process.

The best way to prevent silver jewellery from tarnishing is to avoid having it come into contact with liquids and chemicals, such as perfumes, ammonia, sea water, chorine, hair spray, and moisturizers etc. as contact with these chemicals will increase the rate of tarnishing. It's best to always apply your body, beauty, and haircare products before you put on your jewellery.

In addition to these types of products, also avoid using any cleaning products while wearing your jewellery. Again, the chemicals in most household cleaning products could stain or tarnish your jewellery. To further enhance the life of your jewellery, we also recommend cleaning your sterling silver jewellery regularly, as well as storing your jewellery properly.

What is the best way to store sterling silver jewellery?

Knowing how to store sterling silver jewellery the right way is incredibly important to protect and prevent your jewellery pieces from tarnishing. When you’re not wearing your jewellery, we recommend wrapping it in a soft cotton cloth, tissue paper or a fabric pouch.

Try to wrap and store your jewellery pieces separately so that they can’t rub against each other. This will help protect your jewellery from scratches and decrease the chances of it tarnishing. To further slow down the oxidization process, we also suggest keeping your jewellery in an airtight box or container.

How to clean sterling silver jewellery with a cleaning product

Even if you take exceptionally good care of your jewellery, there is still a possibility that it might tarnish over time. Fortunately, there are ways for you to clean sterling silver necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings, and remove the tarnishing effect from your pieces. We believe that the best way to clean sterling silver jewellery is with a professional jewellery cleaning product.

By carefully buffing your pieces with a silver jewellery cloth or by using a silver cleaning product like a silver dip, you can easily remove tarnish. Simply dip your jewellery into the liquid and within a few seconds, you will notice the tarnish disappearing. Once it’s completely gone, take your jewellery out of the liquid, rinse it thoroughly under running water, and then dry it with a soft cotton cloth.

It’s very important to make sure you rinse and dry your items properly so that no residual cleaning solution stays behind as this could react with the jewellery and cause it to tarnish again. If you don’t have a professional cleaning product to use, don’t worry! We’ll explain how you can clean your jewellery at home with common household products.

How to clean sterling silver jewellery at home

To clean your sterling silver jewellery at home without a professional cleaning product, start by combining two tablespoons of baking soda with half a cup of warm white vinegar. Place your jewellery items in this mixture and let it soak for 30 minutes.

After that, you can remove your jewellery, rinse your items under running water and dry them with a soft cotton cloth. When cleaning your jewellery at home, avoid using any brushes or other abrasive materials to clean your items. These materials could end up scratching the surface of your jewellery pieces, which might change the appearance of your pieces.

Important note: If you are cleaning one of Rana Mikdashi’s handcrafted jewellery pieces that are either oxidised or have hand-etched finishes, please avoid rubbing the jewellery pieces with a cleaning cloth, as this might affect or alter the finish on the surface of the piece.

Our top sterling silver jewellery care tips

Now that you know exactly how to take care of sterling silver jewellery, how to keep silver jewellery from tarnishing, how to clean it and how to store silver jewellery, you’ll be able to enjoy your valuable pieces for many more years to come.

Here’s a summary of some of the most important tips for taking care of sterling silver jewellery: 

• Avoid contact with liquids, chemicals, moisture, and extreme temperatures.
• Always protect your jewellery from sharp blows, bumps, or scratches.
• Clean your silver jewellery pieces regularly by using a professional cleaning product or a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar.
• Keep your jewellery safe by storing it individually in a soft cloth or pouch and in an airtight container.
• Put your jewellery on after you’re done getting dressed, and just before you leave the house.