5 ways to clean your jewelry

What should you do to clean your tarnished jewelry and why do they tarnish in the first place? Jewelry cleaning can be done easily and safely at your home!

At www.emmanuela.gr  we emphasize quality craftsmanship and high aesthetics and all our creations are made with 925 silver and precious metals, nevertheless, because all jewelry is beautiful, we will give you tips on how to clean your costume jewelry and keep it beautiful, whether it is "real" or "fake"!

"Tarnishing" on silver jewelry

Silver jewelry is not significantly affected by external factors except that it "tarnishes" periodically - when not rhodium plated or gold plated - forming stains, which at an early stage are very easily removed with a soft cloth and a little rubbing. If our silver jewelry has "tarnished" a lot, we use a liquid cleaner for silver items, those widely available on the market. The "tarnishing" is due to surface oxidation caused by the contact of silver with sulfur present in the air of the atmosphere.

We must be very careful when using liquids for polishing, as it is possible that other elements of our jewelry, such as semi-precious stones, corals, and pearls, may discolor.
We carefully clean only the silver surfaces with a soft cotton cloth, which we have first moistened with the cleaning liquid. We rub with horizontal or vertical movements and not circular ones.

Below are tips to clean your jewelry!

Toothpaste? Probably not...

The well-known advice that to polish silver well we use toothpaste is not so wise, since toothpastes contain abrasive agents that ultimately cause faster "tarnishing." For this reason, this polishing practice is not recommended.

The "rules" of silver...

Like all jewelry, to keep silver always shiny and beautiful like new, we must follow some rules:

• We never wear them when we are sweaty, swimming, exercising, or doing intense manual work, as pool chlorine, moisture, and sweat salts are enemies of silver, while silver can easily be scratched by small impacts and altered by pressure.

• We make sure to apply first the cosmetic products we use (makeup, perfume, hairspray, creams, etc.) and then wear our silver jewelry. Silver should not come into contact with the chemicals and acids contained in these products.

• It is good to clean our silver jewelry with a soft cotton cloth after each use. Even better to wash them with lukewarm water and a little soap. After drying them well with careful wiping, we store them separately from our other jewelry. This way we remove the corrosive agents that adhere to them.

• We store them in airtight plastic bags, preferably those that "seal" and isolate the contents, preventing contact with air.

• We place them separately from other jewelry or hard objects that might scratch the silver surface.

• We store them in a place where light does not "see" them.

Finally, special strips or fabrics with anti-corrosive action for silver are available on the market. We can place them in the areas where we store our jewelry to protect them from corrosion, long-term and more effectively.