Jewellery is an investment in your wardrobe, it is gifted to commemorate special occasions or milestones, it is rarely bought on a whim, usually being lusted after and saved up for and sometimes it is passed down through generations. However, it can easy to neglect these treasures when they’re not our everyday pieces. When left for long periods of time, our beloved jewellery rewards our neglect with a jewellery lovers worst enemy, tarnish!
What is tarnish?
If you own and love, silver jewellery, you’ll know exactly what we mean when we say tarnish. That annoying discolouration or dirty appearance on the surface of your pieces. Tarnishing is the process of oxidisation of metal, it starts to happen over time when your pieces come into contact with chemicals like sulphur, ammonia and natural oils in your skin, then left exposed to oxygen, but thankfully, it’s only to the surface!
Fortunately, there are plenty of tips and tricks you can use to care for Silver and Gold. Instead of using harsh and abrasive chemicals to clean tarnish, you can opt for eco-friendly cleaning choices and we’re going to share some of easiest ways with you. Get ready to refresh your jewellery!
Preventative Care
Before we make some suggestions of how to bring your prices back to life we thought it would be helpful to share some ideas for how to avoid tarnish all together.
Wear your jewellery!
Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, wearing your jewellery as often as you can will help you avoid tarnish. How so? Your skin produces natural oils that seem to clean the metal as it rubs and touches the skin, keeping it looking bright and shiny. However, this same oil will cause tarnish when jewellery is left unworn for long periods of time, so the best way to stop your Silver tarnishing is to wear it!
Avoid chemicals & cosmetics
To avoid tarnish, it is best to keep your jewellery out of contact with household chemicals, chlorine, or any substances containing sulphur, phosphates or ammonia and rubber. We recommend not wearing your silver jewellery when doing chores involving chemical cleaners.
Perfumes, skin lotions, hair spray, other hair products and even perspiration can also cause Silver to tarnish. We recommend you get fully dressed before putting on your jewellery, leave the best until last, like the icing on a cake!
Similarly, exposure to sunlight can cause silver to tarnish, so don’t store your jewellery in sunlight and possibly even take off your silver jewellery before swimming & sunbathing.
Storage is key!
The most common cause of your jewellery tarnishing is simply exposure to air. So one of the easiest ways to prevent tarnish is to store Silver in airtight baggies, even better to include anti-tarnish strips if possible. Although we prefer to avoid plastic in all aspects of life, in this regard it is unrivalled as far as we know (please let us know if you have alternatives!) Make sure you store your jewellery pieces separately to avoid scratching and chains tangling. The storage area should be dry and with low humidity, adding a piece of chalk or activated charcoal can also help minimise tarnish.
Cleaning
Polishing cloth
If your jewellery is stored in a jewellery box or other exposed area, regularly using a polishing cloth can keep them looking shiny. We recommend every jewellery lover has a polishing cloth to hand, you can buy one from us here or in large supermarkets.
You could also use a microfiber, lint-free flannel, or any other soft nonabrasive cloth to polish your pieces. As far as metals go, Silver is relatively soft, which means it can easily become scratched so don’t be too vigorous with your polishing and do not use tissues or paper towels.
We do not plate our jewellery but just a tip for polishing plated jewellery - long term, polishing will wear away the plating and reveal the metal underneath, so be careful!
Silver dip cleaner
Sometimes you need something a little more heavy duty and easily available. You can buy dip cleaners in large supermarkets. But please note that they can be too harsh for some types jewellery especially pieces with Gemstones and Pearls, the solution can severely damage them, always read the instructions.
Washing up liquid
It seems very rudimental but a mild washing up liquid can be a great DIY cleaner for a variety of jewellery including Silver, Diamonds, and even delicate Pearls. Just make sure it does not contain chemicals, such as ammonia or phosphates.
Simply mix the liquid with some warm water and dampen a soft cloth in the solution. Gently rub the pieces with the solution and rinse thoroughly in cool water. If you want to clean in deep texture or around Diamonds, which can become grubby when worn daily, you could use a soft bristle brush, like a bamboo tooth brush.
Gemstones are very delicate and need to be treated with extra care. Stones like Rubies and Sapphires can withstand soapy water when you want to clean them, others cannot so make sure to check the stone type before cleaning.
When cleaning Pearls this way, bear in mind that you should only dip them in soapy water for short periods of time, leaving them submerged or scrubbing them vigorously can damage them, dry them with a soft cloth immediately after cleaning.
Vinegar
Another DIY cleaner, vinegar can help to bring your Gold and Silver jewellery back to life.
Fill a small bowl with vinegar and place your Gold jewellery in it. Leave it submerged for no more than 20 minutes, use a soft bristle brush to get at any stubborn grime, then rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft cloth. Do not exceed 20 minutes or the vinegar could damage your Gold.
Your Silver pieces will need a little bit more than vinegar alone, dampen a cloth with vinegar and baking soda, then rub it onto the surface.
Never use vinegar on Gemstones or Pearls as it can damage them!
Baking Soda
Baking soda is probably the most commonly used eco-friendly cleaner for a variety of tasks in your home. It is great for cleaning jewellery too, especially if your pieces need a deeper clean.
Dampen a cloth, rub it into some baking soda, then gently polish your Silver with it. It can also be used on Gold, Sprinkle some baking soda onto the Gold, gently rub it, leave for a few minutes then thoroughly wash it off.
To get into the crevices of detailed pieces or behind stones, create a thin paste with basking soda and a small amount of water. Use a clean, soft-bristled toothbrush with the paste to get into even the smallest parts.
Baking Soda is our preferred method of cleaning so we thought we would demonstrate it for you!
Step by step
All you’ll need is: a ceramic or glass bowl, 1 tablespoon of Baking Soda, tin foil and boiling water. Optional soft bristle bamboo toothbrush.
Step 1: Line your bowl with some tin foil, shiny side up. Add your Silver jewellery making sure it is touching the foil.
Step 2: Add a tablespoon of baking soda, then pour in the boiling water, making sure it is just enough to fully submerge your jewellery.
Step 3: Watch it fizz! You will probably see results straight away but the whole process could take 10 minutes or more depending on how tarnished the pieces were, we recommend you keep a close eye on them in the solution. As the tarnish lifts it can cause a sulphur smell, unpleasant, but totally normal.
Gemstones like Diamonds, Rubies and Sapphires will be fine to clean this way. After a few minutes, simply take them it out, rinse and dry them with a cloth. Be careful not to submerge Pearls or other porous gemstones for too long, or at all if possible.
Step 4: Remove your jewellery and rinse thoroughly with water, allow the pieces to dry on a clean soft cloth. If a more intensive clean is needed, or you’re cleaning around stones use a soft toothbrush with a baking soda paste.
No-one should feel dismayed about their jewellery when it is in need of cleaning. Caring for your pieces with DIY eco-friendly substances is an easy way to keep them shining. We recommend you regularly check your jewellery for tarnish and clean them before it gets too bad. We want you to love your pieces forever, a little bit of care goes a long way.
If you try this at home be sure to tag us on Instagram or share your stories with us, we would love to see!
If you have any tips or tricks for cleaning jewellery you think we should know about, do let us know below!
