Silver Care

The following information applies to our solid Sterling Silver products.

Solid Gold Jewellery rarely discolours. Washing in hot water with a drop of Fairy liquid is the best way to keep Gold Jewellery Clean. You can also use a lens cloth to wipe occasionally.

We do not compromise on quality. All our Silver products are made of premium grade Solid 925 Sterling Silver.

Silver Tarnish

There are many reasons why silver can tarnish such as Humidity, oily skin, cosmetics or even contact with wool.

Should your silver item tarnish, we recommend using Goddard's Silver Dip available at most major Supermarkets and costs around £2.50 This stuff really works wonders and will bring all your silver jewellery back to its original colour.

For more information, please do a Google search on silver tarnish or read our detailed information below.

In very simple language, silver tarnish is the discoloration that occurs on silver jewellery or even other articles made from sterling silver. Your favourite silver ring or your expensive sterling silver tea set could all be tarnished.

What Is Silver Tarnish? Silver jewellery when new looks bright and gorgeous. Over a period of time the same silver jewellery starts to show changes in colour and turns from a yellowish tint to deep yellow and even black. This is called the tarnishing of silver and is a natural process. The notion that silver tarnish only occurs with silver jewellery made from low purity silver is not correct.

What Causes Silver To Tarnish? The presence of Hydrogen Sulphide in any material that silver comes into contact with, is one of the prime reasons for silver tarnish. Sulphur containing materials generally cause silver to tarnish and Hydrogen Sulphide is just one of these. Materials like wool, rubber bands, and fuels derived from fossils, a few types of paints and rubber (latex) gloves are some of the common materials that cause tarnishing of silver. Certain foods like eggs and onions also hasten the silver tarnish process. You can therefore realise that, touching silver jewellery with oily hands or after a meal could also stain your silver jewellery with tarnish. The extent and speed with which your silver jewellery tarnishes is also related to the climate and in general, high humidity would result in silver tarnishing much faster.

Cleaning Silver Tarnish: It is best and easiest to clean tarnished silver in the first stages. Tarnish on silver will start with a mild colour change to yellowish spots or patches and this is easily cleaned by washing the jewellery with a detergent that does not contain any phosphate based chemicals. If your silver jewellery is washed often in this way, you will rarely need any harsher treatments for silver tarnish. When you wash your silver jewellery be careful to avoid getting the jewellery scratched or dented due to being rubbed or hit against the sink or water tap.

In more severe cases of silver tarnish, the tarnish changes to a darkish brown and sometimes to a black colour. Silver polishes are available to remove tarnish stains from silver jewellery.

When selecting a silver polish keep a few points in mind. (a) Rely on well known brands and do not be taken up by low prices or big claims by small name merchandise. A well known brand will provide clear information regarding the way to use the polish and also the suitability of the polish for various uses. (b) Do not use polish that is old and dried up, as the abrasiveness of such polishes will be very high and would destroy the silver jewellery instead of helping remove the tarnish. (c) Silver polishes that are less abrasive are better than more abrasive silver polishes even if, the more abrasive polish provides silver tarnish protection. In general, polishes that are meant to be washed off are less abrasive as compared to those that need to be applied and left.

Do not use toothpaste to polish tarnished silver jewellery. The baking soda or other ingredients in toothpaste could prove to be too abrasive for your silver jewellery with tarnish.

Removing silver tarnish with chemical dips provides a quick way to dissolve the tarnish on silver. If your silver jewellery is tarnished with a heavy black tarnish, polishes and pastes will not be effective in removing the tarnish. This is where chemical dips can prove useful. When using chemical dips to remove silver tarnish ensure that the room is well ventilated and that the liquid is far away from your eyes. Ideally chemical dips should be used only by professional restorers, using too much of the liquid can destroy your silver jewellery and cause it to have pits due to corrosion. Tables, ivory wear, and even stainless steel can be damaged with these chemical dips. Most of these dips advise the user to wear suitable gloves when working with the dip, ensure that you follow the recommended procedures.

Can Silver Tarnish Be Eliminated Or Slowed Down? It would be best to believe that silver tarnish could be slowed down and not eliminated altogether. There is a golden rule for wearing jewellery and it holds true for both silver and gold jewellery. The rule says that '.... your jewellery should be the last thing that you put on before going out. It should also be the first thing to be taken off when you get back home......' Ingredients in cosmetics like powder packs, hair sprays etc can cause your silver jewellery to tarnish easily. Wash your silver jewellery with a phosphate free detergent before storing the jewellery. This practice will protect your silver jewellery from tarnishing and rarely require you to perform any tarnish cleaning processes.