Tips on Caring Your Silver Jewelry

Understanding how to care for and protect your treasured jewelry can make a world of difference in maintaining its beauty and keeping your heirlooms sparkling for generations to come. Owning unique pieces of beautiful silver jewelry is as essential as keeping them clean and untarnished. Please follow these steps to ensure your beautiful jewelry lasts a lifetime and make them shine bright like new!

WEARING

All sterling silver (92.5 pure silver) will tarnish over time due to a process called oxidisation. Tarnishing is not a manufacturing fault. It starts by changing to a yellowish color first then to black.

The reason behind this is that the other metals in the alloy (commonly copper) react with the moisture and sulfur in the air. These bond to the silver chemically and causes discolouration. If your silver is exposed to chemicals, such as perfume, colognes, salty air(humid weather), Sulphur, hairspray, chlorine and acidic skin PH (sweaty skin), it can tarnish even quicker. The amount of tarnishing (oxidation) that occurs is dependent on the skin and care habits of the wearer.

You can avoid it if proper care is given. One main way to prevent tarnish is to store your silver jewelry so that it is not exposed to air.

Please know that most of our silver jewelry are antique or vintage finish; we have given a black oxidized finish and are not meant to be looking brand new. These are part of their charm! As they are completely handcrafted, there may be minor irregularities or imperfections like wax spots, gum residues, spots etc. which are not considered as defects.

Vintage silver is old silver jewelry. They are either completely sourced from rural tribal community or made inhouse using old silver components. 925 stamp won’t  be there for vintage jewelry as purity of silver is 70-80 %. Also, wear and tear or imperfections may be there due to the vintage nature. Please follow same care instructions for vintage silver as well.

Please follow these steps to ensure your beautiful jewelry lasts a lifetime and make them shine bright like new!

• DO NOT store your jewelry in anything other than plastic pouches/zip lock plastic bags
• NEVER store them in leather/ velvet pouch/ cloth pouch as it can fasten the oxidisation process
• Always wear silver jewellery at the end, after you are done applying makeup, perfumes and so on. Avoid spraying perfume or applying creams directly onto your jewelry.
• We recommend removing jewelry when you shower, prior to bed or during sporting activities.
• Keep away from extreme temperatures, humidity and sunlight, and avoid wearing your jewelry when using bleach

STORING

When you remove your jewelry at the end of the day, wipe it off with  jewelry cloth or an old t-shirt. To protect your jewelry, pieces should be individually placed in plastic pouches/zip lock plastic bags to stop them being scratched or tangled. For the best care, store your jewelry pouches in airtight containers. The less the air and light your silver is exposed to when you aren’t wearing it, the less tarnish will occur.

CLEANING

If your product darkens over time due to oxidisation, you need not worry, it is a natural process for silver.

An easy trick you can use is rubbing the metal carefully using an eraser. It will bring back the shine. You can also wipe and clean the jewelry carefully using a solution by Pitambari. “Rooperi Silver shine”, It is a safest option for polishing silver at home. But remember to not use them on gemstones. Since many gemstones are quite delicate, hot water, chemicals and cleaners should be avoided at all times.

*Do not use the above cleaning tricks on gold plated jewelry.

*Removable thread dori if provided should be removed from necklace after wearing and kept separately in plastic pouches as hooks can tarnish faster and spread to necklace. Wipe them with soft cloth after use.

**Although toothpaste might be the most economical and the best for cleaning silver jewelry, it can also be rough and may end up scratching silver items that are more delicate. It is advisable always to test your toothpaste on a small area first, to determine if you’re going to clean your piece of silver jewelry with toothpaste or any household items. Do not use gel tooth paste.

Gemstones
Since many gemstones are quite delicate, hot water, chemicals and cleaners should be avoided at all times.

CHANGING NOSE JEWELLERY:

Always wash your hands with soap before you change nose jewelry to avoid any chances of infections. Then you can warm water or rubbing alcohol to clean the stem of the nose pin/nose clip on.

As nose is very sensitive area, we do not use fake metal jewelry. All our nose pins are made of sterling silver. Keep in plastic pouches after use to avoid oxidisation. If it gets dull, you can use the cleaning tricks mentioned above.

GOLD PLATED JEWELRY CARE:

Gold plating on silver stays for 2 years or more if well cared for. You must keep in air tight containers and avoid exposure to water, sweat or extreme humid condition to maximize its life span. Refer more details above. Re gold plating can be done when plating wears off. We offer free re-polish and repairs for jewelry for first 6 months of purchase, after which you can get re-gold plating at any silver jewellery store near by