How to Care for your Designer Inspired Sterling Silver Jewelry
from the team at TheDazzleDames.com

From TheDazzleDames.com: Our Tips On the Care of Your Sterling Silver Jewelry
Sterling Silver is a beautiful metal that "out shines" most jewelry, even gold, any day! But it tarnishes and needs a quick clean-up. Cleaning silver is not difficult at all, and it only takes a minute or two, that's it! It can be done in a few short steps. Because of this, knock yourself out and don't hesitate to adorn yourself in beautiful sterling silver jewelry including our fabulous designer inspired sterling silver jewelry! We're sure you'll love our fabulous designer style silver bracelets, silver rings, silver earrings and really, just everything we carry and how it all looks on you! Now, lets return to the care of your sterling silver jewelry: When silver is exposed to the outside environment a slight chemical reaction takes place which causes the silver to tarnish. The sterling silver tarnishes sometimes a little and other times much more. Generally speaking, the more humid the climate, the faster silver will tarnish. But please don't worry, if you take care of your sterling silver rings and other silver jewelry, they all can and will last a lifetime!

Cleaning Your Fine Sterling Silver Jewelry
To keep your designer inspired sterling silver jewelry clean and ready to wear use a soft and smooth, preferably 100% cotton cloth and softly wipe each piece of sterling silver jewelry clean of make-up and skin oils after each wearing. Remember sterling silver jewelry is made from a relatively soft metal and you can scratch it if you aren't careful so don't rub it too vigorously. Always use a clean 100% cotton or a special sterling silver cleaning cloth. Depending on the piece of fine sterling silver jewelry or sterling silver gemstone jewelry, and, if necessary, use a very soft bristle brush, like a babies tooth brush or a horsehair silver brush. Rub with a lengthwise motion, never clean in a circular motion because this may cause visible scratches or rubbing marks. Many lovers of fine sterling silver jewelry will actually leave the tarnish in the deep crevices to enhance the look of the piece. We have heard of people using toothpaste to clean and polish their sterling silver, but silver experts warn against this method because they say that toothpaste is too abrasive and leaves scratches. However, whichever cleaner you choose to clean your sterling silver jewelry, be sure to remove any cleaner from the silver gemstone jewelry and rinse the sterling silver gemstone jewelry piece with clean water. If your piece has an antique finish, be careful not to remove these antique finishes or darkened areas on silver because sterling silver jewelry polish can remove the antique finish, color or so called "patina".

When Your Fine Sterling Silver Jewelry Tarnishes
At first, tarnish appears as a golden haze on your sterling silver jewelry and then it turns black. Its important to store your sterling silver jewelry in the proper places. If your silver jewelry does turn black, you can always clean it to its lustrous shine in a few seconds. Silver tarnish is caused by oxidation and moisture from the air. Too much sunshine can also make silver tarnish. Our DazzleDames designer inspired sterling silver jewelry is often finished with rhodium giving it the appearance of platinum and is generally regarded as a high quality tarnish resistant finish. It is also acceptable to clean silver with mild dish detergent in warm water, using a soft toothbrush to clean stones. Simply wearing your jewelry helps prevent, or at least slow, the oxidation process keeping your jewelry looking new. To prevent scratches, silver jewelry can be stored in cloth pouches, small "zip lock" bags, or in separate soft lined compartments in your favorite sterling silver jewelry box.

Storing Your Fine Sterling Silver Jewelry
You should store your sterling silver jewelry from TheDazzleDames.com as well as other silver jewelry away from open air and humidity. These environmental factors will cause your sterling silver jewelry to tarnish faster than usual. Store your sterling silver jewelry in tarnish prevention cloths or bags. Zip lock bags are great and do a good job keeping your jewelry looking shiny and new. The treated sterling silver jewelry cleaning cloth slows down the tarnishing process and keeps your designer inspired sterling silver jewelry from rubbing against harder jewelry, especially silver gemstone jewelry, that can scratch it.