Precautions to be taken in buying silver jewelry

Generally rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and pendants are made of silver. Silver jewelry could be purchased as standard Sterling silvery jewelry without any stones, natural crystals Sterling silver jewelry containing quartz, apatite, tanzanite and iolite. Silver jewelry containing organic gems and semi precious stones are also available. Normally, silver jewelry is made from 92.5% pure silver mixed with 7.5% copper and is termed as ‘Sterling silver jewelry,’ or ‘925 silver jewelry, or ‘.925 Sterling silver jewelry.’

Buying silver jewelry could be done from standard designs or custom-made silver jewelry. Silver jewelry comes in various styles, representing different periods or cultures, like Edwardian, Victorian, Italian, Indian, Thai, etc. Silver jewelry also comes in different varies like citrine silver jewelry, garnet silver jewelry, iolite silver jewelry, lapis silver jewelry, pearl silver jewelry, etc.

Many women prefer buying silver jewelry as it costs much less than gold or platinum jewelry. However, certain precautions must be taken for proper maintenance of silver jewelry. Even though certain dip solutions are advertised as most suitable for cleaning silver jewelry, it would be advisable not to use them. Dip cleaners definitely work on the first few occasions. However, prolonged use of these solutions changes the color of silver jewelry. The solutions take away the original look of the silver jewelry. The stones in the silver jewelry would also be severely damaged by these solutions.

Using toothpaste or toothbrush on silver jewelry is also wrong because they tend to scratch the silver jewelry. Soft polishing cloth is the most ideal for cleaning silver jewelry. Such cloth is usually treated with safe cleaning chemicals and would keep the silver jewelry with the original shine. Continuous wearing also keeps the silver jewelry shiny and polished. This slows down the oxidation that makes the silver jewelry become tarnished. Hence, it would be better to wear them on a regular basis, instead of keeping them for special occasions. Scratches should be avoided and silver jewelry should be stored in cloth pouches, while keeping it in boxes.

Silver jewelry should always be bought only from reputed shops. Most Sterling silver jewelry is signed or marked. The identity of the maker is also normally etched on the silver jewelry. Further, it would be advisable to ask the shop to provide written authenticity about the silver jewelry. If the shop refuses or hesitates in providing this, it would be better not to purchase silver jewelry from that shop. Silver goes well with any type of dress and buying silver jewelry should definitely be on your agenda.

Richard Hedley is the author of this article on Buying Silver Jewelry.