Five Cheap Tricks To Store Your Silver Jewellery
Once you have purchased some lovely new silver jewellery, your next problem is to find the best storage method. Incorrectly storing silver can cause it to lose its lustre and be damaged at worst.
Avoid wearing fine silver jewellery while cooking, fitness, swimming or doing any housework. You should also stay away from extreme exposure to heat and light, because silver and gems may fade or discolour.
Why does silver tarnish?
The tarnish on pure silver jewellery is the result of oxidation reaction with sulfur (such as hydrogen sulfide) in the air and environment (most nickel or copper alloys in pure silver also undergo their own oxidation reaction). The corrosion of silver and sulfur causes blackening, which is called tarnish. Therefore, before storing, make sure that the jewellery is clean and dry. Because any moisture, dirt, oil or other residual chemicals will accelerate the tarnishing.
However, you don't have to spend a lot of time or money to store beautiful silver.
There are five simple, cheap tips to keep your silver in good condition.
Clean the jewellery before storing it
sweat tends to cause corruption because it absorbs moisture and may cause discolouration. Therefore, it is very important to wipe off all sweat from the jewellery and store it in a concealed boxes. Ideally, store them in a jewellery box with multiple slots or store them separately in the box to avoid scratches.
Use anti-tarnish paper or cloth
A good way to store valuable silver jewellery is to wrap the jewellery in a soft cloth (such as muslin) to keep it shiny and prevent discolouration. You can also use anti-tarnish paper or tissue paper to wrap each piece of jewellery. Do not wrap them in newspapers.
It’s amazing how many people don’t realize this and wrap their silver in newspapers and rubber bands! Before, I was shocked by how quickly my silver would tarnish, until I found out that it was caused by the newspaper I was wrapping it in. It is better to store the jewellery in an anti-tarnish cloth or bag. This can more safely avoid scratches, damage and tarnishing.
Anti-tarnish wooden box
Store your silver jewellery in an airtight box or anti-tarnish wooden box to keep it longer. Watch out for uncoated wooden storage boxes, especially oak, because they will change the colour of silver faster! Although tarnishing is not the end of the world, it can be painful to remove it, and polishing or abrasive polishing too frequently can cause scratches or wear.
Silica gel or activated charcoal
Put your hands on a small bag of silica gel or some activated charcoal and store them in the box with the silver jewellery. They play a magical role in absorbing moisture, thereby prevents tarnishing.
Organise properly
Do not put two different types of jewellery in one box. It is very important to store your jewellery in a separate jewellery box or a fixed container to prevent them from being scratched and broken.
Silver storage is really not that complicated, is it? The best part is that most of these items are very affordable! Little preventive measures will keep your silver jewellery in good condition for the rest of your life.