Art of Jewelry

Sterling silver jewelry has been a popular commodity for thousands of years. One of the obvious reasons is the affordability over other precious metals gold and platinum. The large variety of sterling silver jewelry requires certain knowledge in order to choose the right piece and also keep it in good condition as long as possible. The followings are the most common questions concerning sterling silver jewelry.

How do I clean sterling silver jewelry?

It depends. Usually, it is sufficient to use a jewelry cloth (with two layers of cloths in different colors) that you can get from a jewelry accessory store. Don’t use any hard object to clean sterling silver jewelry; even paper towel could scratch the surface. You should rub any dirt off using a jewelry cloth, not fingernails. Silver-dip is another commonly used sterling silver jewelry cleaner, which can also be obtained from jewelry store. The entire silver jewelry is immerged in the solution for half a minute to a minute and then rinsed with water. Make sure the silver jewelry is not plated with any other metal before using the silver-dip or the plating will be damaged.

Where do I store sterling silver jewelry?

It is very important to store sterling silver jewelry properly when it is not used. The ideal place to store sterling silver jewelry is cool and away from sunlight. Heat and light will turn a silver jewelry yellow and cause it to tarnish quickly. Even indoor light source like florescent lights or light bulbs turn the color of silver jewelry over time. If you expect not to wear a certain piece for a long time, put it in a air-tight bag and store it in a drawer.

What types of silver jewelry plating are there?

Unlike gold and platinum, however, pure silver is rather unstable and oxides rather quickly. Therefore, silver jewelry is usually plated with another metal to protect it from tarnishing. There are two kinds of plating for silver jewelry: nickel and rhodium plating. Nickel plating has a more whitish look and rhodium plating has a darker look. Rhodium is used to plate white gold and platinum jewelry and is much more expensive than nickel, and it give better protection to the silver underneath. On the other hand, some silver jewelry is not plated. For instance, high polished sterling silver jewelry does not have any plating and the surface is polished by machine to render shininess. Also, “oxidized silver” jewelry is oxidized on purpose to give a dark antique look and is not plated with any other metals.

How do I know the purity of my silver jewelry?

The purity of sterling silver refers to 92.5% of silver in the alloy. In order to confirm the purity, the metal itself has to be sent to a laboratory to be tested. However, most of the sterling silver jewelry produced nowadays has a “925″ stamp to indicate the authenticity of the jewelry. Although there are cases where stamps are forged and the metal is either not silver or the purity is not as stated, they are very rare.

How about engraving and resizing?

Engraving and resizing of sterling silver rings is rather simple due to the ductility and relatively low melting point. However, make sure your jeweler understands the process of refinishing the ring and that they possess the necessary equipment to do so. Not all jewelers have the equipment to recoat the rhodium plating after cutting and welding the ring. Also, rings set with stones are sometimes not resizable because resizing might cause the stones to pop out. Such settings include channel and invisible settings.

Can I wear sterling silver jewelry if I am allergic to nickel?

Yes, just make sure the jewelry is pure sterling silver, not plated with nickel. Even Rhodium plated sterling silver jewelry sometimes contains a nickel layer between the silver and the rhodium to act as an adhesive. Hence, buy only high polished sterling silver jewelry if you are allergic to nickel.

Silver jewelry is simple but beautiful and has been worn for many years by all different types of people. Its low cost is one feature that makes it so attractive to jewelry buyers. Silver jewelry cost considerably less than gold jewelry and the price difference between white gold and silver is even larger. Many of those individuals who enjoy white gold also enjoy silver and for those on a budget this is often the alternative choice in jewelry.

You can expect the price difference between gold jewelry and silver jewelry to be quite drastic. Often you will pay as much as four to five times less for silver jewelry than you would gold jewelry. It should also be pointed out that silver jewelry is easier to wear casually as well.

Silver can go beautifully with the fanciest of dresses or gowns or it can be work with jeans or a simple sun dress. While gold can also be worn either way silver seems to look less tacky when worn casually than gold does.

Silver also has a tendency to enhance almost any skin tone. Gold tends to drowned own the color of skin and make it appear light where as silver makes the skin appear darker and healthier.

Another great thing about silver is that since it is used for jewelry making in so many different cultures you can find pieces in a variety of different styles. This makes for great selection whether your buying the jewelry piece for yourself or for someone else.

Silver jewelry is also very durable and tough although not quite as strong as stainless steal it isn’t very far off. It’s durability comes from the addition of copper. There isn’t much copper added to the mixture but just enough to make the jewelry stronger. Silver without this additional material would be too soft to make jewelry from and the pieces would not last as long as they do with the addition of the copper.

The only slight downfall to purchasing silver jewelry rather than gold or white gold jewelry is that it requires a bit more care in order to keep it looking its best. This is because silver has a tendency after a long time to darken and tarnish. Although some jewelry pieces surprisingly are enhanced by this evidence of aging others may not be.

By keeping silver jewelry polished and cleaned you may be able to prevent this from happening. In the event, though, that your silver jewelry does become tarnished you can follow a simple process to make homemade silver tarnish remover or you can also purchase premade tarnish remover such as Tarn-X. Either way works well but homemade tarnish removers don’t contain any harsh chemicals that may make your skin break out.

The benefits of buying silver jewelry over gold go above and beyond the one downfall. That’s why silver has been being enjoyed for so many years and will continue to be enjoyed for many years to come.

Sangini, Mehrasons Jewellers, Mr. Jewel, Asmi, Desire, Tanishq, Sheetal Diamond and Gold Jewellery, Jagdamba Pearls and Gold are some of the names which are spoken of every day in Indian Households. These are the names of some of the most famous Indian Jewellers selling Ethnic Indian and New Age Jewellery. Local famous names include Jaipur Jewellers, Chanson Jewellers, P.C. Jewellers and Meenakshi Jewellers which are among the most famous ones. Earrings, pendants, mangalsutras, bracelets, chains, rings, bangles, necklace, sets are among some of the famous Indian Jewelery which are sold by these famous names. Designs of these differ from local designs to world famous designs. From local nakkashi and historical designs made on these pieces of gold, these gold jewellery pieces also include the most modern designs to suit the working women and men of today. The traditional designs include those from the era of Mughal period a shot of which can be seen in the Indian Movie “Jodha Akbar” where the designs were exclusively made from the designs of Mugha Emperor and His Queens showcase of Jewelery. Such designs though heavy are sold with prominence everywhere. Others include the new age designs which are exclusively made for the working class. Light weight and often a mix of Indian and European designs these suit best those who work in offices yet do not want to be behind in class and fashion jewelry. Fashion Jewellery or Ethnic Jewellery, Gold has a charm which even surpasses the diamond jewellery in many ways. Ranging from as low as Rs 3000/- (local make) to as high as lakhs of rupees these are the best assets in bad times too. In India, people often buy gold jewellery to sell it in bad times apart from as fashion accessory. Moreover, exchanged in marriages and other big Indian festivals these are often a tradition rather than just a piece of jewellery. These days one also buys Gold Jewellery from online shopping portals which are easy to access. These online shopping portals not only give genuine gold with Gold Purity Certification but also the ease of home delivery. To know more about such portals, just log on to their website.