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Six common questions about sterling silver jewelry Six common questions about sterling silver jewelry
Author: Greg Peterson
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.
Greg Peterson got his MBA from MIT business school and is now working as marketing manager for jewelry businesses featuring http://www.samsoneinc.com wholesale silver hip hop jewelry.
Article Source: http://www.article99.com
10 Things You Shouldn't Buy New (In Other Words. . . Retail) 10 things you shouldn't buy newWhy
waste money on shiny packaging and a fancy store when you can find it
online and 'pre-owned' for a fraction of the cost? Here are your best
buys. Few
people really enjoy wasting their hard-earned money, but many of us do
it every day by buying new. We could do our pocketbooks, and the
environment, a big favor by opting to be the second owner of some of
the stuff we buy. Obviously, some things are best purchased new; lingerie pops to mind (see my companion piece, "10 things you should never buy used"
for more). But lots of other stuff depreciates quickly while still
having plenty of useable life left. Here are 10 items where the cost
vs. use equation strongly tilts toward buying used. But
the reality is that most books don't get read more than once, if that,
and they're astonishingly easy to find used at steep discounts -- if
not absolutely free. Your local library, for example, may allow
you to reserve titles online and then deliver them to your nearest
branch for pick-up. Used book stores abound, both in your town and
online. If you're looking for a potboiler to get you through your next
cross-country flight, just stop by almost any yard sale and pick up
four for $1. Exception: Reference books you'll use
again and again. For example, I bought a deeply-discounted copy of
Cheryl Mendelson's excellent "Home Comforts." That was after checking
the book out at the library and running up a small fortune in fines
because I couldn't bear to part with it. - DVDs and CDs. Some online retailers, like MSN Shopping
and Amazon.com, now surface used versions of many of the DVD movies
they sell new. You can find similar deals for online CDs (yes,
Virginia, some of us dinosaurs still buy CDs). Other good hunting
grounds for purchase of used items: movie rental chains like
Blockbuster; used record stores; yard sales.
Exception: When
you simply must have the latest release by your favorite
singer/director/actor, right now. It can take a few days or weeks for
the used versions to show up, and perhaps a few months for the price to
get discounted enough to compensate for the greater hassle you might
face trying to return a defective or unsatisfactory purchase. - Little kids' toys.
Parents know: it's all but impossible to predict which toy will be a
hit and which will lie forlorn at the bottom of the toy box. So
Click to read more
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