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Pearl Care
Pearls are the world's only organic gem and are composed of calcium carbonate. This means special attention is required to ensure pearls will stay beautiful and last a lifetime. Quality pearls are durable, but proper care is necessary to keep them beautiful and lustrous.

Pearls Require Special Care
Because pearls are an organic gemstone, they are somewhat different from other gemstones and precious metals. They are softer and more delicate, and they can therefore be more easily scratched, cracked, and damaged. In addition, substances such as perfume and hair spray -and even natural body oils and perspiration -can dull pearls' luster or cloud their brilliance. For these reasons, your pearls may require a bit of special care. Keep pearls away from chlorine bleach, vinegar, ammonia, hairspray, perfume, and cosmetics, as these substances will damage the pearl surface.

Be Careful With Cosmetics And Your Pearls
Make sure to put pearls on after you have finished spraying perfume or hairspray and putting on makeup. Also, remove pearls before exercising to keep them away from perspiration, this way, you can minimize the amount of these products that comes into contact with the pearls. Be very careful with substances as they will eat holes in the pearl nacre. After wearing your pearls, wipe them with a soft damp cloth to remove any traces of cosmetic products or body oils. Wash pearls periodically with mild soap (NOT detergent) and a soft cloth. When finished washing the pearls, rinse them in clean water and wrap them in a thin, damp cotton towel to dry. If the pearls are especially dirty, wipe the pearl with acetone polish remover. Acetone will not hurt pearls. DO NOT use jewellery cleaners with ammonia or vinegar in them.

Store Your Pearls Separately
Because of their delicacy, pearls should be stored separately, away from other objects or jewellery that may scratch or damage the pearls’ surface. If possible, store them wrapped in soft cloth, linen or in a soft-lined container, pouch, or jewellery box. Do NOT store pearls in an airtight package such as a plastic bag because pearls need moisture. If the environment is too dry, the pearls may crack. If placing the pearls in a safety deposit box or in a hot environment, leave a damp cloth nearby.

Does Sterling Silver Tarnish? How To Prevent Silver Tarnishing

Sterling silver, even real .925 sterling silver, will always tarnish. While pure 99.9% silver does not tarnish, any sterling silver will tarnish over time as a result of the metal mixed in.  However, fortunately there are many ways to keep sterling silver from tarnishing.

Does silver tarnish? This is a tricky question, as technically, tarnishing does not occur in pure silver. However, pure silver is too soft to be used in jewellery crafting. Therefore, jewellers will often add a small quantity of copper to  strengthen the silver. The resulting product is .925 sterling silver, which contains 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. It is the primary material used for silver jewellery.

Unfortunately, because of the metals added, sterling silver, even real .925 sterling silver, will always tarnish.

Tarnishing thus does not mean that the silver is low purity. Moreover, as sterling silver has higher percentage of silver, it will tarnish much slower than silver of low purity. Therefore, sterling silver is still a wonderful choice of precious metals.

WHY WILL STERLING SILVER TARNISH?

Silver tarnish is the discoloration of sterling silver items which can take on a yellow or black tint. Although the pure silver in sterling silver does not react and tarnish at room temperature, the copper added can easily react with the salt and sulphur in the air, making sterling silver rust.

Tarnishing can take place even faster if sterling silver come in contact with detergents or cosmetics.  Even just the chemicals in our sweat is enough to cause corrosion in silver jewellery when worn.

The good news is that with sterling silver, regular care can really slow down the tarnishing, unlike silver-plated jewellery which will deteriorate no matter what. And even if your silver jewellery has already been spotted with tarnish, a good home clean-up, or better, a professional polishing will easily make it look like new.

This explains why sterling silver jewellery remains a popular and budget-friendly alternative to white gold or platinum. It is a go to metal for jewellery when you want a glamorous piece without breaking the bank.

HOW TO KEEP STERLING SILVER FROM TARNISHING?

Keep away from solution  

Corrosion in sterling silver takes place when silver gets into contact with salty solution or chemicals. Therefore, it is very important to keep jewellery away from salt water or any house products or toiletries solution.  Do not wear silver in the shower or when doing dishes.

Avoid wearing jewellery in activities that make you sweat, such as outdoor chores or sports.

Last to put on, first to take off

Another important rule to prevent silver from tarnishing is that your jewellery should be the last thing you put on, after applying make-up and perfume and the first to be taken off, before your shower or activities. This is to preventing contact between any possible chemicals or salty sweat and your silver.

Consider your home and work environment 

Examine your job or environment to see if you deal with chemicals or other solutions on a regular basis. If that’s the case, remove your silver before working with chemicals. For example, people working at cosmetics or perfume sales job might find themselves having to clean their silver jewellery more regularly.

If you are living in a rather polluted environment, your jewellery might tarnish faster due to high level of sulphur in the air. As a result, it will need more regular polishing as well.

It might just be your body chemicals  

In some rare cases, certain people’s sweat could react more with silver, resulting in faster tarnishing. This can become even more pronounced if the person is eating certain food or medication.

 

In short, wear your jewellery sparingly only when needed to stop silver from tarnishing. Do take them off at night and keep them wrapped under soft cloth in zipped bags to minimize reaction with the air.

Otherwise, prepare to polish and clean them more regularly in order to maintain their perfect shine.