How To Keep Your Silver Charms Beautiful
Keeping your silver charms beautiful isn’t a hard task so long as you make sure to follow a few simple tricks. A silver charm or charm bracelet is a precious and personal joy, so be diligent in keeping it beautiful. Following a few tips in silver charm maintenance will guarantee that your silver charms will last a lifetime.
What’s Threatening the Silver?
Knowledge is power, as they say, and knowing what could go wrong with silver jewelry is the first step to preventing it from happening. So what’s taking the shine from your silver charm? The answer is tarnish. Tarnish is what happens when different elements in the environment react chemically with the silver. The very air itself is against you in this, specifically sulfur compounds.
Where Does The Sulfur Come From?
The sulfur tarnishing your silver comes from many different common sources, some you wouldn’t expect at all! Other than from the air, sulfur also can be introduced to your silver charms through the very foods you eat. The big culprits in this are eggs, onions, vinegar, broccoli, olives, fruit, tomatoes, and common table salt. Letting residues from any of these linger on your silver charm bracelet is just begging it to become tarnished.
Preventive Measures
You can make sure that your silver charms retain their shine by polishing them every once in a while. So what’s the best way to polish silver? Here’s a few tips:
1) Take off any dust which may be on the surface first by rinsing the silver charms in warm or hot water.
2) Buy some silver polishing solution and spread it over the silver with a warm sponge.
3) Gently rub away at any tarnished areas until the polishing solution has removed any visible signs of tarnish.
4) Rinse off the solution with some warm water - make sure you take it all off!
5) Dry the silver charms thoroughly. Any remaining water can make it easier for the silver to become tarnished all over again.
Everyday Diligence
Polishing away tarnished silver can be a chore, so try to make sure that your charms don’t become tarnished in the first place. The first trick in silver charm care is to keep them dry and away from liquids. Always make sure to store your silver charm bracelet in a safe and dry pouch when you’re not wearing it, too. With a little love and a little care, your silver charms will stay beautiful for a long, long time.