Antique Sterling Silver Jewelry
Sterling jewelry is considered as one of the most durable kinds of jewelry in the world. While other metals are just too delicate to handle with years of usage, sterling silver can weather all the years. In addition, sterling silver jewelry is known to age beautifully. For many years, sterling has been used for fine dinnerware purposes. Apart from that, heirloom pieces such as rings, necklaces, brooches and charms from the past years are being passed on to daughters and grand daughters as special gifts. These antique sterling silver jewelry collections are indeed a treasure that requires love and care from the new owner.
Upon receiving the antique sterling silver jewelry, what you must do is to wipe the pieces with dry cotton rug to remove the layers of dust that has been accumulated from years of storage. After wiping, there is a noticeable thin layer of vintage-looking surface. This vintage veneer is the antique patina that makes each piece unique. This aged look of such antiques is the result of years of tarnish that is natural to sterling silver jewelries. Also, even if the jewelries are stored in boxes or in closed spaces, natural oxidation can still occur, which in turn causes the discoloring.
Such discoloring however lends character to these antique pieces. So instead of changing their natural appearance, it is best to clean the antique jewelries just by using dry cloth to remove surface dirt. You can also use metal shine and gloss moderately to retain its light sheen. However, if you really want to scrub the antique sterling jewelry off its deep-seated dust, one way to do it is by putting the jewelries in an aluminum tin-lined basin. Put water on the basin and some baking powder. After about five minutes, you can actually see the dirt and tarnish being stripped off of the antique. For maintenance, all you have to do is wipe the jewelry to remove surface dirt from time to time. And lastly, put the antiques in separate jewelry boxes away from other jewelries to avoid corrosion against the surfaces of other jewelries.
