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Clean Silver Jewelry in Five Easy Ways


We love our handmade jewelry here on St. Croix! If you look around you will find most women wearing stacks of bracelets, not to mention rings, earrings, and necklaces. But, it’s not just the women, the men of St. Croix sport their locally crafted jewelry as well. Artisan handmade jewelry is a trademark of the island, and while you can find jewelry crafted from every kind of precious metal, sterling silver is the most common. Silver jewelry can be hard to keep clean, so I was thrilled to find a blog written by ib designs that outlined 5 easy ways to clean your silver jewelry. Here’s what they have to say…

Sterling silver reacts to differing pH levels of your personal body chemistry. You must take care not to expose your sterling or 14kt jewelry to chlorine, bleaching agents or chemicals. Your jewelry can always be cleaned with your polishing cloth, but if a deeper cleaning is needed use one of the methods below.

  1. Alka-Seltzer: Let tarnished silver sit for a couple of minutes in a glass of fizzing Alka-Seltzer.
  2. Aluminum Foil: Line a small bowl with the foil, fill the bowl with hot water, and mix in 1 tbsp non-bleach powdered laundry detergent. Let silver soak for a just a minute. The chemical reaction with the foil will clean it.
  3. Ammonia: Soak silver for 10 minutes in a solution of 1/2 cup ammonia and 1/2 cup warm water. Use an old toothbrush to scrub your pieces, then rinse with water.
  4. Vinegar: Soak silver for 2-3 hours in a mixture of 4 cups white vinegar and 1 cup baking soda.
  5. Ketchup: A silver ring or bracelet can be cleaned by dunking it in a small bowl of ketchup for a few minutes.

With each of these methods you can use an old toothbrush to get in the crevices, then rinse with water, and use your polishing cloth. You can also bring in or send your jewelry to us for special ib love and have your piece look like new for $4.

– Written by ib designs (introduction by Jennie Ogden, Editor)

Thank you to ib designs for sharing these tips for making our silver jewelry shine like new!

 

 

ib designs

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