Oxidation

Definition of Oxidation -Chemicals being combined with oxygen or sulfides. 

Patina can speed up the oxidation process like in this ring. I had put a little patina on this ring (shown below), but then a customer requested the pure silver luster. So that’s what I did. I removed the oxides from the ring to reveal its shine. Therefore, yes. Oxides can be removed from your SEH pure silver jewelry.

Tarnish

Definition of Tarnish - To dull or destroy the luster of by or as if by air, dust, or dirt 

Tarnish is what happens when a jewelry piece oxidizes. In other words, a jewelry piece that is tarnished means that it loses it shine becoming dull. Get back the shine with a free polishing cloth when you sign up for our VIP list.

 What Kind Of Silver Is Used To Make SEH Jewelry?

999 Fine Silver

Fun fact. 999 fine silver is also referred to as .999 fine silver, 99.9% fine silver, or three nines. So if you see these names, you know they mean the same thing.

I love working with 999 fine silver because I know that this is great quality material. Also, since 999 fine silver has less than .1% copper, which is one of the causes of tarnishing, this metal is very slow to tarnishing compared to other silvers.

925 Sterling Silver

On the contrary, since sterling silver 925 or 92.5 has 7.5% copper, it will tarnish faster that other silver metals. Fortunately, there are ways to slow the process of tarnishing.

How to slow/prevent the oxidation/tarnishing process

• Try not to submerge your jewelry in water for any length of time.
• Show your jewelry love by changing them out and wearing different pieces everyday.
• When you are not wearing your jewelry, place each piece of jewelry in a ziplock baggie. There are also special bags you can purchase specifically designed to protect your jewelry from oxidation.

How to clean your silver jewelry:

• After wearing your jewelry, wipe your fine silver jewelry with a soft [polishing] cloth. When you sign up on our SEH VIP list, you will receive a free polishing cloth that is treated to clean and restore your jewelry (shown above).
• Line a small bowl with aluminum foil, pour some baking soda into the bowl, put your jewelry on top of the baking soda, then pour enough hot water to cover your jewelry piece(s), and let sit for a couple of minutes. Use a soft toothbrush, rinse, and dry. 
• If you have an ultrasonic cleaner, this is another way to clean silver jewelry. If not, the previous methods works great.

If you have any questions or want to add another jewelry cleaning tip, please leave a comment.

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