Caring for your Sea Glass and Silver jewellery
Silver, unlike most metals is very resistant to oxidising, in fact only gold and platinum are less reactive, but nevertheless over time it can develop a tarnish. The tarnish can often be taken as a sign of good quality silver. Should your piece develop a tarnish it’s simple to remove and restore it to its former glory.
To clean silver, use a non-abrasive cloth made for cleaning jewellery – these cloths should come with a built-in jewellery cleaner.
Ultrasonic Cleaner
♥ Another way to clean you sea glass and silver jewellery is to use an ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic cleaners function by producing sound waves that are transmitted into the tank and cleaning solution. These waves create millions of microscopic bubbles, which collapse or 'implode', releasing large amounts of energy, which scrub the surface clean. This process is called 'Cavitation'. These tiny bubbles create incredible cleaning results not only to the surface, but by penetrating the finer detail and recesses in jewellery and small items to restore them to their former glory. This is the one I use with great results ...
♥ Store jewellery separately, maybe in a zip lock bag in your jewellery box, this helps prevent tarnish and also scratches from other jewellery. Town Talk have these wonderful little strips that you place in the bag that help to keep your silver tarnish free. Click the image to check them out on Amazon
You can also pour baby oil onto the sea glass and rub with your fingers, this will remove any tarnish and will not interfere with the silver. You will notice that the sea glass colour has intensified but at the cost of a temporary loss of frostiness. The frost is a natural characteristic of authentic sea glass, caused by the intensive wave action and buffeting against rocks over a period of time.
♥ When sea glass jewellery is worn over a period of time, the frostiness may diminish, because of a build of skin oils. To restore the frostiness, dip an old toothbrush in warm soapy (washing up liquid) water and brush gently, dip brush in clean water and brush again then dry thoroughly.
♥ Don’t worry if your sea glass and silver jewellery becomes badly tarnished and the tarnish stains the sea glass.
The careful and judicious use of a Silver Dip will remove any tarnish from the silver and applying a baby oil to the sea glass will remove any tarnish.
Great care is needed when using a Silver Dip because it can remove colour and polish from certain gemstones, particularly pearls, turquoise, sodalite, malachite, lapis lazuli and opals.
When using a Silver Dip always follow the manufacturer's instructions and avoid contact with any soft or porous stones.
There are some preventative steps you can take, so that you won’t have to worry about tarnished silver too:
♥ Cleaning your jewellery regularly is one way to avoid tarnish, another is to wear it often.
♥ Don’t expose it to household chemicals, hair products, perfumes and cosmetics/deodorants.
♥ Do put your make-up, perfume, hairspray and deodorant on before you put on your jewellery.
♥ Don’t wear your silver jewellery in the swimming pool or in the sea as these take their toll on fine jewellery.