How to prevent jewelry from tarnishing
Try to keep it dry
Take off your jewelry before getting in bodies of water (pools, spas, lakes, etc.). If you are going to be working out and know that you sweat a lot, it would be a good idea to remove your jewelry. Be sure that any product (lotion, perfume, oils, etc.) are dried and/or applied before you put on jewelry.
Store in air-tight containers
This can be a jewelry box, cloth jewelry bags, or plastic jewelry zip lock bags. You can also purchase anti-tarnish strips to place wherever you store your jewelry.
Ways to clean jewelry
Use lukewarm water
Simply rinse your jewelry with lukewarm water and then dry with a cloth.
Use water and dish soap
Alternatively, you can put some dish soap and warm water in a container and let the jewelry soak. After a few minutes, you can scrub with a soft toothbrush and then dry with a cloth, or skip the tooth brush step and dry with a cloth.
Use an anti-tarnish cloth or paper
There are specific anti-tarnish cloths (click here) and papers that you can purchase. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions!
While real precious metals are used for these earrings, the pearls are synthetic, which means that it would be in your best interest to not clean with any harsh chemicals, as it could cause damage to the pearls.
Silver-Filled
Many people are familiar with “silver-plated” jewelry; it is the most commonly used silver alloy for costume or cheaper jewelry. Silver-filled jewelry is of higher quality than silver-plated because it has a thicker coating of silver. Any silver-filled earrings from Things by Kae have a brass base metal that is heat bonded with a coating of silver, making these earrings 1/10 silver.
Because of its higher silver content, these earrings cost more than your average silver-plated jewelry, but still cost less than .925 sterling silver.
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is a high quality metal and is only a step below pure silver. It’s typically called 0.925 because it is an alloy made of 92.5% silver. Because this metal still has 7.5% of other metals in its alloy, it can still be tarnished. This can be prevented and/or remedied by following the steps above.
Gold-Filled
As with silver-filled, gold-filled jewelry is made with a thicker coating of gold than gold-plated metals (this type of alloy is also better than vermeil). These pieces are specifically made with 14k gold bonded onto a base metal of brass.
If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me!
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