* This Article was originally posted on She.Sulekha
As I was walking through ‘Dariba Kalan’ (known as the ‘Street of the Incomparable Pearl’), at Chandni Chowk, I was mesmerized by all the antique silver jewelry sets with precious and semi precious stones and was reassured that silver jewelry still works in India.
We love it or hate it, but cannot make do without it. Even when its costs are going through the roof, silver is a hot property in the jewelry industry.
India has always preferred gold over silver, as Silver is prone to oxidation and hence is tarnished easily. While the west loves that worn in Patina look, we generally like our stuff bright and shiny. Silver, thus being pushed to second place, is more desired in the gifts and vessels market as being the mark of class and status. So if you are off to buying silver as coins, lamps, deities or even jewelry here are some things that you must know about metal along with the way to take care of it.
Pure silver is soft, too soft to create durable jewelry, so it’s mixed with other metals to enhance performance. Popular alloys of Silver include Sterling Silver – 92.5% of Silver and 7.5% copper, Britannia Silver – 95.8% silver, Argentium® Sterling Silver (with germanium and is tarnish resistant)and Chinese Silver – 2% of silver with copper and zinc. German silver or Nickel silver has a color resembling silver, but is an alloy of primarily copper, nickel and zinc. Coin silver means that the piece is plated in a bath made by meting silver coins – found in gemstone pendants of Nepal & Tibet.
Sterling silver jewelry is often plated with a thin coat of 0.999 fine silver to give the items a shiny finish. This process is called “flashing”. Silver jewelry can also be plated with rhodium (for a bright, shiny look) or gold. 925 Sterling silver plated with 24K gold is refered to as Vermeil. 80% Silver plated with gold is very often found in South Indian Temple jewelry.
Caring for Sterling Silver Jewelry/articles:
Contrary to popular belief, wearing and handling your silver jewelry will slow the oxidation process. So use it instead of keeping it the locker. Always store your sterling silver jewelry in tarnish prevention cloths or bags. The treated cloth slows down the tarnishing process and keeps the jewelry from rubbing against harder jewelry that might scratch it. Sterling silver jewelry that is worn continually often develops a lovely patina, a kind of glow combined with darkened areas. If you like the look, leave it alone. If you prefer a bright and shiny look for your sterling silver, use a polish cloth to restore the jewelry to its original appearance.
Further do no dip any silver jewelry/articles in ‘dip’ solutions or commercial cleaning solutions even though it may say that it is for silver jewelry. Dip cleaners will work the first few times, but after that the silver jewelry may turn in color and will never look the same. And the gemstones in your silver jewelry may be damaged from the dip solution. I have tried this and learnt the hard way. Also do not use toothpaste for cleaning it as this will scratch the silver.
Hope you find it interesting
Cheers
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