• Shower. It’s not a great idea to shower with your jewelry on, but occasionally isn’t going to do any lasting damage. Just make sure to dry it after.
• Swimming: Take your silver off. Chlorine is a pretty harsh chemical, so if you accidentally forget to remove your silver jewelry before hopping in, make sure to rinse and clean it afterward.
• Hot Tub. Same idea as the swimming pool, but there’s even more chlorine in the hot tub and the heat can accelerate the chemical reaction.
• Hot Springs. The sulfur in natural hot springs will wreak havoc on your silver. Unless you’re going for that “dark oxidized” look, avoid at all costs.
• Bonus Tip: Chemicals in lotions and perfumes can also cause your jewelry to tarnish. Apply them first, let them dry, and then put your jewelry on. This alone can make a HUGE difference in your silver’s luster.
• Storage: store your sterling silver in a dry place or in silver pouches. It’s best to store silver in individual, air-tight bags with anti-tarnish properties. These types of bags keep air exposure out and keep the shininess and brilliance intact.
• Travel Tip: if you are traveling with your jewelry (because we know you want to look great with tessories, jewelry that makes you shine, be sure to use a special case for protection! And bring a silver cleaning cloth with you to polish it up.
• Plating silver with rhodium, also known as rhodium plating, is a process that coats jewelry with a fine layer of rhodium over silver, this will increase durability and shine, your silver will look like white gold. The main problem with silver is that it tarnishes and scratches. Rhodium plating provides protection and prevents tarnishing.

• “Oxidized” is another term used to describe silver. For some works silversmiths intentionally allow parts of the jewelry to darken and oxidize, typically small details, to make them stand out more. This detailing can be lost, though, with excessive cleaning and polishing. So be sure to identify any purposefully oxidized jewelry you have and set them aside for separate cleaning.

1. Soap and water: Warm water and a mild, ammonia- and phosphate-free dishwashing soap should be your first line of defense if the polishing cloth fails to remove tarnish. Soap and water should also be used to clean your pieces before using any of the methods listed below.
2. Olive oil and lemon juice: Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice with 1 tsp. olive oil in a bowl large enough to hold the cleaning solution and a small microfiber cloth. Dip the cloth in the solution and wring it out so that it doesn’t drip, then polish the silver, rinse, and dry.
3. Combination: If your pieces have very stubborn tarnish, you can use these treatments in succession to get them looking shiny again.
4. Home Remedy: Aluminum Foil, baking soda and salt: Place a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of a pan, add 2-3 inches of water, 1 tsp baking soda &  1 tsp salt, bring to a boil. Add your silver pieces, boil 1-2 minutes making sure water covers the silver. Remove silver, rinse, dry and buff with a soft polishing cloth. It works! (Do NOT put silver with stones in it).

NOTE: Never use any chemicals on your rhodium items. Never use toothpaste and never brush with a toothbrush

• Fill a small bowl with lukewarm water and add some mild dish soap to prepare a simple cleaning solution.
• Soak your gold rings in the solution and leave them in it for about 20-30 minutes.
• With a soft small toothbrush, you can brush the rings and necklace to get in the little crevasses.
• Rinse the soap residue off your gold rings with warm water.

Dry your jewelry with a clean towel.

Gold filled products consist of an actual layer of gold that is pressure bonded to another metal. Gold filling is one of the most valuable and tarnish resistant processes for creating gold jewelry and other items. Gold-filled is much more expensive than gold plated material and will last longer; however, it does have a life span of about 10 to 30 years, unlike pure gold pieces which will last forever.

Gold-filled material has a much higher amount of gold in it and is much more valuable than Gold Plating. Gold Filled jewelry is durable and will not tarnish or chip. It is also safe for those with metal allergies. Gold filled jewelry is actually an economical alternative to solid gold.

This process uses a permanent bonding method that incorporates extremely high temperatures and pressure. The result is a much thicker layer of precious metal when compared to gold plating. Because this process is much more intense and requires more gold, the price tag of course will be higher than with other processes. However, gold filled jewelry is actually an economical alternative to solid gold.