Silver Jewellery Care Guide

A guide to caring for silver jewellery

Caring for silver jewellery

As the most lustrous of the precious metals, silver needs extra care to keep on shining. Before beginning a care regime for your silver jewellery, it's important to understand how purity affects daily wear, tear, and tarnishing.

  • Fine silver is pure and compliments silver earrings and silver necklaces. Although fine silver is fragile, it's purity makes it stand alone from the rest
  • Sterling silver is the most common form of silver present in jewellery. It is alloyed with copper and will be semi-resistant to scratching, but not tarnishing.
  • Coin silver, Russian silver, and other low purity silvers are less expensive. Being alloyed with several different metals, they are highly resilient to damage and tarnishing.
At Bevilles, we want you to be continually inspired by your silver jewellery. Follow these easy care tips below, or visit a Bevilles store near you to have your pieces professionally cleaned. If you've taken a shine to the properties of silver, visit The Silver Guide.
Easy silver care at home
Sterling silver tarnishes when the alloy metals, like copper, react with moisture and sulphur in the air. This process is inevitable, and can often be difficult to reverse. Thankfully, with a few easy steps, you can form your own chemical reaction that will work to counteract the effects of tarnishing.

In this process, baking soda and aluminium react together to remove even the blackest of tarnishing:

  1. Cover the inside of a bowl with aluminium foil, shiny side up.
  2. Bring water to the boil and pour it into another vessel.
  3. Add one tablespoon of baking soda for every cup of water.
  4. Add the mixture to the bowl and submerse your silver jewellery.
  5. Leave your pieces in for up to 10 minutes, depending on the level of tarnishing.
  6. Remove your jewellery with a pair of tongs and polish with a soft cloth.
Daily wearing tips

The easiest way to prevent the early degradation of your silver jewellery is to follow a daily care routine. Here are some day-to-day tips to keep your silver rings, silver earrings, silver bracelets, and silver necklaces looking shiny for longer.

  • Don't be afraid to wear your silver. Friction prevents tarnish build up.
  • Remove your silver jewellery when sleeping, bathing, exercising and swimming.
  • Store each piece of silver separately. You can do this in a jewellery box or with separate soft cloths.
  • Get rid of moisture when storing your pieces. Put silica gel or a piece of chalk in your jewellery box.
  • Always put your jewellery on last. Perfumes, creams, and makeup all add to the grime of your pieces.
What not to do
Most silver pieces are fairly resilient, thanks to the presence of copper and other alloys. However to prevent against degradation and damage, you should never expose your silver jewellery to household cleaners and other harmful chemicals you may in contact with. These chemicals include:
  • Chlorine
  • Chloride
  • Bleach
  • Solvents
  • Detergents
  • Dissolvents

Please note that Stardust Silver Jewellery must not be worn in water. 

Cleaning products

At Bevilles, we are here to help keep your silver shining. If you have a silver rings, silver earrings, silver bracelets, or a silver necklace, we can provide you with cleaning products to get the best results at home.

 Connoisseurs Silver Polishing Cloth

Connoisseurs Silver Polishing Cloth removes grime, and then covers your silver jewellery with an anti-tarnish shield. Using the opposite side of the cloth, you can polish your piece until it regains its original lustre.

 Bevilles Jewellery Cleaner Unit

Bevilles Jewellery Cleaner Unit cleans your favourite silver jewellery pieces using quality cleaning fluid. Ultrasonic waves create microscopic bubbles that lift oil and dirt from your pieces, restoring them to normal.

Sonic Jewellery Cleaner

Our Sonic Jewellery Cleaner solution is used in the Jewellery Cleaning Unit. This quality cleaning fluid will leave your silver rings, silver earrings, silver chains, and silver bracelets looking brand new once again.

Professional silver care

Bevilles will always recommend that your silver jewellery should receive professional care. Our highly trained jewellers can inspect, clean, and polish your favourite pieces annually, ensuring that they are always looking their absolute best.

For professional silver jewellery care, bring your piece into your local Bevilles store.