Sterling Silver

Sterling Silver has always been a great alternative to cheaper jewelry and household items for hundreds of years now; but it wasn't always so cheap. In the years 1840-1940 the sterling silver craze took place all around the United States and Europe, many silver companies emerged from those times, and sterling silver was only affordable to the wealthy. Sterling silver is made up of 92.5% mined silver mixed with other metals, mainly copper, and was first used to make proper flatware table settings. Soon after it was used to make all types of items such as; mirrors, hair clips, perfume bottles, powder bottles, water pots, trays, pill bottles, manicure sets, shoe horns, coaster, chocolate pots, letter openers, cigarette cases, napkin rings, egg cups, wine pitchers and among many other items. Silver companies started making great deals of business with these type of sterling silver items. Nowadays, sterling silver is even used on intruments such as medical equipment and even musical intruments, the sound that the sterling silver makes is commonly used in such instruments as saxaphones and flutes.

Today, jewelry made from sterling silver is very common and popular, thanks to their affordable prices, but unfortunately sterling silver is known to tarnish, get dark and dirty real easily. The silver is not reactant to oxygen or water at certain temperatures, but it's the copper that reacts with common things as these causing tarnish on the sterling silver items. Good and proper care is needed if you want the sterling silver jewelry and materials to last, such as cleaning it periodically. There are several products in the market made to care for sterling silver items, to remove sulfur, polish and protect the item longer from damages. Professional jewelers and companies use techniques like wheel polishing to clean out their silver, especially when it is really old. A cheaper technique for keeping small sterling silver items in good condition, for example a ring, is to polish it up with clear nail enamel, this will keep it from tarnish or damage longer. If the enamel falls you can always re-apply it for longer use.