Fashion

Tips on Buying Sterling Silver Jewelry

Sterling-Silver-JewelleryFrom lavish gemstone combination rings to simple bands, band rings in sterling silver have attracted men and women since long, because they go with anything and everything. The brightly hued sterling silver is an amazing material for a jewelry piece like a ring, because it is durable, versatile and pliable enough to be molded in various designs or to be engraved. Sterling silver is a popular metal for rings because of their neutral quality and unbelievable value. It is one of the top metals chosen for jewelry and is also a great choice while shopping for women's as well as men's accessories. Rings and bands for engagement and wedding made of sterling silver are available in countless varieties.

What is Sterling Silver?

Sterling silver is the standard for beautiful high quality silver jewelry. It’s over 90% pure silver, mixed with alloys to add strength and durability. And it won’t wear down, as silver plating can. To be specific, sterling silver is an alloy made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. The other metal is usually copper, but other metals too are used sometimes. Pure silver is called fine silver (99.9% silver) and is too soft for jewelry-making and hence sterling silver is the most preferred material among jewelers.

Qualities

Sterling silver being strong and beautiful is chosen for most of the silver jewelry pieces. They guarantee of lifetime endurance. For an ornament like engagement or wedding ring, which one will use every day, fine silver is a poor choice, because of its softness. Sterling silver is strong being mixed with other metals like copper and is strong enough to undergo the daily wear and tear. Sterling silver is marked usually with an engraving to make consumers know of its genuineness. 925 is the number given to identify that the material is sterling silver.

Finishing

Fine silver is more tarnish-free than sterling silver. Therefore, sterling silver is coated with fine silver or rhodium. Rhodium coating is more expensive than silver coating. Rhodium is platinum family member of metals and offers sterling silver brightness like fine silver, in addition to making it scratch-resistant.

Which Style will you Choose?

You may get quite confused when you embark upon the shopping for a sterling silver ring, looking at the innumerable styles available. However as a rule, a simple style with feminine details or symbolic patterns and letters are perfect for daily wear and also make an ideal choice as a romantic gift. On the other hand, rings with pearls, diamonds or other precious gemstones can offer an exceptional getup to any outfit. If you want to buy a sterling silver ring with a gemstone, choose your birthstone for the design or a stone having a mythological history of prosperity.

How to Take Care?

While storing your valued sterling silver ring, you can choose a cloth pouch or separate compartment of a jewelry box to prevent scratching. Remember not to expose the ring to ammonia, chlorine or any other bleach, because these agents can harm or discolor the ring. Don't forget to remove the ring before handling any household cleaning chemical and also before swimming in a pool with chlorinated water or hot tub.

How to Clean?

Sterling silver ring loses its shine over time because of the natural components in the atmosphere. In such a case, it is good to give it a quick polish which restores its luster. You may use an ammonia-free or bleach-free silver polish for this purpose, which should be labeled as a tarnish-remover for sterling silver jewelry. Apply the polish with a very soft, nonabrasive cloth to stay away from scratching. Microfiber cloths are perfect for this purpose.

Information provided by brideself.com

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