Caring for Sterling Silver and Plated Finishes

Silver jewellery has a reputation for being high-maintenance. It isn't, particularly — but it does behave in ways that surprise people who've only owned other metals, and most of the damage we see described comes from cleaning rather than from wear.

What sterling silver is

Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. Pure silver is too soft to hold a setting, so the alloy exists to make it workable. That's what the "925" stamp means, and it's an international standard.

The copper is also the reason it tarnishes.

Why it tarnishes, and why that isn't damage

Tarnish is a chemical reaction between the alloy and sulphur compounds in air, water, cosmetics and skin. It forms a thin surface layer that goes yellow, then brown, then black.

Tarnish is a surface film, not corrosion. It doesn't eat into the metal and it doesn't weaken the piece. It polishes off and the silver underneath is unchanged. A piece that has tarnished has not been damaged.

What accelerates it:

• Humidity. The single biggest factor. Coastal air is worse than dry inland air.
• Sulphur sources — eggs, onions, some rubber, wool, certain papers.
• Chlorinated water — pools and hot tubs, aggressively.
• Cosmetics, perfume, hairspray, sunscreen.
• Skin chemistry, which varies enormously between people. Two people can wear identical rings and see very different rates.

What slows it: wearing the piece. Regular contact with skin and fabric provides gentle polishing. The pieces that tarnish worst are the ones left in a drawer.

What plating is

Plating is a very thin layer of another metal deposited over the base. On silver jewellery the most common is rhodium — a hard, bright white metal from the platinum group — used to increase brightness and slow tarnish.

Plating is a finish, not a structural element. It wears. All of it does, eventually.

How long it lasts depends on the plating thickness, where the piece sits on the body, and how the wearer lives. A ring on a working hand wears faster than a pendant. High points and edges wear first.

We are not going to quote you a number of years, because we haven't measured it on our own pieces and any figure we gave you would be a guess dressed as a specification. What we can tell you: it will wear, it usually shows first on the underside of a ring band and on raised edges, and it can be redone.

Plating wearing through is not a fault and not a defect. It is the finish doing what finishes do.

Cleaning — what to do

Routine, weekly, takes a minute:

1. Warm water, a drop of plain washing-up liquid.
2. Soft toothbrush, gently, especially around the setting where oils collect.
3. Rinse thoroughly.
4. Dry completely with a soft cloth. Trapped moisture is what accelerates tarnish.

For tarnish: a proper silver polishing cloth, impregnated with polish. Rub gently along the metal. This is the safest tarnish removal method there is.

A moissanite stone cleans with the same warm water and soft brush. It's hard enough not to be scratched by anything in this process.

Cleaning — what destroys things

This list is where the real damage happens.

Silver dip solutions. These chemical baths strip tarnish in seconds and are extremely popular. They will also strip plating and can leave a dull grey cast on the metal. Do not use them on a plated piece. If you don't know whether your piece is plated, assume it is.

Ultrasonic cleaners. Fine for some jewellery, risky for anything with a set stone in a claw setting — the vibration can loosen claws. Not worth the risk on a piece at our price point.

Toothpaste. Widely recommended online and abrasive enough to leave fine scratches on silver and to accelerate plating wear. Don't.

Baking soda and foil. This works chemically, and it's harsh. It can strip plating and dull the surface.

Bleach and chlorine. Attacks the alloy directly. Take rings off before a pool or a hot tub — this is one of the few things that causes real, non-cosmetic damage.

Abrasive cloths and scouring pads. A polishing cloth is not the same thing as a general-purpose cloth.

Wearing habits that matter more than cleaning

Last on, first off. Put jewellery on after perfume, moisturiser, hairspray and sunscreen. Take it off before you take them off.

Remove for: swimming, showering, cleaning with chemicals, gardening, the gym, sleeping. The gym is worth naming specifically — sweat plus repeated metal-on-metal contact with weights is hard on both stone settings and plating.

Store dry, dark and separate. An airtight bag with an anti-tarnish strip is genuinely effective. Separate compartments stop pieces scratching each other — and remember moissanite at 9.25 on the Mohs scale will happily scratch any silver it's stored next to.

Rotate. If you own several pieces, wearing them in turn is better for all of them than wearing one constantly.

When to see a jeweller

• A stone that moves or rattles. Stop wearing it immediately. A loose claw is how stones get lost, and it's a cheap fix before it becomes an expensive one.
• A visibly bent or thinning band, especially on a ring worn daily for years.
• A claw that catches on fabric. It's lifted, and it's about to fail.
• Deep scratches you want removed — professional polishing removes a thin layer of metal, so it isn't something to do casually or often.

Replating

A plated piece can be professionally replated. Whether it's worth doing is arithmetic: the cost of replating against the cost of the piece.

At our price range, replating a ring may cost a meaningful fraction of what the ring cost. That's a legitimate reason to decide against it. Some people also prefer the look of worn silver, which develops its own character.

We mention it because a seller who never tells you a finish wears is setting you up to feel cheated in three years.

What our guarantee covers

Our 12-month guarantee, with its exclusions set out in full on the guarantee page, covers manufacturing faults.

It does not cover normal plating wear, tarnish, scratches from wear, or damage from chemical cleaners. Those are wear and maintenance, not faults — and a guarantee that claimed to cover them would be a guarantee we couldn't honour.

If something has gone wrong and you're not sure which category it falls into, send us a photograph and we'll tell you straight.

This care advice applies to every piece we make - see our rings, necklaces and earrings.