Over enough time Sterling silver tarnishes just like any
other silver. If the jewelry is worn by an animal, it may
tarnish quickly. Or, simply become coated with oils and dirt
from the animals skin and fur and any products used on the
animal. So if you have Sterling silver jewelry that you put
onto your animals or wear yourself, eventually you will need
to clean and polish it.
The key to cleaning any Sterling silver animal jewelry is to
do it with cleaning materials that are as natural as
possible so they can't injure your animals or cause
allergies, and to make sure that what you are using to wipe
the silver does not scratch the surface of the metal.
You may find that the Sterling silver animal jewelry that
you bought your pet has become faded almost to a gold color.
Then eventually that golden look will be replaced with black
tarnish. This is caused by an interaction of sulfides and
silver with air.
The higher levels of sulfide associated with humidity or air
pollution will make any Sterling silver turn black faster.
It is a natural process which in higher humidity and
polluted areas can take just hours.
It is very easy to clean any Sterling silver jewelry, but be
careful not to damage the jewelry itself in the process.
Look for loose prongs, catches, or loops before you start.
If needed you should repair the jewelry before cleaning it
so that you will not lose any parts of the animal jewelry as
you wash, polish and buff the pieces.
Tarnish on Sterling silver can be rubbed off by using a soft
cotton cloth and a little elbow grease. But for charms or
other jewelry that has a lot of dips and wrinkles you may
need something else to get down into the crevices and get
all the tarnish off so that your silver animal jewelry looks
like new.
There are jewelry dips specially formulated for silver
cleaning. But be warned; many dips that clean metals may
also damage any gems that are on the silver jewelry. Dips
are better used for Sterling silver animal charms that have
no gems.
If you put a Sterling silver piece that also contains gems
into a silver cleaning dip and you leave the gem in the dip
too long it will take the polish off the gem, and maybe even
the color. And if you don't rinse the piece well enough with
fresh water and dry it immediately it can then dry spotted
with white circles that are difficult to rub off.
There is a way to prevent your Sterling silver animal
jewelry from tarnishing and losing its luster. You can buy
tarnish shield. This is a thin lacquer that goes on the
silver animal jewelry piece that prevents tarnish for as
long as the lacquer stays on the piece. The problem with
tarnish shield is that the Sterling silver animal jewelry
will not age well and may wear down in some areas and not
others. And once the lacquer falls off part of the piece and
it begins to tarnish you can't buff the piece or you will
lose the rest of the tarnish shield.
The best method to use to clean any piece of Sterling
silver, especially your Sterling silver animal jewelry, is
to use a soft cotton cloth and buff the animal jewelry
gently until you get the shine back on the piece. This
doesn't require chemicals and is very safe, whereas the dip
and the tarnish shield will damage the jewelry eventually if
proper care is not taken and it may even poison your pet if
you do not clean the piece well enough.
More Knowledge about Animal Jewelry
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