How to Buy Silver Jewelry the Right Way

Thanks to all of you who read my last blog about “How to buy Jewelry the right way”

In the last 29 years I have been involved mostly in the fine jewelry side of the Jewelry business. There are only really 3 kinds of metals that are used to make fine jewelry, gold, platinum and silver. Today we are going to talk about the features and benefits of Silver Jewelry.

First it is significantly less expensive than the other 2 metals. I don’t want to quote numbers because they change daily, but it is substantial. You will see a lot of bigger bolder pieces in silver, sometimes because of the better price tag, and sometimes because it is the preferred metal by the designer.

Silver does have a tendency to oxidize and turn black.
This can be removed by polishing or some form of silver dip.
This is where I am going to give you a tip: Don’t ever get in the habit of leaving silver soaking in any liquid. Any dip, is just that, a dip, not a bath, and may end up taking the black off, leaving the metal looking gray and stained, or ALL black. Even
cleaning solutions should not be used for soaking

If you don’t like the fact that silver tarnishes, there is a solution called Rhodium plating. Rhodium is a silver colored metal that does not oxidize, and is used to plate over silver and white gold jewelry by some manufacturers. It has a distinct look to it, and once you have seen a piece that has it, you will be able to recognize it easily. Next time you are shopping for silver jewelry; ask to be shown a piece that is Rhodium plated next to a piece that is not. Rhodium has its good points and bad. It stops tarnish, but it can wear off too. If it does wear off in spots, you will have a piece that tarnishes in one spot, but not in another, and will be very noticeable. It works really well for earrings, and pendants, but not as well for rings and bracelets because of the difference in wear (we discussed this in my last blog).

Silver has recently been mixed with gold and diamonds in such jewelry as David Yurman and John Hardy. Their jewelry is not rhodium plated, and in my opinion these guys are genius!
They have made the design of their jewelry such that when it does oxidize, it actually looks better. It brings out the highs and lows in the design and makes them more definite. The twist in the David Yurman cable becomes more defined as the years go by, like
a good pair of jeans that age just right! This type of jewelry needs to be given to a professional for cleaning.

Please read my previous blog and leave comments on both!
Thank You,
Mike the Jeweler