sterling silver?

Question

if sterling silver gets tarnished and you clean it off a lot, won't the jewelry get smaller or thinner over periods of time because you're cleaning off the excess stuff which used to be pieces of the jewelry? thxx=]

Answer 1

The tarnish on silver jewelry is Silver sulfide (among others). Yes removing this does remove some of the silver that was once part of the ring.

This layer is only molecules thick, so each time it is removed, very, very little silver is taken away. Properly cleaned (as in do not use steel wool), the loss of metal is too small to be measured. Over decades, some loss may be noticeable.

You should not worry about proper cleaning in your lifetime (or your grandchildrens, either).

Answer 2

When a metal is designated as sterling silver, then it minimally 92.5% pure silver. Such high quality silver will tarnish. Routine cleaning is essential to maintaining the luster of pure silver.



Tarnish is anything that dulls the luster of a metal. For example, sterling silver will blacken as it gets tarnished. The oils of your skin will get on any metal that you wear. The higher the karat of gold, the less tarnish occurs. However, all silvers (even the purist) tarnish. All good quality metals can be easily cleaned to remove the tarnish. Please see the care instructions below.


All Tarnish is is your oil and dead skin so no nothing will happen to the metal :)

Answer 3

Good question and the simple answer is "yes". As you clean sterling silver you will remove small particles of the metal, however, this will normally be only a small amount each time your jewellery is cleaned. To minimise tarnishing, and therefore the amount of cleaning you will need to do, keep your jewellery in a zip-lock plastic bag.

Answer 4

Yes, but the difference is so small that it will not be noticeable for years. Perhaps your great-grandchildren will complain.