Well, silver is an element when you get down to it.  Ag. Number 47 on the periodic chart. Remember that? Sterling silver on the other hand, is  925 parts out of a thousand fine silver and 75 parts copper (another element!). Fine silver is 999.9 parts pure silver, it is also much softer and more resistant to tarnish than sterling silver.

Not usually. Unless you're allergic. The 'silver' jewellery that turns people's skin black is usually silver plated. This means that there is a layer of silver or usually rhodium plating on top of a base metal. This top layer is thin, and once it wears away, which it will if you wear the piece often, then it is usually elements in the base metal, such as nickel or copper, that are responsible for turning your skin black.

How you and my jewellery get along may just be a simple matter of chemistry. Some people find that they 'turn' silver black which comes into contact with their skin. Silver will react with elements in the air, your skin, anything it comes into contact wtih. Unfortunately sometimes our personal chemical compositions just happen to be specially formulated to patina silver. If you notice that you tend to be turning your silver jewellery black and it won't rub off when you try and clean it - you might want to think about wearing gold instead :P

NOTE: Maybe you notice you 'turn' your silver only some of the time. Like on hot days or after a work out or a dip in the pool. Well, sometimes the sulfur in our body comes out in our sweat, and if we're sweating alot, then your jewellery is getting more of that sulfur than usual. Chemicals in pools and hot tubs are will also react with silver. They can potentially do more than tarnish, they can patina your jewellery black. This cannot usually be cleaned off, but will likely require a go under the polishing wheel.  So do yourself a favour and take your jewellery off before working out and swimming and the likes. :)

The most standard patina I apply to sterling silver is Liver of Sufur. I refer to this as "antiquing". The liver of sulfur oxidizes the silver, turning it dark. This is a permanent treatment. The piece is usually buffed after patination process to bring out the bright silver on the raised areas in the piece. I find this is an excellent method for creating contrast in my pieces and use it often.  If your piece has been given a patina, it requires special care and should not be cleaned in a silver dip, as these dips can be extremely harsh and may - correction, WILL - strip this finish from the piece.

I'm starting to get into brushed silver. I love polishing and most of my pieces are given a high polish under the polishing wheel. However some pieces final stages involve a steel brush or a satin finish buff.  Polished silver is essentally burnished smooth, where brushed silver is a very fine texturing process. These two finishes require different care. 

It happens. Your sterling silver jewellery will tarnish! If properly cared for, your sterling silver jewellery piece can be kept looking fantastic for forever! Well, not forever. Actually, maybe if you take good enough care of it! Ahhah! But seriously. The key to keeping your jewellery looking fine, is treating it fine. Keep it clean. In fact, cleaning it after wearing it is the best thing you can do. It's all the junk your skin leaves on the jewellery while it's sitting around wating to be worn again that does the most damage. Like any kind of treatment, prevention is the best kind.  So keep your jewellery clean kids!

It's how I choose to clean most of my jewellery most of the time. After each session under a polishing/buffing/texturing machine I always take a soft toothbrush with mild soap and warm water to clean out my components. I prefer sunlight. It get's the oil and dirt trapped in it exposing the piece's fresh bright surface. Rinse well after washing and be sure to dry the pieces thouroughly and dry immmediately after washing. Pieces left to air dry may develop lovely little yellow water stains which are hard to get out.

The polishing cloth is simply a cloth impregnated with a buffing compound which leaves a protective coating that prolongs the oxidation process.  It is great for pieces with a high polish, and especially great for pieces with a patina that have been given a high polish.  HOWEVER, I recommend cleaning the piece with soap and water first! It washes away the dirt and oil on the piece first, and that way dirt won't get trapped in the cloth and cause any unwanted scratches when you're shining up your piece! Safety first!

Again, soap and warm water with a soft toothbrush. It cleans the oil and the dirt out of the piece and usually that is all you need to do. If you do this every time you finish wearing a piece it'll keep it looking great for a long time. Brushed silver doens't really appreaciate the polishing cloth treatment like high polished silver. The compound from the cloth will build up in brushed texture and make it look icky. Soap and water keeps that texture clean and bright. This is also safe for patinas.

Silver dip will strip a patina off in an instant. So beware. The only time I would recommend using a silver dip is if you have a heavily tarnished simple high polished silver piece with no patinas or stones. Even then, only a moment in the dip, any longer might actually be more hurtful than helpful to your piece.

Jewellery dips on the other hand,  are another story. There is quite a spectrum of them out there, and most of them are not nearly as strong as silver dips. Some seem not too much stronger than the soap and water option. Read the lable carefully before using. I find the ones that are safe for porous stones and pearls are actually fairly safe for painas too. Avon for example has a jewellery dip that did not strip my patinas. So if you have a tarnished piece that has been given special surface treatment like a patina that needs more than soap and water, I'd recommend a jewellery dip before a silver dip. And just like the silver dips, only keep your pieces in the jewellery dips for a moment or two. Don't forget to rinse and dry thouroughly!

You should try and take good care of all your jewellery, but especially if they contain stones or pearls!  Pearls and porous stones such as turquoise can easily be damaged by chemicals in perfumes, skin lotion, and are softer so they are much more prone to abrasion then tougher stones.

There are so many different and wonderful stones. Each of them is different. Some like jaspers for example are super tough. And others such as labradorite (pictured left) are hard, but they contain cleavage planes which the stone may break along if given a hard enough knock.  So if you have a special stone, find out about it so you can wear it properly and safely.  For example, never wear your jewellery laying bricks. That's kind of an extreme though. A less extreme example would be to not wear your jewellery gardening.  There is alot of silica in dirt, and silica, which is basically quartz, will dull down your stones and silver if it's rubbing against them. This is super bad for any stones that are softer than quartz. Like amber for example. Digging around in the dirt with an amber ring will ruin it, guaranteed.

Listen, stones are amazing. I don't want to seem like a downer, it's just that like anything else, they shouldn't be abused. Some people just aren't aware of what constitutes as stone abuse! I'm just trying to help your stones stay safe for you to enjoy for a long long time!