Monday, October 26, 2009

Silver jewelry we know about

Sterling silver jewelry has been a popular commodity for thousands of years. One of the obvious reasons is the affordability over other precious metals gold and platinum. The large variety of sterling silver jewelry requires certain knowledge in order to choose the right piece and also keep it in good condition as long as possible. The followings are the most common questions concerning sterling silver jewelry.

How do I clean sterling silver jewelry?

It depends. Usually, it is sufficient to use a jewelry cloth (with two layers of cloths in different colors) that you can get from a jewelry accessory store. Don't use any hard object to clean sterling silver jewelry; even paper towel could scratch the surface. You should rub any dirt off using a jewelry cloth, not fingernails. Silver-dip is another commonly used sterling silver jewelry cleaner, which can also be obtained from jewelry store. The entire silver jewelry is immerged in the solution for half a minute to a minute and then rinsed with water. Make sure the silver jewelry is not plated with any other metal before using the silver-dip or the plating will be damaged.

Where do I store sterling silver jewelry?

It is very important to store sterling silver jewelry properly when it is not used. The ideal place to store sterling silver jewelry is cool and away from sunlight. Heat and light will turn a silver jewelry yellow and cause it to tarnish quickly. Even indoor light source like florescent lights or light bulbs turn the color of silver jewelry over time. If you expect not to wear a certain piece for a long time, put it in a air-tight bag and store it in a drawer.

What types of silver jewelry plating are there?

Unlike gold and platinum, however, pure silver is rather unstable and oxides rather quickly. Therefore, silver jewelry is usually plated with another metal to protect it from tarnishing. There are two kinds of plating for silver jewelry: nickel and rhodium plating. Nickel plating has a more whitish look and rhodium plating has a darker look. Rhodium is used to plate white gold and platinum jewelry and is much more expensive than nickel, and it give better protection to the silver underneath. On the other hand, some silver jewelry is not plated. For instance, high polished sterling silver jewelry does not have any plating and the surface is polished by machine to render shininess. Also, "oxidized silver" jewelry is oxidized on purpose to give a dark antique look and is not plated with any other metals.

How do I know the purity of my silver jewelry?

The purity of sterling silver refers to 92.5% of silver in the alloy. In order to confirm the purity, the metal itself has to be sent to a laboratory to be tested. However, most of the sterling silver jewelry produced nowadays has a "925" stamp to indicate the authenticity of the jewelry. Although there are cases where stamps are forged and the metal is either not silver or the purity is not as stated, they are very rare.

How about engraving and resizing?

Engraving and resizing of sterling silver rings is rather simple due to the ductility and relatively low melting point. However, make sure your jeweler understands the process of refinishing the ring and that they possess the necessary equipment to do so. Not all jewelers have the equipment to recoat the rhodium plating after cutting and welding the ring. Also, rings set with stones are sometimes not resizable because resizing might cause the stones to pop out. Such settings include channel and invisible settings.

Can I wear sterling silver jewelry if I am allergic to nickel?

Yes, just make sure the jewelry is pure sterling silver, not plated with nickel. Even Rhodium plated sterling silver jewelry sometimes contains a nickel layer between the silver and the rhodium to act as an adhesive. Hence, buy only high polished sterling silver jewelry if you are allergic to nickel.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Sterling silver jewelry: Affordable elegance

Sterling silver is being hailed in recent times as one of those inventions that have revolutionized the world of fashion. Sterling silver provides all the elegance and glamour of silver at a price that can only be described as unbelievably affordable for fashionistas. Many companies are creating replicas of jewelry worn by celebrities using Sterling silver and cubic zirconia crystals.
Sterling silver is an alloy consisting of pure silver and some other metal, such as, titanium or copper. The presence of the other metal imparts a tint to the metal, and makes it look different from original silver. The brownish tint of copper or the blackish tint of titanium gives a new definition to the metal, something that allows it to look great in conjunction with artificial gemstones, especially cubic zirconia crystals.
Combinations of Sterling silver and cubic zirconia (CZ) crystals are quite popular among producers of imitation jewelry. Sterling silver jewelry, besides being affordable, adds a dash of elegance to almost any outfit. For instance, a pair of heart-shaped earrings made of sterling silver and embellished with cubic zirconia crystals can add an aura of subtle elegance to some of the best prom gowns available. Again, a sterling silver bracelet studded with numerous small zirconia crystals can turn even the most mundane corporate outfit into a head-turner getup in a crowd. Again, a necklace made of sterling silver and decorated with zirconia crystals can look very endearing in a family get together, such as a Christmas party or a Thanksgiving dinner.
Even some tiny jewelry pieces in sterling silver can work great for those occasions when you feel like going easy on the jewelry. For instance, wearing CZ stud earrings can be a good option for a day out on the beach. Sterling silver rings are also good, provided you don’t stay in the water for too long. Sterling silver can get corroded by salty water, so it is important to keep these pieces of jewelry out of harm’s way.
Sterling silver jewelry is not only affordable and stylish, but it is also pretty easy to shop for in online stores. Many prominent jewelry companies offer options of purchasing sterling silver jewelry through their websites. The customers are often offered exciting discounts on the already economic price tag, thus making the entire process pretty easy on the purse.
Sterling silver jewelry is here to stay; there can be no doubt about it. The sheer elegance and unsurpassed affordability make sure that the popularity of this type jewelry will only increase as time passes. So, don’t wait. Get your very own collection of sterling silver jewelry today.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Basic jewelry stone inlaid method

Everyone likes beautiful jewelry with bright and shining natural stone inlaid on it, because it is really a beautiful work. If we see the jewelry without stone or stone without jewelry it definite decreases its value. But the type of inlaid method has many; so I will introduce the most common way for stone inlaid. The method is called "package insert”, it means we use the metal, usually silver or gold, wrap the stones and weld it properly in design position of jewelry. In order to show the shining precious stone, the base usually gets very low.
The following description give the process of inlaid:
1. Border: Take about 0.3mm thick metal sheet and cut it in strip, length and height will depend on the size of stone. The length of strip metal must be longer than stone, but the wide of strip must be smaller than stone in order to let stone show out. Wrap the stone and calculate the required length, remove the excess length and finish it as a border.
2. Base: Take about 0.8mm thick plate, the size must be greater than precious stone, its better to be large enough to wrap the stone and to draw the border line to depict the shape, and then saw it. In order to reduce the weight of base we usually hollow the middle of base.
3. Now, we weld the border and the base to form a block.
4. Weld the block on jewelry.
5. Upon complete all the welding for the block and jewelry; we can inlay the stone now. We put small amount of glue inside the block then inlaid precious stones in the block and stick well with block. Use tweezers push the border back to stringent precious stone, make sure the stone is fix well on the block, best way to tighten the stone is make sure the tweezers work orderly from left, right, upper, lower, upper-left, bottom-right, bottom-left, and upper-right, eight points of direction. Finally we roll down the border to make sure gem stones tightly to enclose.

Now, we have beautiful silver jewelry with stone. Though this method is general procedure for jewelry factory, but you can also work it in your workshop. Just practice more you will be an expert just like our factory master.

Now, we have beautiful silver jewelry with stone.


By Ladystreets wholesale silver jewelry