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Caring for your Silver Jewelry

The natural oils from your body as well as the elements will dull and eventually tarnish your silver jewelry. To keep it looking its best, purchase a jewelers cloth or “Buffy” cloth and wipe the piece before putting it away. Never use silver dips or paste polishes because it may harm the stone as well as any oxidized parts. One customer put a piece of jewelry she had purchased from us in a silver dip and forgot it for a couple of days. It badly pitted the silver and we couldn’t repair the damage it caused.
 

Severely tarnished pieces of silver jewelry can be cleaned with household ammonia and a soft toothbrush. Be sure to rinse it thoroughly afterwards. If there is a stone in it, avoid letting it soak in the ammonia, as some stones can be damaged by long term contact with the ammonia and many stones in Native American jewelry are cushioned by sawdust or cardboard underneath and this can eventually get wet and swell, thus causing the stone to come loose.
We get many bracelets and watch bracelets brought in for repair. Most often, the problem is stress on the silver caused by stretching it to put it on and then squeezing it to fit. This is reversed when it is taken off and eventually the piece breaks. The proper way to put it on or take it off is to make sure that you roll it on and off the inside of the arm, just above the wrist, sort of hooking the end under the bone and rolling your wrist toward yourself.


Many stones used in Navajo jewelry such as coral, turquoise and shell are very delicate and fragile. If they break or fall out be sure to find a qualified jeweler who is familiar with Navajo jewelry to fix it. In order to repair a broken piece of jewelry, all the remaining stones usually must be removed since the whole piece must be heated in order to be soldered. If the stones are heated they will burn or crack. Often when removing old stones, some will crack, chip or break. This is because they have become brittle with age and wear and tear. It may be difficult to find a matching stone to replace a missing or broken one. Many times repairing an old piece is more work, time and money than making a whole new piece.

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