Jewellery care

Carys Rhian Jewellery aims to make jewellery that lasts by using good quality ecosilver, brass and copper from a trusted UK supplier. However, you can easily prolong the life of your jewellery by following these simple steps.

So, if you do notice that your jewellery has begun to tarnish or doesn’t look quite as shiny and new as when you bought it, then don’t worry as it can be easily fixed. I’m also happy to clean your jewellery professionally, so please drop me a message if you’d like to discuss.

Learn how to care for your silver and brass pieces with our expert jewellery care guide, including cleaning and storage.

Silver will gradually tarnish (turn black) when it is left in the air because of a chemical reaction in the metal causes it to react with sulphur compounds known as hydrogen sulphide (H2S). This doesn't happen overnight, so it is fine to leave your jewellery out of storage on occasion.

Luckily, this tarnishing can easily be reserved using some simple and affordable cleaning techniques which will help remove the black tarnish to reveal the shiny silver once more.

As part of my commitment to creating sustainable pieces, all my silver jewellery is made using ecosilver (recycled sterling 925. silver.). Ecosilver behaves in exactly the same way as standard sterling silver and tends to stay looking its best when worn regularly and stored in an jewellery bag or box in a cool, dry place.

Silver tarnish can occur more quickly when the metal comes into contact with perfume, make-up, creams or chlorine, so if possible remove before swimming or applying perfumes etc. and dry if your item gets wet. 

As a first step to remove silver tarnish, simply clean your item using warm, soapy water before carefully rubbing dry with a soft cloth.

If it requires a bit more help, a tiny amount of silver polish can be applied to the silver and then gently rubbed to further remove any tarnish. Regular cleaning with a professional polishing cloth can also help.

In a similar way to silver, brass will also tarnish and look dull. Simply follow the steps for cleaning and storing silver jewellery, but should it need extra cleaning try using a cleaning product called Brasso or similar and rub a tiny amount on the brass before gently polishing any water marks or tarnish away.