Sterling silver is a metal that tarnishes (oxidizes) rather easily. It is inevitable that your sterling silver jewelry will start to tarnish but here are some tips that will help slow down the process.

• Store in an airtight plastic bag with anti-tarnish strips or a small ziplock bag (which is included with your purchase) if possible, as exposure to air helps to speed up the tarnishing process.
• Avoid contact with household chemicals, perspiration, chlorinated water, or any substances with sulfur. Lotions, cosmetics, hairspray/hair products, and perfumes also speeds up tarnishing so try to put on you jewelry as a last step after getting ready.
• Polish your silver with a soft, non abrasive cloth using long back and forth motions.
• Warm water, mild dishwashing soap and a soft non abrasive cloth can also do the trick if polishing doesn't remove all the tarnish.

Gold filled jewelry is created in a similar process to gold plated jewelry, yet it is leaps and bounds ahead in quality. Gold filled is created by applying gold over a base metal and the gold content must be at least 1/20th the weight of the total piece. Gold filled offers an economical alternative, while giving little up in quality.

• To maintain the beauty of your jewelry, whether it is gold filled or solid gold, salt water, chlorine and all heavy detergents and cleaning agents should be avoided.
• The best thing you can do for your gold/gold filled jewelry is to clean regularly using a little bit of warm water, mild dishwashing liquid and a soft non abrasive cloth to dry and shine after.

With its bright, silvery finish and its resistance to tarnish, stainless steel is a very popular choice for jewelry. Unlike most other jewelry, you can wear your stainless steel pieces in the shower or in the pool. Stainless steel jewelry doesn't require much special care but it does scratch. Store your stainless steel pieces separately from other jewelry. You can clean your pieces with a couple drops of mild dishwashing soap and warm water. Always use a soft, non abrasive cloth to clean or polish.

Sunshine Polishing Cloths are such a great asset for your jewelry cleaning needs! The cloths work wonders! I use them to clean my tarnished sterling silver jewelry all the time and it always brings them back to a beautiful shine.

They also work for gold, copper and brass jewelry.

They are very easy to use... just rub the surface to be polished with medium pressure until you are satisfied with the results. Use cloth until it is completely darkened. DO NOT WASH CLOTH. Simply throw it out and use a new one.

Get it HERE.