Silver has been used since ancient times, but has not survived as well as ancient gold because it tarnished and decomposes. There have been times, however, when silver was “in”; we are going through such a vogue today.

Silver is the commonest of the precious metals. Fine silver is pure silver, which is seldom used for jewelry because it is too soft. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 of copper, the alloy most often used. Silver weighs about half as much as gold, has greater flexibility, but is not as malleable, it has always been less expensive as well. A comparable piece of gold jewelry might cost four or five times that of a piece of sterling silver jewelry.

The current fashion trend toward black clothing has made silver jewelry more popular than ever. Silver likes to be worn; it stays cleaner & shinier through movement and friction. So sterling silver is a perfect accessory for today’s fast paced lifestyles. Much like gold, sterling silver needs to be cleaned.

And now, knowing about care and cleaning of your Sterling Silver Jewelry

1.) For daily cleaning it is recommended to use a simple jewelry polishing cloth that is impregnated with special jewelry cleaner. These are widely available and are very easy to use. Store your cloth in a plastic zip-lock bag, and keeping your jewelry drawer or armoire. It is a good idea to have one cleaning cloth for gold and one for silver.

2.) For a slightly more “in-depth” cleaning you may want to use a liquid jewelry cleaner.

3.) For cleaning badly tarnished silver, here’s a neat little trick

A.) Cover the inside bottom of a heat-proof glass dish on bowl with a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up.
B.) Place the tarnished silver in the bottom of the dish, contacting the aluminum foil.
C.) Add 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda, and then slowly pour boiling water to cover the piece. The tarnish will gradually collect on the aluminum foil.
D.) Remove your silver, rinse thoroughly, and polish.

If you are in the market for a diamond, don’t let all the industry jargon scare you off. Here’s a little translation on what these terms mean so next time you go into the jewelry store you can speak the same language as the sales clerk!

1. CUT. Not the shape of the stone, but the quality of its facets.
2. CLARITY. Clarity levels start at Flawless and descend from Very Very Slight (VVS) to Very Slight (VS) and Slightly Included (SI). Clarity measures the number of flaws or inclusions in a diamond.
3. CARAT. The weight of a diamond. One carat equals about 200 milligrams.
4. COLOR. Transparent diamonds (those created from 100 percent carbon) are rated on a scale from D (clear) through Z (light yellow). Grade D is the most prestigious, but, because they are so rare, natural diamonds with tints of pink, blue or purple have a cachet all their own.

Not all diamonds come with a certification but you’ll probably want to set your sites on one that does. Make sure yours is certified by a well known laboratory such as the Gemological Institute of America. Going with a well known and respected lab will insure that you are getting exactly what you thought you were getting. It might be cheaper to buy an uncertified diamond or one certified by a “no name” lab but you may not get what you think you are getting!

It is best if you can get some sort of guarantee for your diamond. This indicates that the merchant stands behind their products. This is important especially when shopping on the web since there is no face to face contact.

You probably already know that the diamond is the hardest rock there is. Hardness is measured by something called the Mohs scale where diamonds have the highest spot at number 10. If you’ve ever wondered what this scale is, here’s the lowdown of each step.

1. Easily scratched by a fingernail.
2. Just scratched by a fingernail.
3. Scratches and is scratched by a copper coin.
4. Not scratched by a copper coin and doesn’t scratch.
5. Just scratches glass and is easily scratched by a knife.
6. Easily scratches glass and is just scratched by a file.
7. Not scratched by a file.
8. Scratched only by corundum and diamond.
9. Will scratch anything but a diamond.
10.Scratched only by another diamond.