Sterling Silver Ring Finishes

Sterling Silver Rings are commonly finished Highly polished, semi-polished or antique or dulled or blackened. The finish of a Sterling Silver Ring will depend on the style of the ring, and the region of the world that the ring style was developed.

Sterling Silver Ring Styles

      Amethyst

      Blue Topaz

      Citrine

      Emerald

      Garnet

      Blue Iolite

      Peridot

      Ruby

      Three Stone

      Turquoise

      Engagement rings

      Cluster Rings

      Cubic Zirconium

      Sterling Silver Rings

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Sterling Silver Rings Finishes vary from Bright to Dull
The method of finishing sterling silver rings is dependent upon the final appearance desired. Today many of the rings are highly polished to resemble white gold. To maintain this level of polish several steps must be taken to maintain the original finish. Once the original finish is lost it is very hard to restore it. Think of a sterling silver ring as you would a piece of clothing. If you wear a piece of clothing everyday, all day long it will wear out faster than if it is only worn for dress. Many people will buy a sterling silver ring with the intention of wearing it everyday. However there are times during the day that it would be better to remove a sterling silver ring, or even a gold ring. It would be beneficial to remove a sterling silver ring when washing, gardening, doing mechanical work, handling any types of chemicals including household cleaners, and swimming.

There are two main reasons why these types of activities can harm the finish. Surface contact will scratch sterling silver rings. Though each scratch might be microscopic the sum of many scratches will dull the ring. Do not permit the ring to accumulate scratches. There are jewelry polishing clothes available that have very fine abrasive polishing agents impregnated into the cloth. The abrasive agent resurfaces the ring each time it is rubbed over the ring. When a polishing cloth is used on a regular basis it is possible to maintain a fairly bright shiny finish.

What makes Sterling Silver tarnish or turn black Sterling silver rings are made of a metal alloy that contains 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent other metals. The majority of the 7.5 percent of the other metals is copper. The mixture of metals is needed to increase the strength of the sterling silver. However the copper and other trace metals are significantly responsible for the manner in which a sterling silver ring will turn dull, or blacken over time.

When sterling silver rings, are exposed to the air they come in contact with various chemicals that contain sulfur. Sulfur is a very common element. Sulfuric acid, and related compounds containing sulfur are introduced into the atmosphere in many industrial processes. These include the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, and oil. Also massive quantities of sulfur are released into the atmosphere from volcanos, and sulfur pits that literally blow hundreds, or thousands of tons into the atmosphere daily.

Chemicals that contain sulfur, and related compounds will combine with the copper in a sterling silver ring to form a black coating over time. The basic compound is copper sulfide. The regular use of a polishing cloth can also remove this material. There are also silver cleaners and polishing compounds that can help remove blackening, also know as tarnish. Many of these products leave a coating on the silver to prevent further tarnishing. However a sterling silver ring, unlike a silver tea pot that sits untouched on a shelf, will quickly have these coating agents washed off. Therefore repeated application of polishing and coating agents are needed to try and maintain a new appearance.

Antique style rings are not highly polished Many new sterling silver rings are produced in antique fashion. The rings are meant to look old even when new. The silver is not highly polished and may have a grayest appearance. Therefore antique styles require less maintenance than highly polished styles. Rings made in this fashion should not be polished with a polishing cloth. Typically they have carved silver effects. If polished the highest surface area might be shined, and the inner areas would be dull.The design would look uneven. If an antique style ring becomes too tarnished looking try a quick dip in a liquid silver cleaner followed by a quick gentle brushing with a soft tooth brush, followed by rinsing in water and drying. Quick and gentle are key! Too long a contact with silver cleaner, or too hard a brushing could remove the antique finish. If too much tarnish still remains just repeat the process. If the rings becomes too shiny if will regain an antique appearance with normal wear.

Some designs are intentionally blacken The third major finishing technique is to intentionally blacken patterns deeply cast into sterling silver rings. This is very common practice with heavy cast sterling silver rings made in Bali. Sections of the pattern on the ring are exposed to sulfur containing chemicals for different lengths of time. The result is a ring that can vary from some bright and shiny surface areas to almost black inner pattern sections. Since the blackest areas are usually deep within the cast pattern and the more exposed lighter surfaces are lighter or shiner a very gentle rubbing with a polishing cloth can lighten the outermost surfaces, and leave the blacker deeper areas unaffected.

Some rings are highly polished, but also have blacken accents Sterling silver bands, which are fairly thin, unlike the heavy cast styles, commonly have a high polished finish, with accent details cut or pressing into the ring. These fine details are often blacken as a design element. To polish this type of ring a very gentle polishing with a polishing cloth might offer the best solution. The polishing cloth should only contact the ring's surface. By using very light pressure the cloth's fiber's will not be pressed into the shallow recesses. The face of the ring should be shined while the delicate marking should not be disturbed.

These method work for most sterling silver rings, however there is no assurance that these polishing methods will work on any particular ring. These methods could harm the finish on some sterling silver rings. You should try and polish a very small area on the back of the ring to see how it reacts to polishing before trying to polish the whole ring. Special caution, emeralds may be coated stones. Any ring with an emerald should not be dipped into a cleaning agent, unless it is made to clean emeralds as it's coating can be removed.