Everything You Wanted To Know About Antique Silver Jewelry

Antique silver jewelry is not just treasured for craftsmanship, but also for its historical and monetary value. The term "antique" is typically used for jewelry pieces that are at least seventy years old. However, these days, even vintage items are referred to as "antique" - the more specific term for them, however, is "retro". There are several places where you can buy these ornamental pieces. You can contact dealers specializing in collecting these items, attend at estate jewelry sales, and purchase them in auctions. You can even buy them online. For example, sylviasantiques.com is one of the best places on the Internet to buy antique engagement rings, and other jewelry pieces. They offer a wide selection of antique jewelry pieces, ranging from the Georgian period through Contemporary, including Retro, Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Edwardian, and Victorian. They search all over the world for unique, quality pieces to include in their collection. You can rely on them specifically for yellow gold, white gold, and platinum, and antique engagement rings, bracelets, and necklaces. If you choose an antique jewelry item, it can become an heirloom for you and your loved ones.

When it comes to buying antique jewelry items, there are two things that you need to understand. First, you must know what you are buying, and second, you must also have a good understanding of its current and potential worth. It will in fact be much better if you are familiar with some of the major silversmiths. For example, if you are looking for a piece of royalty, you should look no further than the wide selection offered by sylviasantiques.com.

Whether it is a ring, bracelet, necklace, or just any other antique jewelry item, you need to exercise great caution in order to clean the same. If you do not want to take any risk, the easiest and safest way is to take it to a professional. However, if it needs some minor touch-up only, you can do the cleaning work yourself right at your home. In any case, it is very important for you to understand that antique pieces of jewelry should be cleaned occasionally and not very frequently. A good idea is to clean them every six months. This way, you can easily avoid deep tarnishing. However, you are strongly recommended not to use bleach to clean your antique silver jeweler pieces because this is a very harsh chemical, which will darken the color of silver instead of enhancing its shine.

You may have heard that pure silver does not tarnish at all, which is also true. But, the thing is that silver in its pure form is too soft to be used for jewelry. The sterling silver that is used for making jewelry, even the antique pieces, is actually an alloy of silver and around 10% copper. So, it is copper that tarnishes quickly through oxidation, not silver.

You have to be very careful while you are cleaning your antique jewelry items at home. Following are some of the tips that will ensure successful cleaning -

<> In general, it is always better to use a very soft bristle toothbrush for the most delicate work, so as to loosen and remove the dirt. However, certain other tools can also be quite handy (only if you know how to use them caution), such as toothpicks, pipe cleaners, and special brushes.
<> The first thing however that is very important for you to do is to check the jewelry item for some loose stones. You can use a toothpick or just your finger in order to see if the stones are wiggling. If you feel they are, take it to a professional and they will restore the same for you.
<> If your antique silver jewelry piece is really very old, some of the foil backings on stones are likely to have come off the age. Therefore, you are strongly recommended to check each and every stone backing for foil.
<> There are certain precautions about foil-baked stones that you must keep in mind. For example, foil baked stones should never be put in water because then foil baking may get removed, which will eventually deteriorate your antique jewelry piece instead of enhancing its look. You should not even use a damp cloth in this case because it may create the same problem.
<> If there are no foil-baked stones, you can use a damp cloth. Please note that it should be a damp cloth, not a soaking wet cloth. Besides that, before you wet the entire jewelry piece, make sure that you test the damp cloth on a small area first.
<> A soap, water, and ammonia bath works for most antique jewelry pieces but it should not be assumed as a common method for all items. For example, you need to take great caution while cleaning antique engagement rings.

There are various types of antique silver jewelry pieces that you can buy from Sylvia Antiques. Their wide collection includes rings, watch fobs, bracelets, tiaras, pendants, necklaces, lockets, and even pocket watches. Hair pins, hat pins, brooches, and cloak pins are also available. The style, characteristics, and materials used in these jewelry pieces are the main things that you need to consider while buying the same. For example, Georgian jewelry usually features nature-inspired designs, such as stones, flowers, and leaves like rose diamonds, garnets, coral, and topaz.

However, unlike the Georgian jewelry, Victorian jewelry changes throughout the period. For example, the earliest models feature romantic gold filigree. The latest models are more feminine while the Mid-Victorian antique jewelry pieces are more colorful and bolder, incorporating Japanese design and featuring jasper, sea shells, amethyst, onyx, and jet. Some common designs include crescents and stars while some common stones that are used in antique jewelry pieces include peridots and sapphires. The art deco jewelry of the 1920's and 1930's which have the designs executed in cultured or faux pearls, glass beads, Bakelite, celluloid, and enamel, is also considered as antique. No matter which type of antique jewelry items you are considering to buy, the best bet for you is to buy them from sylviasantiques.com, where quality comes first and at an unbeatable price.