Before You Trust Dr Google With Your Jewellery…

This week, a lady called Millie came into the shop carrying a little pouch of jewellery and looking genuinely upset.

Inside were some of her most precious pieces — silver jewellery she wore and loved regularly — but instead of their usual soft shine, everything looked dull, cloudy and lifeless. Some pieces had almost developed a strange grey haze across the surface.

As we chatted, the story unfolded in the way many modern jewellery disasters do: with good intentions and a quick Google search. Millie runs a nail business and owns an ultrasonic cleaner for disinfecting her tools. Thinking it might freshen up her silver jewellery too, she popped her pieces inside. Unfortunately, the cleaner stripped away what little shine remained and left the jewellery looking far worse than before.

Naturally, she did what most of us would do — she turned to Dr Google.

Google suggested the old foil, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda trick, which is often shared online as a miracle silver-cleaning method. The problem is that jewellery is rarely as simple as the internet makes it sound. Different finishes, textures, gemstones and types of silver all react differently, and while home remedies sometimes improve tarnish temporarily, they can also leave jewellery looking flat, damaged or oddly whitened.

By the time Millie arrived in the shop she was completely heartbroken, convinced she had ruined jewellery that meant a great deal to her.

Thankfully, all was not lost.

I used a combination of my professional tumbler, my jewellery ultrasonic cleaner and some careful polishing work at the bench, and slowly her jewellery came back to life. The shine returned, the depth of the silver reappeared and, perhaps most importantly, the relief on Millie’s face arrived too.

It reminded me how often jewellery care becomes a “too late” job.

Most silver jewellery does not need dramatic cleaning hacks or internet experiments. In fact, the best thing you can do is give it a little gentle attention regularly rather than leaving tarnish to build up for months and months.

A few moments with a polishing cloth while watching television or putting jewellery away properly at the end of the day makes a huge difference over time. Jewellery responds much better to gentle ongoing care than occasional panic cleaning sessions involving boiling water and kitchen chemistry.

That is exactly why every piece of jewellery from Claire Howard Jewellery comes with a care card, and why many orders include a polishing cloth too. They are not just little extras tucked into the box — they are genuinely useful tools designed to help your jewellery stay beautiful for years to come.

I think we sometimes forget that jewellery is precious because it becomes so much a part of everyday life. We wear it while rushing around, applying hand cream, gardening, cooking, working and holidaying. It travels through life with us, collecting fingerprints, memories and occasionally a little tarnish too.

And honestly, tarnish itself is not the enemy.

Silver naturally reacts with the world around it. That soft darkening is simply part of owning real silver jewellery. The important thing is knowing how to care for it gently and confidently, rather than reaching immediately for the nearest internet “miracle fix”.

If your jewellery ever looks tired or dull and you are unsure what to do, it is always worth asking a jeweller before trying drastic cleaning methods. Often the solution is much simpler — and kinder — than the internet suggests.

If you would like to know more about why silver tarnishes in the first place, I have also written another blog post all about the causes of tarnish and how to prevent it. Read more about it here - The reason your jewellery tarnishes.... | Claire Howard Jewellery Blog

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