By Mike CookeOne of my passions is silver jewelries and I own a collection of them. It all started when I was in high school, around 10 years ago, when I had this penchant to buy these jewelries. I have sterling silver necklaces that I rarely wear because the styles had become outdated so I stored them in a  jewelry box in my room for safekeeping. To my dismay, when I opened them out last week, I had the biggest surprise of my life.  I was so taken aback to see that most of my precious sterling silver jewelries had turned to black. My initial  reaction was to think that I had been duped.  That some of the pieces I bought were fakes. I took them all out and went to a  local jeweler to have them looked over, turns out they just tarnished over time.The curiosity in me grew and I set out to find out how can I prevent this from happening. I did some research over the Internet and found  out that sulfur, an easily found substance makes the fluid brilliant coating of our sterling silver jewelries to tarnish and become  black as the night. I went back to the jeweler to confirm this and he was generous enough to provide me with some tips on how to handle my sterling silver necklaces especially when storing them away. Some valuable advice were also given on the best ways to clean the sterling jewelries to keep them beautiful and dazzling.To start off, clean first your jewelries and keep them that way. Everyday, wash them with soap and tap water but make sure you thoroughly dry before storing them in your jewelry box. You can also use metal polish once a week but not  the kind with granules as they can damage the shiny finish of your sterling jewelries. Now what should you do if the jewelries become tarnished over time? The jeweler recommended that you take it to a jewelry shop and have it professionally cleaned. However if you’re on a tight budget you can make a home cleaning solution. With a pyrex container, mix baking soda with water, put your sterling silver necklaces on it, and boil.Secondly, if you intend to store your jewelries for the night you can simply put in your jewelry box so you can access it  easily the following day.  For long term safe keeping you need to make sure that your sterling silver necklaces and other sterling silver jewelries are thoroughly clean, wrapped in tissue and stored in airtight containers. Makes you wonder why should they be in airtight containers? Most experts say that airborne sulfur is always waiting for its chance to pound on your sterling silver jewelries so you need to store these in airtight containers.Sterling silver necklaces have characteristically fluid and shiny finish, special attention to these items will result to long lasting luster of your jewelries. For more tips and advice on the correct way to care for your silver jewelries and to discover latest styles available please drop by http://www.overstocksilver.com.