Silver jewelry of any kind is subject to oxidization, a process by which the metal darkens and looses its shine. This not a sign of poor quality, it is the way this metal behaves with time and exposure to air. It must be cleaned in order to keep its original beauty.

Many products are available in jewelry store and even department stores, to clean silver jewelry. You can use the same cleaning method for both sterling silver and silver plated jewelry.

Many acceptable and well known brand of products are available. Most of theses products are suitable for cleaning chains and earrings without stones. They do a good job of returning jewelry to a shining original condition.

For earrings or jewelry with semi-precious stones, it is best to steer away from harsh chemicals. There are special silver cleaning cloths, sold in many jewelry stores that can clean earrings with stones. You can rub the silver with the cloth to restore its luster.

I do not use such expensive and harsh chemicals. When my silver is oxidized I fall back on my grand-mother's old tricks. They are cheaper and do wonder for my earrings.

Trick number 1: Lay the earrings on a bath towel. You will need a little toothpaste and a soft toothbrush. Roll a little bit of toothpaste between your fingers and apply it to the silver earrings. Follow this immediately with a gentle scrub with the toothbrush. It is not necessary to scrub hard. Scrub the entire the piece but avoid to scrub the stones. If you rubbed the stones it is not too bad, so do not worry about it. When you are done, rinse your jewelry in warm water. Dry it with the towel and you can again enjoy shiny silver.

Another trick grand-ma taught me was to use a piece of lemon to clean my silver jewelry. Simply cut a lemon in half, rub on the silver, rinse, dry and voil, your earrings are back to their original splendor.

The third trick makes use of aluminum foil, that most of us have in the house. You will wrap the earrings in aluminum foil and submerge them in a pan of water to which you added salt. Bring the water to boil and let it boil for about five minutes. Open the foil, rinse the jewelry and your earrings should look like new.

If you jewelry was so tarnished that these methods did not succeed in restoring it, you may want to try a little glass cleaner, the same one that you use around the house.

You should under no circumstances clean silver in an ultrasonic cleaning device, as this damages it. Silver earrings are beautiful, affordable and easily cleaned. I hope these will help you get more enjoyment from old earrings.