Silver can be found in photographic waste

According to Monex, silver has drastically gone up in value over the past few years. While gold has been stable throughout the years and is always considered a wise investment, investors have recently noticed that silver has even surpassed gold. Some statistics show that between July of 2003 and November of 2006, gold has increased about 86 percent while silver has increased by about 200 percent.

Fashion Jewelry Store Silver holloware and flatware are among the most popular items in the world of antiques and collectibles. Today, many silver items are bought and sold in antique shops, flea markets and online auctions like e-Bay. Before buying or selling a piece made of silver, it's important to understand its worth. There are several different ways to check a silver piece's value and determine if a selling price is fair and reasonable.

Silver can be found in photographic waste, electrical and electronic scrap, jewelry and coinage. Since silver is a natural resource and is used for many different things, it's important to recycle it. As the population grows, the demand for silver will naturally increase. There are different ways to ensure that silver gets reused and recycled. Read on to learn about how to recycle silver.

Sterling silver is a beautiful precious metal that needs a little extra care to keep it shining. While not quite as soft as gold, this metal scratches and bends easily. Exposure to air alone can cause it to oxidize and tarnish. Cleaning sterling silver is an easy task that won't take much time and gives instant results. There are several methods and even commercial products that boast the ability to make it shine instantly, but beware as many of these products use harsh chemicals that will eventually be harmful to the metal. Simple household products are the safest bet for cleaning sterling silver.

How silver tarnishes
Tarnish, which appears as black or brown streaks and patches on silver ware, is silver sulfide, a compound formed when silver interacts with sulfur in the air. Sulfur is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and was a constant concern of homemakers when houses were heated by coal furnaces, and silver items not used on a frequent basis were polished at least once a month to keep their shine.

Commercial ways to prevent tarnish
Commercial silver polishes employ fine-grit abrasives, ammonia and other ingredients to dissolve tarnish. Some contain surfacents that retard future tarnishing. Other metal polishes and toothpaste (a popular emergency substitute) contain abrasives too coarse to be used on silver, leaving scratches that cannot be removed and permanently dulling the surface.

"Silver-cloth" contains tarnish-retardants. If you have favorite but seldom-used pieces of silver, wrapping them in silver-cloth will lessen the tarnish they accumulate.MORE:Silver Jewelry