Most advice about silver tells you how to clean it. Far less tells you how to store it, which is a shame, because where a piece spends the twenty three hours a day you are not wearing it matters at least as much as how you wear it. Silver that is stored well barely tarnishes at all. Silver left in a humid bathroom or tangled in a drawer with everything else does the opposite. If your silver keeps darkening or scratching faster than it should, the problem is almost always storage. Here is how to do it properly.
Why silver tarnishes in storage
Silver tarnishes when it meets the air, and specifically the tiny amounts of sulphur in it, along with moisture. This happens slowly, but it happens fastest in warm, damp, still air, which is exactly the air in a bathroom or a closed drawer near one. Rhodium plating, which every Loretana piece has, slows this dramatically, but no plating holds back air and moisture forever. The whole aim of good storage is simple: keep the air, the moisture, and the contact away from the metal while it is resting.
The one rule, in three words
If you remember nothing else, remember dry, sealed, and separate. Dry, because moisture is what speeds tarnish. Sealed, because still, enclosed air with an anti tarnish helper stays far kinder to silver than open air. Separate, because silver scratches silver, and chains tangle with everything. Almost every storage method below is just one of those three words made practical. Get those right and your silver will look, years from now, much as it does today.
Keep it dry
Damp is the enemy, so the first move is to store silver somewhere dry, which rules out the bathroom, however convenient it is. A bedroom drawer or a box on a shelf, away from steam and radiators, is far better. A small sachet of silica gel, the kind that comes in shoe boxes and supplement bottles, tucked into the box absorbs stray moisture and is the cheapest upgrade you can make. Put pieces away dry, too, never damp from washing or from a day's wear.
Seal out the air
Air is the other half of the problem, so the best stored silver lives sealed. A small zip lock bag, with as much air pressed out as possible, slows tarnish remarkably. Better still are anti tarnish strips or anti tarnish bags, treated to absorb the sulphur compounds that darken silver, which jewellers use for exactly this reason. One strip in a sealed box or pouch protects everything inside it for months. For a piece you wear rarely, sealing it away is the single most effective thing you can do.
Keep pieces apart
Silver is soft enough to scratch silver, so pieces should not be stored loose together where they rub. A lined jewellery box with separate compartments is ideal, and a soft pouch for each piece is the simple, portable version. Every Loretana piece arrives in a pouch for this reason, and the pouch is worth keeping and using. The goal is that no two pieces share a surface, so nothing scratches, and so a ring never rests against a chain it can mark.
Stop chains from tangling
Chains are the great frustration of any jewellery box, and the fix is easy once you know it. Fasten the clasp before you put a chain away, so it cannot thread itself through its own links or anyone else's. Then either lay it flat in its own pouch or compartment, or hang it, which is the best method of all for fine chains. A row of small hooks inside a cupboard door keeps chains straight, separate, and untangled, ready to wear rather than ready to fight with.
What not to store silver near
A few everyday things actively tarnish silver and are worth keeping it away from. Rubber and many elastic bands release sulphur and are surprisingly aggressive, so never wrap silver in them. Wool and felt can do the same, as can some untreated woods, which is why a cheap wooden box is not always a friend. Keep silver away from cosmetics, perfume, and cleaning products too. Stored on its own, dry and sealed, it has none of these problems.
Storing silver while travelling
Travel is when silver gets scratched and lost, so it pays to pack it properly. A jewellery roll, or simply an individual pouch for each piece tucked into a small case, keeps everything separate and findable. Fasten chains before they go in. Avoid throwing pieces loose into a wash bag where they tangle and rub against harder objects. A little organisation here is the difference between unpacking ready to wear silver and unpacking a knotted, scratched handful.
Long term storage
For pieces you are putting away for a long time, the rules tighten. Clean and fully dry each piece first, since anything left on the surface will slowly etch it. Seal it with an anti tarnish strip in an airtight bag or box, kept somewhere dry and stable in temperature. Then, every few months, it is worth a quick look, both to catch any tarnish early and simply because silver, like anything, does better for being remembered. Properly sealed, it will wait for you in good condition for years.
Does rhodium plated silver still need this
It needs less of it, but it still benefits. Rhodium is exactly why Loretana pieces resist tarnish so well in normal wear, and a rhodium plated piece tolerates imperfect storage far better than bare silver. But plating is a thin layer, not a force field, and over years even a plated piece stored damp and open will dull at the edges first. Good storage simply means you will almost never have to think about tarnish at all, which is rather the point.
If it has already tarnished
If a piece has darkened, storage is the prevention rather than the cure, but the cure is easy. A soft polishing cloth brings most light tarnish back quickly, and gentler is always better than abrasive, especially over any engraving. Our guide to caring for and cleaning silver has the detail. Once a piece is bright again, store it dry and sealed, and you will not be cleaning it again for a long time.
Storing studs and small earrings
Small earrings are the pieces most often lost, and they deserve their own small thought. Studs and their backs vanish into drawers and down sinks, so a little compartment box, or even a small dish kept inside a drawer rather than by the basin, saves a great deal of searching. Keep pairs together, push studs through a square of soft cloth so the two stay joined, and store the backs with them. Hoops are best laid flat or hung by their own clasp. The principle is the same as everywhere else, dry and separate, only smaller and easier to misplace.
Where to begin
You do not need anything elaborate. Keep each piece in its pouch, add a silica gel sachet and an anti tarnish strip to a dry box, fasten and lay flat or hang your chains, and keep the whole lot out of the bathroom. Browse the silver necklaces collection or the silver rings collection if you are adding to what you store, and remember that a piece kept well is a piece you will still be reaching for in ten years, as bright as the day it arrived.
Frequently asked questions
How do you store silver jewelry to prevent tarnish?
Keep it dry, sealed, and separate. Store pieces somewhere dry, away from the bathroom, in airtight bags or a box with an anti tarnish strip and a silica gel sachet, and keep each piece in its own pouch or compartment so nothing scratches or tangles.
Does silver tarnish in storage?
Yes, slowly, when it meets air and moisture, and fastest in warm, damp, still air. Rhodium plated silver resists it well, but sealing pieces away dry, with an anti tarnish strip, slows it almost to nothing.
How do you stop silver chains from tangling?
Fasten the clasp before storing, then lay the chain flat in its own pouch or compartment, or hang it on a small hook. A fastened, separated chain cannot thread through its own links or others.
What should you not store silver jewelry with?
Keep silver away from rubber and elastic bands, wool and felt, some untreated woods, and cosmetics, perfume, or cleaning products, all of which can speed tarnish. Store each piece dry and on its own.
How should I store silver when travelling?
Use a jewellery roll or an individual pouch for each piece, fasten all chains first, and avoid throwing pieces loose into a bag where they tangle and scratch. Keep everything dry.
MB Loretana is officially registered with Lietuvos prabavimo rumai (order 4819767, dated 2026-03-04) and identified by a registered responsibility mark. Every piece carries the 925 international hallmark alongside our responsibility mark, and ships from Kaunas within 1 business day, with 1 to 3 business days delivery across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
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