HMONG CREATIONS: How to store Hmong jewelry

By Pang Nya Hmong Creations

I always receive questions about how to store Hmong jewelry. in this blog I will briefly explain how I usually store my items. I was going through my necklaces and this was a perfect example I wanted to show you all about how not to store your necklace and how to store your necklace. Back in November 2017 I purchased these 2 5 layer necklaces. they are second silver. I was so excited that I took out one necklace tried it on and I didn't put it back in a plastic bag. The other necklace I left exactly how it was packaged when I received it. when I open it up today just to check on them I saw that the necklace without the bag had already started to tarnish.

"the necklace not in the bag was tarnished"

I store my necklaces in these bags. I purchased a couple of them during the Labor Day tournament in Oshkosh. Every year I go they have always had some there. The couple is usually right in the front when you enter. they have a smaller booth but it's usually right in the front near the food court side. They usually hang it up on their tag so you have to be looking high. I believe I purchased these for $20 each. I think $20 is definitely a bargain. I've seen them go as high as $50. I believe the front and back is faux leather. The inside is lined with cotton with two pockets where you can put the necklace on each side. It also comes with a tie where you can tie the necklace.

Store your necklaces in zip lock bags.

Watch the video above to see me take out the necklace is from the bag. as you can see the necklace that is kept inside the bag is still nice and silver color. But the one that I left out and did not put back in a bag is clearly tarnished on the bottom part.

I keep all my jewelry that I sell in Ziploc bags. I put them in a container and then I put that container into a Ziploc bag. These two years I have been using the 2 gallon Ziploc bags I've purchased from eBay. They are bye RI- Pac and are about $30 for 100 bags which makes it about $.30 per bag. I do believe they are definitely worth it because when you have large items you could fit them into the bags. My containers are used to store my charms are pretty large so it helps that the bag is large.

Second silver from what I understand are items that are either silver plated with a low percentage of silver or it is solid silver plus possibly copper or another metal which is high in content. why it tarnishes or becomes a patina color is because the copper or metal reacts with air and sulfur that's in the air. So to prevent that from happening you have to store it in a sealed container so air is not constantly moving or the flow is not constantly moving in the item.

2 gallon zip lock bags to the rescue.

even though I placed this necklace in the bag it was not irritate so you did have tarnishing around the edges. So now I always keep all my items in plastic clear bags and then I put it in the linen bag. check out my other blog post to show you how I cleaned my silver.

In the above picture I show you guys again how nice these bags are because it fits a whole big necklace like this where you don't have to worry about it being folded or any of the parts getting caught together because the bag is big enough.

The top photo there is a picture of the back of the necklace how it should be worn and then the front of the necklace where the two parts single in the front. I have also seen people wear that black piece in the front which it looks beautiful as well. Again the necklace is five layer but it's hollow inside because it's all seconds silver. One tip I wanted to mention when buying these are asking the seller to take a picture underneath the necklace. I have seeing some where the underneath it's actually just flat it doesn't have the round part if that makes any sense to you. Definitely the one with the round part where it goes all the way around are better than the flat ones. When you wear it also it looks a lot better that if it were flat in the back. So I would definitely ask your seller to show you the back.I believe most of the flat ones are third silver so if someone is trying to sell you one that is flat in the back and it's not round like the pictures that I have posted definitely I would look for a different color I believe most of the flat ones are third silver so if someone is trying to sell you one that is flat in the back and it's not round like the pictures that I have posted definitely I would look for a different seller I was able to find a flat back and just show you guys below what I mean hopefully it makes more sense when you see the picture.

As you can see there that item has the flat back nd is Hollow. third silver will tarnish faster than seconds silver. The quality is not as good.

Hallow necklaces are most likely 3rd Silver.

I bought these necklaces from a Facebook seller. It cost me $85 per necklace. They also have different sizes. So I would definitely recommend you ask the seller to measure the necklace for you before purchasing because most of the necklaces these days are very small and fit children only. If you are plus size like me definitely you need them to measure it for you. I was fortunate to be able to buy this one which is a size ex L and it fits my neck perfectly and is not too tight.

As you can see this time I put the necklace in to the Ziploc bag as well as the other parts. And here is the inside of the bag where it's pretty deep in there and then you see the two strings that are on the top middle part where you could tie it if you wanted to. And here is the Sideview of the zipper part which is black or you can zip the whole bag open.

I hope this blog has helped you understand why your second silver jewelry will tarnish and how to slow down the process. Please leave a comment if you have any additional tips that can help others store their jewelry. don't forget to subscribe and follow me on Facebook for new posts.