On Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:40:14 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Sterling"
wrote:




I make a lot of jewelry with sterling silver and pearls, turquoise, and soft
stones. When not being displayed for purchase, I usually keep my jewelry in
zip-loc bags which helps to keep the tarnishing at a minimum. Over time, these
jewelry pieces do become tarnished and I have to clean them - but
what a pain in the ass trying to use a jewelry cloth!!!


From many jewelry supply companies, such as Rio Grande and others, you can buy a
3M product, a black paper that is treated with tarnish retardants. Small pieces
of the stuff placed with the jewelry in those zip lock bags will prevent the
formation of that tarnish.

I realize that I cant just dip that jewelry in Tarnex because the Tarnex would
destroy the pearls and porous stones, but I've read where you can make a tarnish
remover from Baking Soda, Salt, Aluminum Foil, and water in a glass dish. Would
this concoction harm pearls and/or soft stones?

No, it's safe for stones. Works best with "washing soda", rather than baking
soda (sodium carbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate). No salt needed. Make a
warm solution of either chemical in water, place the aluminum foil (or use a
plain unanodized aluminum pan instead) in the bottom of the glass or plastic
container, and put the silver on top, in the solution and in contact with the
aluminum. It sets up an electrolytic reaction that reduces the silver sulphides
(tarnish) back to silver. If the tarnish is more than slight, though, the
result won't be bright metallic, only white in color again. (Tarnex has this
same limitation) So more severely tarnished pieces may still need some buffing
to restore the finish, and doing that also helps retard future tarnishing again.
Depending on the degree of tarnish, this can be a somewhat slow process, so be
patient. It's not instant the way Tarnex is. Sometimes takes up to a couple
hours, and sometimes you may need to reheat the solution during the process.


Short of busting apart the jewelry to clean the silver, what can I use/do to
clean tarnish from silver that is nestled between porous stones or pearls and is
very hard to clean?

You may also wish to re-examine the design choices involved in making things
needing silver to stay bright in areas neither you, nor the end owner, can reach
to clean. In essence you're asking the metal to behave in a way that is not in
it's nature. This is one big reason why much silver jewelry traditionally is
made with an oxidized (tarnish by a nicer name) finish in recessed areas. Done
intentionally, you can put an attractive shiny, blue/black finish in those
recessed areas that then will remain essentially permanent. Oxidize with a
liver of sulphur solution, then burnish with a brass platers brush. Or skip
the burnishing for a duller black finish. Jewelry made like this doesn't need
constant aggrevating cleaning. The high spots stay bright from normal wear and
friction with clothes, etc, while the carefully oxidized recessed areas also
stay the way they were made.

HTH

Peter