Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Tarnish

A few words on TARNISH

If you own silver jewelry...you know about tarnish.
Here are a few tips for you.


Keep silver away from sulfur.
It's silver's main corrosive agent...
there are sulfur-containing substances
in the air and it occurs more quickly
in damp and foggy weather.


What else is corrosive?
Ammonia...Think glass cleaner.
Nair (Check the label,
you'll see ammonia listed.)

OK, you forgot to take the rings off...
what now?

I am going to tell you a secret...
Use vinegar to clean the discoloration.

VINEGAR WILL NOT CLEAN SILVER,
BUT IT IS OPPOSITE ON THE PH SCALE
AND WILL NEGATE THE CAUSE
- THEN -
Use the polishing cloth
to polish your silver.

Also, keeping your silver in an
airtight plastic bag will also help;
this will keep the sulfur and other
corrosive agents in the air from coming
in contact with your silver.

Your jewelry box may be
a mass of plastic bags...
but the jewelry will look good!

If you keep your jewelry in a box
or drawer, consider a small bag
of activated charcoal.

It's an old fashioned remedy,
but it helps.

When considering a silver dip,
rethink if it has a stone.

Some stones cannot be dipped,
soft stones like turquoise, lapis,
malachite, amber, and pearls
are but a few.

No problem with amethyst, garnet,
onyx, moonstone, iolite, tourmaline
and many others.

Your sterling silver jewelry
should be worn and enjoyed...
don't worry about the tarnish.


My Zimbio