There is a new silver, called “argentium”, that is anti-tarnish but most of the silver around us, including the sterling used in most of my jewellery, tarnishes.

Tarnish is the result of silver reacting with the sulfur in the air the surrounds it or with the skin that touches it. So… depending on our environment, the season and the chemical make-up of our physical selves, this happens faster or slower for each of us.

For tips on preventing tarnish and on how to remove it, please read on.

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Preventing Tarnish

One of the best ways to prevent or, at least, slow down the tarnish process is to store your silver in an air-tight and anti-tarnish environment when you are not wearing it.

Zipped plastic bags with the air squished out of them before they are sealed, work well. Placing an anti-tarnish “strip” in the bags or in your jewellery cases definitely helps if the bags or the cases aren’t of the anti-tarnish kind. And, notably, replacing the strips or whichever anti-tarnish material you use “every so often” is important as, over time and with their working, they become saturated with sulfur and hence become less effective.

Beyond this you can coat your jewellery with a tarnish prevention substance (delivered in cream form or “invisibly” through anti-tarnish polishing cloths). And beyond this, well, there’s not a whole lot you can do. Some of us live in sulfur-rich environments and some us are simply sulfur-rich ourselves. Most of us fall somewhere inbetween.

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Removing Tarnish

There are commerical products that remove silver tarnish from jewellery quickly, gently and like a charm. The best I have found in this category is called “Hagerty Silver Clean”. It comes in a little plastic jar and inside the jar — other than the liquid “stuff” — is a little basket into which the piece to be cleaned is deposited. After a couple of seconds (!!), the tarnish is gone, the basket is lifted up and the piece is removed to be rinsed in water. This product (different from grocery store silver cleaners), although incredibly tough on tarnish, is amazingly gentle on everything else. It really works like a charm and/but can be a little tough to find.

Beyond the jewellery dips, there are tarnish removing creams. I would suggest choosing one that is specifically for silver jewellery and that advertises itself as being gentle enough to use on pearls and turquoise.

For light tarnish, there are tarnish removing cloths and pads, like Sunshine® Cloths and Pro-Polish Pads :o) These materials are impregnated with cleaning and protecting elements or bonded with micro-abrasives and are convenient to use.

Another choice for cleaning silver is baking soda. I usually put about a tablespoon or so of the soda in the palm of my hand and then add just enough water to make a paste that has the consistency of yogurt. I use this to work over and through and around the piece of jewellery that is being cleaned and then I let the all of it soak in a dish for a while. You can see this working as the paste turns the colour of the tarnish and sometimes when a piece is really tarnished I will do this twice. Then I rinse everything well. It takes a little longer than the “Silver Clean” and the nooks and crannies of a piece take some extra care but it does work. Baking soda is still gritty so allowing the piece to soak in the paste (using the chemical properties of the soda rather than the grit of it) to remove tarnish is best to clean without scratching.

As a last resort and only in a pinch, there is always “regular” (no whitening stuff) toothpaste used the same way as the baking soda paste. Toothpaste is definitely and obviously gritty and can scratch soft materials (including metal and some gemstones). The whitening stuff in our “now” toothpastes actually changes the chemical composition of the surface of metal. So… use this option sparingly and only if you are sure that your toothpaste has no whiteners in it.

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General Cleaning

Salt, dirt, oil, cosmetics and creams build up on our jewellery. Beyond the aesthetic aspect of this, salt in particular is corrosive and can damage jewellery permanently. So… if you are lucky enough to not need to worry about tarnish, you do still need to consider “salt”. Regular cleaning of your jewellery is still, therefore, recommended.

A soak in mild dish soap is good but cleaning with jewellery specific products is better. The latter not only clean but protect against future build-up as well. For this, there are sprays, dips and creams. There are cloths and pads impregnated with cleaning/polishing agents. And there are ultrasonic cleaners made specifically for this in both home and industrial versions. Notably, your local jewellery store likely offers a cleaning service and they will be the best placed (equipment, product and expertise-wise) to clean “as ought”.

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