Hand Trades

Sterling Silver Anti-Tarnish Storage and Cleaning Suggestions

by Maire Loughran

The irritating thing about owning sterling silver jewelry is that the jewelry owner must constantly stay on top of the tarnish problem. Sterling silver jewelry that is not stored properly will eventually start to tarnish. The jewelry changes from being bright and shiny to a dull, brownish dirty color.

What is Tarnish?
Tarnish is caused by the surface of the sterling silver reacting with sulphurous fumes. That’s why when sterling silver is dipped in tarnish remover, there is an odor of rotten eggs.

Tarnish Versus Oxidation
Some sterling silver is deliberately darkened for design purpose or dramatic effect through oxidation. Oxidation is the result of combining sterling silver with oxygen and is totally unrelated to the tarnish that develops on sterling silver. The effect is obtained in many different ways – even dunking the metal in bleach will oxidized the metal to a certain extent. Normally, heated potassium sulphide is used.

How to Keep Sterling Silver From Tarnishing

Proper storage is key to stopping tarnish in its tracks. A simple and inexpensive way is to store sterling silver jewelry in individual zip-lock bags with a anti-tarnish strip. Changing the anti-tarnish strip according to manufacturer guidelines combined with cleaning the jewelry after each wearing should almost eliminate the tarnish problem.

Anti-tarnish strips are very inexpensive and available online through many different jewelry supply houses. Usually good for six months, the strips are safe, do not emit any gases, and are non-toxic. Simple cut a bag-sized piece of the strip, place it in the bag with the jewelry and keep the bag sealed between wearing. They can also be placed in jewelry boxes with tight-fitting lids.

Slightly more expensive, bags with the anti-tarnish technology built-in are also available for purchase. Available in sizes from 2 inches to 4 inches square, there is a correct size for most jewelry.

How to Remove Tarnish

The image on this page is an unfortunate piece of jewelry that was forgotten and neglected by its owner. Removing tarnish from sterling silver jewelry that’s not set with any gemstones is very easy business – it’s merely dunked in tarnish remover. However, this pendant is set with three expensive Akoya pearls.

Dunking the pendant in a tarnish remover solution will take the nacre off the pearls and totally reduce the value of the pendant. In addition, tarnish remover reduces the brilliance of gemstones such as lustrous aquamarine and will dull opaque gemstones such as jade.

The best advice is to take proper care of sterling silver jewelry by storing it in anti-tarnish bags. However, should a piece of sterling silver jewelry set with pearls or gemstones get to this horrible state of disrepair, here’re the steps to remove the tarnish from a sterling silver necklace:

Remove the chain from the pendant. Dip in tarnish remover. Follow the product instructions for length of dipping time and how to clean the chain after it’s dipped.

Wearing a pair of rubber or latex gloves, dunk a Q-tip or small brush with stiff bristles in the tarnish remover solution and carefully scrub around the pearls/gemstones.

Work quickly and rinse the jewelry frequently in clear running water to remove any solution that may have inadvertently flowed to non-sterling parts of the jewelry.

The pendant on this page was in extremely poor shape. The after image shows a completely rejuvenated piece of jewelry –albeit it still needs polishing. Working carefully, the pearl’s nacre is intact. Immediate and consistent storage in an anti-tarnish bag will maintain this pendant’s good looks for years with minimal maintenance.

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