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The following copyrighted silver care information has been provided by Jeffrey Herman, Herman Silver
Restoration & Conservation. None of the below guide can be reproduced without written permission from
Jeffrey Herman, PO Box 72839, Providence,
RI 02970, 401/461-6840, jeffherman@silversmithing.com
General Jewellery Care:
Always remove your jewellery before using any product that contains bleach, ammonia, alcohol, fingernail
polish removers that contain acetone, and turpentine. Some of these can cause a breakdown in the metal
alloys leaving the your jewellery beyond repair and dull or even pit the surface of your gemstones.
Clean before storing and store in the proper manner.
Keep tarnish to a minimum by storing properly and cleaning before they get overly tarnished. When your
jewelry needs to be cleaned follow the recommend cleaning methods above.
Check for loose stones or parts and have them repaired right away so as not to loose any stones or parts.
With normal wear and tear, stones may loosen over time. If a stone rocks in its setting you will need to
tighten the bezel around the stone. You can usually tighten
these yourself, if you use special care. The back of a spoon works well to run it a long the bezel to
press it down on the gemstone and tighten it again. It is always advisable to consult a local jeweller to
tighten the bezel to be on the safe side and doesn't cost hardly anything.
Coffee & tea stains
Use the following technique if you can manually clean the inside of a coffee or teapot (it’s quicker than the later technique).
Use a cellulose sponge (if the opening is big enough) or make a swab by wrapping a sponge on the end of a wooden dowel.
Moisten the sponge and apply a liberal amount of Wright’s® Silver Cream, then wipe away the stain and rinse the pot thoroughly
with warm water. Wrights® is an excellent cleaner for this task because it’s much less abrasive than commercial cleansers.
Cleansers will impart fine scratches that actually attract more dirt. Don’t use steel wool (too abrasive and rust may result in the bottom),
Scotch-Brite™ and scouring pads (too abrasive), or dips. A cotton swab with a small amount of Wright’s®
will remove stains within the spout opening.
Rinse well with warm water.
If you can’t adequately clean the interior manually, fill the pot with warm water and drop in one 5-minute denture-cleaning tablet per two cups of water.
Let stand for 10 minutes, empty, and then rinse with warm water. You may find that the effervescing action of the tablets may have just broken the
contact between the stain and the silver and not lifted the residue. If this occurs, use a wet brush to remove the loosened residue and rinse with warm water.
Salt corrosion
Those crusty corrosion marks on and in your saltshaker can be a real annoyance. One way to avoid this problem
from the very start is to empty the shaker after a dinner party and thoroughly wash it; this way the salt doesn't have time to do its damage.
Heavily gold plating the interior is the only other way to preserve the finish because gold is impervious to the effects of salt. It is still wise
to clean out the shaker at least twice a year and inspect the plate to make sure it has not being abraded by the salt's coarseness.
There is a simple way to remove the corrosion yourself. Do this in a well-ventilated area and with nitrile gloves since you will be using ammonia.
Silver dips will not perform as well as ammonia. If you are removing corrosion from a saltshaker, pour ammonia into a container, place the shaker inside
and cover the container. Let the shaker set for ten (10) minutes, then remove from the container and inspect. If the black corrosion spots remain,
place the shaker back in and let stand for another ten (10) minutes and inspect again. If the corrosion is not gone after thirty (30) minutes, have the
shaker professional refinished.
After the corrosion has been satisfactorily removed, use a rouge cloth to bring back the silver's luster. And as stated earlier, the less contact silver
has with salt the better.
Removing wax from candleholders
Do you become frustrated when trying to remove wax from your weighted candle holders?
Do you go pawing into your flatware drawer to find just the right size knife to dig out the wax?
Do you run the piece under warm water, only to create a big mess?
Well, here's a simple, non-invasive technique:
use your hair dryer (not a heat gun). Be careful not to get the object too hot especially if it’s lacquered. Warm the candle
cup or other area that has dripped wax. Lightly touch the area with your finger to make sure it's not too hot, then wipe the area or
wrap a paper towel around your finger and wipe out the candle cup. Always support the cup from underneath with your hand.
If the opening is too small for your finger, gently stuff (don't force) the paper towel into the cup and twist. Cotton swabs also work very well,
especially on Hanukkah lamps with very small candle cups. Use as much fresh paper towel or as many cotton swabs as needed, otherwise,
you will repeatedly reapply the wax you're removing. If residue remains use a non-abrasive silver polish and cotton ball or cotton towel to remove it.
Non-weighted candleholders can be put in your freezer. Upon removing them, use your fingernail (not a knife) and delicately chip off the wax.
Use non-drip candles whenever possible and remove any wax residue after every use. Using these techniques will greatly reduce maintenance time.
Removing labels
You just purchased a vase with one of those labels that leaves so much a sticky residue it could be used to wrap a package!
Here’s a removal technique: use a hair dryer to soften the label adhesive. The label should then come off cleanly with its adhesive backing.
If there is a sticky residue left, use some isopropyl alcohol. With The liquids should be used in a well-ventilated area and with nitrile gloves,
then wipe away the residue. There may be discoloration in the silver that was created by the adhesive that can be removed with silver polish.
Silver & dishwashers
KEEP SILVER OUT OF THE DISHWASHER!
It's that simple. There are two major reasons for keeping your prized sterling and silver plate
out of the "chamber of doom:"
- Any factory-applied oxidation (the black patina) will eventually be removed, leaving a dull, non-reflective surface.
The harsh detergent, combined with the washer's high cleaning temperature, is much too abrasive for silver.
- Most older and some repaired hollow-handled knives are repaired with pitch. This low-melting cement will expand with heat, possibly forcing open a thin solder seam, or exploding the knife blade out of the handle.
- Silver that touches stainless in the dishwasher can create a chemical reaction, producing black spots on the silver and may require professional refinishing.
These pieces routinely end up in a silversmith's shop for blade remounting, re-oxidizing, and/or refinishing.
Sterling, like a fine automobile, must be handled with "TLC." You certainly wouldn't drive your Rolls Royce through a car wash, would you?
Just follow these simple rules: Take it off when cleaning up, avoid strong chemicals, hairspray, makeup
etc. Jewellery is meant to be worn. Your body oils will slow the tarnishing process.
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