Good morning,

I just noticed that several of my silver & gemstone/crystal pieces are starting to tarnish.  Is there a safe liquid silver cleaner that won't harm stones when imersed?

Kym

Hi Kym,

Different gemstones have varying reactions to chemicals, so what method works best might depend on what type of gemstones you're using. One product we reviewed for the magazine that is especially safe for soft gemstones is Purosol. It's also eco-friendly, which is a bonus.

Lindsay
 

Thanks for the link Lindsay.  I read thru the Purosol info, but it doesn't mention being a silver cleaner.  Will it remove tarnish?

Kim,

::putting on my jeweler's wife hat:: Tarnish is a chemical reaction between the silver and the pollutants in the air. One way to reduce/prevent tarnish is to store your sterling items in anti-tarnish paper or with non-tarnish strips. My grandmother used a piece of chalk in her jewelry box and I've heard that some people use the silica packs that come with shoes or in some medications.

The best way to keep silver from tarnishing is to USE it!  

Even silver plated will tarnish unless it's coated with something to prevent tarnish. If you are removing tarnish, you are removing silver - a miniscule amount at a time, but if you've ever seen really old silverware (we've got some dating back to the 17th century) you can see how the years of polishing to remove the tarnish has actually altered the shape of the pieces. There are silver cleaners like Hagerty's (the best there is - IMHO) which REVERSES the chemical process. Unfortunately, you can't use Hagerty's with pearls, turquoise, Swarovski with coatings and other soft stones, but it is okay for diamonds, sapphires, etc. Hagerty's does also make "Jewel Clean" - a dip that works for soft stones such as opals, pearls, coral, etc. as well as gold and platinum. The label does not mention whether it will work for silver.  I guess I'll have to try it with some of my silver and see what happens, huh? Watch this space for a report in a few days. <grin>

Hope this gave you a little info about silver and tarnish. 

Deb 

Thanks, Deb.  If I could wear it all I certainly would (unfortunately I'm small and if I wore all of my silver jewelry I'd never be able to move!).  The few pieces that I never remove (ring, chain, silver studs) are just as shiney & silver as when they were brand new.  It's the fun pieces that don't get worn every day that tarnish.

I've got a few little packs of silica, I'll give those a try.  Can't wait wait for your report on Jewel Clean...

Kym,

Here's your report: 

I tried the Hagerty's "Jewel Clean" with some sterling silver earrings and a sterling, marcasite and "crystal" ring. Some of the tarnish went away, but not all of it - even after a few minutes of scrubbing with the brush that's included. The inside of the ring under the stones started out cruddy and tarnished and after a good long soak (1 hour) in the Jewel Clean, most of the gunk came out, but there was still some tarnish, inside and out. The earrings were cleaner and some of the tarnish came off, but not much. On the plus side, at least the tarnish was CLEAN! <grin>

I took all of the pieces and dipped them into the Hagerty's Silver Clean for less than 5 seconds and they came out bright and shiny! I rinsed them thoroughly with clean water and dried them with a soft towel for the final step. There was no damage to the stones in the ring that I could see, but they weren't what would be considered "soft" or "porous", either.

Several months ago, a customer had asked if they could clean a bracelet with Swarovski AB crystals and sterling in the Silver Clean. We called Hagerty's and were told that it's okay for uncoated Swarovski and sterling spacers, but it WILL damage anything with a coating. For the record, I HAVE cleaned silver rings set with turquoise (which is considered "soft") with Hagerty's Silver Clean and it didn't seem to affect the stone, but it was a brief dip and one time only.  

So - there you have the sum of my knowledge and experience with Hagerty's Jewel Clean and Silver Clean, for what it's worth.

Hope this helps.

Deb 

Wonderful - thanks, Deb!  I will try the Silver Clean for quick dips, piece at a time. 

Hey Kym!

::jeweler's wife again:: We just got the most FANTASTIC jewelry cleaner I've ever seen. It's an ionic cleaner. It uses an electro-chemical process to un-tarnish silver jewelry and it can be used on sensitive stones! DH Mike and I spent 2 days cleaning a lot of sterling findings, sterling jewelry with soft stones like turquoise, and some silver plated findings with the ionic cleaner and the stuff is GORGEOUS - even prettier than when un-tarnished with Hagerty's!

Ionic cleaner's cost somewhere around $150, depending on where you buy them, but the tarnish literally vanishes (reverses) in seconds. This is fantastic - you don't have to mess with jewelry cleaner that won't hurt the stones but doesn't do anything to clean the silver. Nor do you have to use a stinky (and potentially toxic) silver cleaner (sorry Hagerty) that can harm stones like pearls, coral and Swarovski.  

But - if you don't have access to an ionic cleaner, I'd still recommend Hagerty's as the next best thing for cleaning silver, just be careful when the silver's combined with stones.  

If you were closer, Kym, I'd let you use our ionic cleaner and you could see for yourself how great it works!

Deb 

I just recently tried tin foil, baking soda and boiling water... worked pretty well. I've heard from others that this method hasn't had any adverse effects on gemstones. I only polished sterling, though.  My son even did an experiment in his chemistry class with just the foil and boiling water. Said it took a while, but eventually, all the tarnish came off.

 NOTE: Boil the water and pour it in the bowl. Wasn't sure if that was clear. :)

Deb - I have heard of ionic cleaners, but they are a bit out of my price range right now (I'd rather use the money on beads!!!)  If I'm ever in your neck of the woods with a tarnished silver, pearl & turquoise necklace, I'll let you know!

Regarding the foil, baking soda & boiling water, I assume that the baking soda would go in the bowl with the water, but what about the foil?  Is it used as a polishing cloth?

I take a piece of foil and line a bowl or pan with it. Place the jewelry in it. Put in the baking soda, and pour in the boiling water. Depending on the amount of tarnish will depend on how long you need to leave it in. I polished ALL my sterling findings in a reasonably short period of time.

Mary,

What about already made pieces that include glass or gemstone beads along with the silver?  I have had a few people ask me how to clean their pieces and I am at a loss since I don't want to tell them to do something that will ruin an expensive piece. 

Also, how much water, how much baking soda,etc? 

Alice

Hi there, I work for a jewelry store that specializes in silver and gemstone jewelry.  We seldom recommend the dips, especially for stones as they are acid based, which is how they clean straight silver. Look for one that says gemstone safe, and even then, I wouldn't use it on any soft stones like turquoise, amber etc.  We use a soft silver polishing cloth, and I clean my personal jewelry this way, after each third time I wear a piece.  We also recommend that if you use lotions, perfumes etc. put them on before your jewelry, giving them time to absorb into your skin.  Most silver tarnishes because of what you put on you skin.  Also, I store my silver in my jewelry box with anti tarnish strips (like the kind you use for your silverware) or packaged in small baggies.  We have also just located an organic dip, as some of the ones out there now come with carcogen warnings!  I will post the name once we receive and give it a try.

Hope this helps