Anti tarnish earring storage

I just spent two hours cleaning and polishing my wife’s earring collection. She has close to 50 pair of earrings that I have made. She stores them on an upright rack that is open to the air. I am looking for some sort of anti tarnish storage solution that is still something nice to look at that she might want on her dresser. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks…Rob

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Rob, this is a science question that folks have been searching for an answer forever. I don’t know of a practical answer.

About 30 years ago, I got hired as a consultant to help a large silver jewelry import business figure this out. They’d send 1000’s of pieces of silver jewelry out to companies like Sears or Walmart. The jewelry would be shipped looking shiny and new, but if it didn’t sell for 6 months or more it would tarnish and get returned. Sears, Walmart, etc. didn’t want to polish it and considered the jewelry to be defective.

What I learned is that silver naturally tarnishes because of things like sulphur in our atmosphere. The only way to keep silver from tarnishing is to somehow shield the surface from our atmosphere.

3M makes anti-tarnish strips, (lots of other companies make them now as well on Amazon, etc) which are basically carbon strips put into a baggie with the silver jewelry to absorb tarnish causing components in our atmosphere.

Unless you’re going to coat the jewelry with something like an acrylic spray or some kind of inert plating if left out in the open I think it’s always going to tarnish.

Anyway, that’s what I learned. It was 30 years ago. Maybe there’s something else that other’s can suggest? I do know that whoever figures out a solution to this problem could make a zillion dollars.

They do make a number of metal chemical dips to remove tarnish. They may or may not be helpful?

Again, let’s see if other’s have good suggestions. I’m super curious too.

Jeff

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There was a prior thread on this exact topic. I can’t find it but you possibly might… most suggestions were to use anti-tarnish cloth. Containers that were closed to air but not air tight, lined with anti tarnish cloth seemed to work well for most…

Pacific Silver Cloth contains very small particles of silver. It absorbs sulfur contaminants in air and prevents tarnish… there’s a lot of anti tarnish cloths on the market. Pacific Silver seems to work well…Copper alloys, like sterling and low karat gold contain copper… copper tarnishing is the culprit with oxygen and moisture… copper tarnishes far quicker than silver itself…

technically speaking, pure silver has a redox potential of +0.8V…copper +0.37V, zinc -0.76V… postive voltages mean that the metal attracts electrons and is resistant to oxidation… negative voltages mean that the metal gives up electrons and is susceptible to oxidation. Oxidation of precious metals by oxygen in the air is a minimal problem… contaminants in the air, especially sulfur compounds create most of the tarnish on silver… LOS exploits this reaction by providing sulfur ion which forms yellow, then black tarnish… the reaction between silver and sulfur is a negative potential, meaning that silver sulfide or black tarnish forms readily.

Pacific Silver cloth aborbs sulfur compounds more readily that silver jewelry due to the small size and large surface area of the particles. Other anti tarnish cloths have to be rubbed on the silver, providing a coating that is air tight… It’s very difficult to find the ingredients in these materials as they are proprietary. same goes for anti-tarnish bags… adding a moisture absorbant, like a packet of silica gel or even powdered heated chalk, also helps by absorbing the water… some suggestions are to use airtight bags. Ziplock plastic bags aren’t recommended for reasons I don’t know… Silver Guard paper strips are also made by Pacific Silver Cloth… these strips contain minerals that absorb water… the use of both materials should do the trick… sorry for being so long winded… I hope this helps

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I have anti tarnish strips that I have usesd in my shop for years. I am looking for something that my wife would be happy having in plain sight on her dresser. Right now she just pulls a plastic zip lock bag over the top of the rack. There are still some pieces that are directly exposed to the air and they were the most tarnished. I guess what I am looking for is nice earring storage case with built in anti tarnish strips or a place to put them such that they can be replace from time to time. Thanks…Rob

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I may have made a mistake about the thread that I had refered to… I think it was on the IGS website. Commercial jewelry displays were having tarnish problems. They were trying to solve the tarnish problem inside of display cases. The use of anti tarnish paper and cloth was discussed. If your wife wants an easy way to see her jewelry and keep it tarnish free, consider buying or making a glass or plexiglass case where she can hang her earrings inside, have it made semi- air tight and lined with Pacific Silver Cloth on the bottom… I don’t know of anyway to keep the tarnish off, other than using some of the other products where you would have to wipe the jewelry off with a coating containing piece of cloth. The coatings seems also to help but not as well. If the earrings are hung on a stand in plain air, there can be not other way to protect them except with a coating.

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Thanks for moderating: our community must have collectively, thousands of years of person- experience and knowledge in regards to metal working, precious stones, metallurgy. This really is awesome. I am benefiting from these discussions and learning new things even if I may never practice them. It’s great to be on board… best wishes for a great and prosperous New Year to everyone here…

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Most chemical dips micro etch the surfaces of silver. Thus A: Removing oxidation from places where it is wanted and B: leaving the surface even more prone to tarnish quickly.
In our studio after making things out of with silver I use Maguiars Carnuba car wax and I also display and or store the items with Pacific Cloth. It can be purchased by the yard on Amazon.
The Pacific cloth has imbedded silver in it so that the cloth absorbs tarnish first. At the last Santa Fe Symposium met someone from a company that is now making tarnish resistant strips and cloth with copper. He claimed that it was superior to Pacific cloth. I have reached up to a company that I think is responsible for more info.

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Rob, This is kind of a crazy idea. What you asked for is a way for your wife to store her earrings that not only prevents tarnishing, but is also nice to look at. I started thinking about how museums can have environmentally controlled display cases for sensitive historical artifacts.

I wonder it you could build a nice looking, enclosed, Plexiglas or glass display case that easily opens and closes and has a solder fume extractor attached somehow. I’m pretty sure a solder fume extractor would extract caustic atmospheric chemicals like sulfur from an enclosed earring display. It probably wouldn’t have to be on all day, every day.

There’s a bunch of solder fume extractors out there in a wide variety of price ranges. Here’s one from Pepe, for example. This one is about $200, so it might be too expensive, but it has a hose that should be relatively easy to figure out how to create a connection.

Again this might be a totally crazy idea, but it also might work for what you want to accomplish.

I’ll keep thinking!

Jeff

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I would love to have more info on copper poreventing silver tarnish with sulfide. Copper has a more negative redox potential than silver, which would protect silver from oxidation… however, the affinity of silver ion to sulfide ion has a strong negative redox potential… -1V… copper sulfide formation is less energetic… copper sulfide should not form in lieu of silver sulfide which is tarnish…

Thanks all for you replies. I think that where this is going is a nice enclosed, but easily accessed storage environment (probably plastic, acrylic or whatever), with anti tarnish strips inside. I passed the idea of a custom Pacific cloth hood over the rack by my wife and that was a no vote. In the end, I have to do this cleaning and polishing process about three times a year. I start with a quick application of Wrights silver cream (the earrings are all silver), rinse, then an untrasonic bath, remove and rinse and finally a quick, maybe 10 minute, tumble in SS shot, rinse, dry and we are done. Thanks again…Rob

sounds like you have a solution, an easy access clear box… I would still recommend using strips of pacific silver cloth as anti tarnish strips inside… it might save you a polishing or two… best wishes and let us know how it works over this coming new year…

It’s not often that this 77 y/o gets to flaunt his memory skills, but today is the day…we had some discussions of using silver polish long ago, when Jeffrey Herman was still alive and his website had ratings of silver polishes and he even formulated one for sale. I remembered that he indicated that some polishes included wax, so I went looking for his website, which is still extant. He recommends Meguiar’s wax as a protectant, same as Jo. However, he also rates other waxes and gives a complete summary of tarnish protection methods, here:

Just scroll thru it to read an authoritative exposition of silver care, tarnish and protection methods. The late Jeffrey Herman was arguably America’s premier silver restoration specialist and the whole website is very interesting and informative. The picture of his collection of silver hammers is to die for!
HTH! -royjohn

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Greetings Roy,. Thanks for this connection into the mind of Jeffrey Herman. I thought I might give this site a glance. That was three hours ago and I think I spent an hour in the photos alone. I am almost ashamed to say that I have just scratched the surface of Jeffrey Herman’s study in restoration work.

Hans Meixner always spoke well of Blitz Products as do I. And as did Jeffrey Herman. Blitz is less than 10 miles from my daughter’s home in Indiana. I always make a point of phoning in an order for clothes while we are visiting and picking them up while we are there. They are happy to ship but then I’d miss the opportunity to visit the factory. Our next trip in April will include more of the products specified by Herman.

Thanks again! Don Meixner

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Wow! The Jeffrey Herman post is amazing! I can’t believe how comprehensive it is. We’re so lucky his heirs decided to keep his website going after died.

Thanks again royjohn!

Jeff

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Jeffery’s website is an amazing treasure. He and I talked on the phone and emailed several times about various topics. I am sorry that I never got to meet him inperson. After reviewing his website, I bought Wrights Cream knowing that it was not the least harsh of the products that he reviewed, but would allow me to process a large number of store worn earrings to at least remove the tarnish. After an ultra sonic bath and tumble in SS shot, the earrings are ready to go back to the store. I have used various cloths to include Sunshine and Blitz and found that, for me personally, they did not allow me to efficiently process a large number of pieces. My guess is that they are more appropriate for a customer to use after they have worn a piece and are ready to put them away. If someone buys a larger piece from me, I will sometimes give them one of these cloths. Back to my original question, I think that we have settled on multiple stacking trays with inserts and places to put anti tarnish pads. I passed making a Pacific Cloth cover by and that was vetoed. Thanks all for you help…Rob

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hello royjohn. I absolutely agree with how to polish silver as mentioned on the website. Only high quality silver polishes remove tarnish safely. Electrochemical methods like aluminum and baking soda will eventually strip off silver plating by coverting tarnish into fine silver… a grey appearance that has to be polished down, removing some of the silver plating. By the way, how are you? RSVP by email. Thanks for helping out and resolving a very difficult and persistent problem that everyone who works with silver has to face.

hermansilver.com is authoritive… I’ve seen this website before. See my response to Royjohn… a high quality silver polish is the only way to preserve the plating on silverware by polishing. Dips and electrochemical methods will strip off the surface, turning it into a gray coat of fine silver that has to be polished off, causing loss of the sterling silver surface… With solid sterling, it makes less of a difference, but still will preserve the surface from silver loss. PREVENTING tarnish is different from removing it. The usual activated charcoal is supposed to absorb contaminants from the air. Activated charcoal becomes saturated quickly. I don’t find it that useful. I still am highly skeptical of the use of copper containing strips to prevent sulfide tarnish. The chemistry behind silver sulfide formation makes it impossible for copper to go to copper sulfide over silver going to silver sulfide. The redox potential and Gibbs free energy of formation favors silver sulfide strongly… this is a basic LAW of Physics and Chemistry that cannot be overcome… copper WILL protect silver from oxidation to silver oxide by oxygen but NOT oxidation by sulfur to sulfide black tarnish.

PS: 3M anti tarnish strips in the newest version contains activated charcoal AND silver. These will work… Pacific Silver Cloth will work best when used with a moisture absorbant. It does not contain activated charcoal. The use of activated charcoal along with a moisture absorbant, AND SILVER is the best combination to prevent tarnish… the proviso is that activated charcoal strips quickly become saturated and must be replaced frequently… so much for the science behind how antitarnish materials work… the end!

OK So here is the skinny on the copper infused preservation from the company that makes it.

Basically, Intercept Technology uses copper to attract corrosive gas molecules and neutralizes them. Copper has more available electrons than silver. Silver is the ingredient in Pacifica cloth. Silver and copper can both capture the gasses but copper is better at the job.
On the same web page, you’ll also see a link to test reports. Also, we have a series of blogs that you are welcome to read and reference.

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AI Overview

When comparing the energy of reaction for the formation of silver sulfide (Ag2S) and copper sulfide (CuS), silver sulfide generally has a more negative energy of formation, meaning its formation is thermodynamically more favorable compared to copper sulfide; in simpler terms, silver sulfide is more readily formed and considered more stable under standard conditions.
Although copper is more oxidizable than silver, the reaction for silver and sulfur versus copper and sulfur favors silver tarnish…

therein lies the catch… Copper is more prone to oxidation than silver, nearly twice as much by redox potentials… but silver and sulfur “like” to bind to each other more than copper and sulfur binding…

best way to see how well these work is to experiment… use one product simultaneous with another…see which one works better.