Hello Ariella,
First, I'd suggest making all your new work in the Argentium silver,
which is tarnish-resistant. That should help a lot!! I think it
will become the industry standard in the future, simply to avoid the
drudgery of polishing tarnished silver... not to mention the absence
of firescale!! I'm excited about the stuff and am experimenting
with it.
For standard sterling, here are a few ways to control tarnish.
Find an old silverchest - usually not very expensive at a flea
market. It's lined with "Pacific cloth" which inhibits tarnish.
Put the pieces in resealable bags and store them in the silver chest.
Buy "Pacific cloth" and sew up some bags. Put the jewelry in
the bags and put them in a sealable container - again look at flea
markets and yard sales for Tupperware.
There are some new plastic resealable bags on the market, that
are said to control tarnish for a couple years. I've not tried them
and since they're new on the market, who knows about the two year
life.
3M makes paper strips and tabs that absorb the gases causing
tarnish. If inserted in a sealed bag or container, they work for
perhaps a year. However in time, they lose effectiveness, and you
know that by the appearance of tarnish.
If you want to completely control tarnish, you have to keep the
silver from exposure to the atmosphere. I've noticed tarnish appears
more quickly in winter, due to the increase in combustion by-products
from heating units.
Good luck with all this. I've no affiliation with any of the above
mentioned products or supplies - just a satisfied user, Judy in
Kansas where we have seen some welcome rain and the fishing is still
good. Walleye, anyone??
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
B.A.E. 147 Seaton Hall
Kansas State University
Manhatttan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936 FAX (785) 532-6944
