Silver and pearls

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi everyone, I have a query combining two recent threads; I am
working on designs for pearls in silver necklaces and am wondering
whether the tarnish preventers discussed would damage freshwater
pearls. Does anyone have any advice?

best wishes
Stevie Gamble

2

Dear Steve, I am not sure about the tarnish preventors, but I do know
that eventually the silver WILL tarnish and then what ya do!!!
Well, I had the same problem and the only two things I found that
would clean silver and not hurt pearls, were Haggerty’s silver foam
(to do by hand) and the Speed Brite unit previously discussed on
this forum (check archives). Regarding the preventors, why don’t you
take a loose pearl and give it a try?

Hope this helps,
Suzanne

3

Hello Stevie and Orchidians,

 I am working on designs for pearls in silver necklaces and am
wondering whether the tarnish preventers discussed would damage
freshwater pearls.

Using sterling silver and pearls together sort of builds in that

tarnish problem for the future. Although I’ve had good results
using the 3M anti-tarnish strips (BTW, the pearls seem unaffected)
in a sealed container or bag, I’d really rather use deoxidizing
sterling!!

I don’t know of a supplier of wire and sheet for construction.
Deoxidizing casting grain (Dan Grandi uses it) is available. My
understanding is that deox sterling will tarnish, but at a much
slower rate than regular sterling. Anyone have direct experience
with deox sterling and its tarnish rate? How about a source (US)
for deox sterling wire and sheet??? I’m hoping someone out there
can answer. TIA. Judy in Kansas, where tonight is Halloween and all
the children are excited about dressing up in their costumes and
going Trick or Treating… in warm weather! That’s very unusual for
Kansas this time of year. Judy M. Willingham, R.S. Biological and
Agricultural Engineering 237 Seaton Hall Kansas State University
Manhattan KS 66506 (785) 532-2936

4

Judy, I am a hobbyist, not a pro, but why not use Fine silver wire
and sheet? I use fine silver wire for all my chains because you can
fuse it rather than solder. It is pretty pure silver so it does not
oxidize like sterling that contains other metals.

Eve Welts

5

Hello Eve,

I do use some fine silver, but some items need the strength (in a

lighter weight) offered by sterling. Buckles, ring shanks, bangles
come to mind.

The real nice thing about deox silver is that it doesn't firescale

when soldered… or so I read.

I've not tried fusing fine silver - just read about it.  Sounds

like something I should try to master :-). Have done some
crocheting and am not very good; I need practice. Thanks for your
good suggestion. It always helps to have input! Judy