Many shops and boutiques that I deal with use silver dips to reduce
tarnish on my silver jewelry in their displays. I have often
suggested that I remove my pieces, tumble them at home and return
the items bright and shiny. It is considered too much trouble for
retagging, etc. First, I don’t like the use of dips on my jewelry,
and the displays are not as bright as they used to be and that
affects sales. What can I do? Suggestions welcome. These are high
quality craft shops and I wish to remain in companionable
relationships with them. And thanks to Jeffrey Herman for his
website info.
This fits right into the discussion of the word quality. While not
belaboring the point too much (remembering the discussion of "fine"
jewelry), I have to take issue - a quality craft shop wouldn’t use a
dip.
As to what to do about it or how to approach the subject, I would
suggest that some of that would relate to the question of did the
craft shop buy your piece outright or is it on consignment. Why a
shop that sells my pieces would not allow me to take my jewelry home
to clean, trusting me to replace all the tags is beyond me. If I am
to stand behind my creations, then I also want it cleaned and
presented in a certain way - until the customer buys it.
Many shops and boutiques that I deal with use silver dips to reduce tarnish on my silver jewelry in their displays. I have often suggested that I remove my pieces, tumble them at home and return the items bright and shiny. It is considered too much trouble for retagging, etc.
Take off the tags before you tumble. Put them back when you’re done.
Paf Dvorak
Get some anti tarnish strips. Put them in the display case with your
silver. They work wonders.
I used to work as a liturgical silversmith. I still do a few high
end salt cellars etc. I would never ever let a sale associate clean
my work, let alone with a silver dip. Jeffry Herman is so very right
about how bad silver dips are.
The anti tarnish strips are thin black pieces of paper. They are
cheap and can be hidden by a display piece.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
Anyone who sells silver jewelry should have a Speed Brite Ionic
cleaner on hand. If your jewelry is tagged with the thread type tags
you can hold the price tag out of the solution while cleaning. When I
have silver jewelry in a store on consignment I come by every couple
months with my ionic cleaner.
And give tarnished pieces a quick cleaning. Once the shop owner sees
how the ionic cleaner works they usually order one for themselves.
Rick Copeland
Colorado
Hello Rick,
Yes, the ionic cleaners are excellent. Today I cleaned a black, and
I mean black, squash blossom necklace. It took a while in the ionic,
but after a few minutes it was ready to be brushed clean with dish
soap. That removed most of the black. The last step was to polish in
my vibrating tumbler, first with coarse charged walnut shell, then
the fine shell charged with rouge. Came out beautifully.
Don’t you just love letting those machines do the work!!
Judy in Kansas, where mild fall temps have returned for a few days.
Speed Brite Lonic cleaner, a question about it removing tarnish.
In order to ship my silver wire and sheet when I moved from one
country to another I darkened almost all of it with liver of sulphur
so it didn’t look valuable to customs inspection. But I now have dark
black surface on all my silver. That method of using aluminum foil
and soda doesn’t touch the blackness.
So I am wondering if a Speed Brite lonic cleaner would be the
solution?
Anyone able to answer this?
Sharron
Hi
don’t know about Speed Brite but some tags are unaffected by using
the JCR.
Depends on tag and marker used.
Richard
That method of using aluminum foil and soda doesn't touch the blackness.
So I am wondering if a Speed Brite lonic cleaner would be the
solution?
I’m not sure whether this came up earlier in the thread, but 3M
TarniShield polish helps protect silver from tarnish for an extended
time (follow instructions). It actually helps prevent fingerprints
when a piece is handled. I recommend it.
Noel
Sharron - The chemistry used with aluminum and tarnished silver is
washing soda, not baking soda. It is an often repeated mistake. Just
look at your grocery store in the laundry detergents - and find
WASHING soda. Not expensive and widely available.
The ion brite system would work too, but the bowl is pretty small. I
imagine that you could incorporate the electrical element in a
larger custom system. I’d stick with the washing soda and aluminum
foil. Do remember that some part of each piece of silver has to
physically touch the foil.
Judy Hoch
The chemistry used with aluminum and tarnished silver is washing soda, not baking soda.
No, it really is usually baking soda, sodium bicarbonate. Since the
purpose of the soda is just to get past the oxide layer on the
aluminum, either would work, but washing soda is much more alkaline,
and should be used with gloves.
Al Balmer
The chemistry used with aluminum and tarnished silver is washing soda, not baking soda.
Or just buy a box of Tri Sodium Phosphate. TSP is the ingredient in
washing soda that works with the aluminum. It’s very cheap and used
to wash walls before painting among many other things. Many
dishwasher detergents have it in them as well. However many of those
have bleach in them which is very bad for silver. Be sure to read
your labels.
Which reminds me. The holidays are coming. It’s time to take my
sterling flatware downstairs and hit it lightly with the buff. We use
ours every day so it gets a bit tired looking after a year.
Have fun and make lots of jewelry.
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
TSP is the ingredient in washing soda that works with the aluminum.
TSP (Na3PO4) and washing soda (Na2CO3) are two different chemicals.
Neither is a mixture of ingredients. TSP is a very strong alkalai
(pH 14).
In the US, genuine TSP is harder to find since it was indited as a
cause of algae blooms and banned by at least 17 states. There are
products on the shelf that try to make you think are TSP, but are
not. Read the ingredient list before you buy.
Al Balmer