3M’s anti tarnish strips…they have to be replaced after a few
months in airtight storage but they remove/absorb sulphurous vapours
that cause tarnish…your husband isn’t that far off…the best
plastic however is the type newspaper’s come in as opposed to
sandwhich bag plastics…the best a glass case with wood frame sealed
with acid free varnish, marine varnish or microcrystalline wax…do
not use a danish oil on the wood if building a case…and stains must
be sealed.the inside can be lined with anti-rust padding ( comes in a
roll, and covered with anti-tarnish felting - like jeweler’s pouches
are made from.It is available as yardage from conservator’s
suppliers. Ordinary jewelry boxes- particularly those made in china
from particle board covered with screen printed wood look
material…they are loaded with formaldehyde and promote tarnishing
once they start to give off gasses from the construction materials
which are as cheap as possible.handcrafted items are a bit better
and a simple 3M anti-tarnish strip in each drawer will do the trick
if the customer is conscientious about replacing them as needed. A
good polishing cloth ( like Selvyt, Sunshine or Moonshine cloths -
depending on the degree of abrasion the majority of the customer’s
jewelry collection can take- Moonshine is milder than sunshine, and
Selvyt has an embedded rouge that is iron based ( all red rouges,
even the newer water miscible types, contain iron oxides and in my
opinion aren’t the first choice, but in some locations they may be
the only “higher quality” cloth available in stores. All the cloths
i mentioned are available on line. ) should be part of the customer’s
maintenance instructions…rer