Hello, I have to make a earrings from silver wire and Swarovski
pearls. My question is: is there silver wire that’s kind of coated
and does not tarnish? If I just buy pure silver wire, can i treat it
so it would not tarnish?. I once heard that you could spray it with
hairspray. I would be very grateful for suggestions!
Hi there,
Hairspray would work but only for a few days, it won’t take long for
the hairspray to come off through contact with skin, clothes etc. You
could use fine silver, which tarnishes much, much slower than
sterling does, the only problem is it is much softer than regular
sterling and might be too soft depending on your design. Argentium
silver is another alternative, usually slightly more expensive than
regular sterling, and is supposed to have high tarnish resistance
too. I’d buy a bit of both and get a feelfor them before deciding.
Lavan
Argentium wire is tarnish resistant but no hair spray on pearls they
are very sensitive to body oils and chemicals. I am sure many will
suggest things but I just wanted to let you know about the pearls.
Teri
Hi Claudia
just use sterling, hard drawn. I use .8 mm for ear wires.
Don’t stress it the Swarovski pearls are only about 30 cents each so
the earrings will cost you less than $5.
Richard
Silver will tarnish - 'tis the nature of the beast! Even Argentium
and the other tarnish resistant silver alloys will tarnish, though it
will take longer than regular sterling silver.
Ear wires and posts should never be sprayed with anything, in case
of setting up reactions in the delicate piercings in your clients’
ears (or anywhere else…)
I find by far the best way of going about this is to educate your
clients. If asked about silver tarnish I’m always honest and tell my
clients that it will always tarnish - the speed at which it does so
is often dependant on the environment (in towns with lots of
sulphurous car exhausts it will go much quicker than in the country
where there isn’t - generally - so much sulphur) It also depends on
the individual’s body than others.
Teach your clients how to care for their silver - tell them to keep
individual pieces in little plastic zip-lock bags when not being
used: perhaps with a small square of anti-tarnish paper. A wipe over
with a silver polishing cloth followed by a good rinse in clean warm
water is a good way of keeping tarnish at bay. You could sell (or
give) them small polishing cloths with their new jewellery.
There is a whole lot of stuff on the web in general and Ganoksin in
particular about cleaning silver.
I have found that most people appreciate it if you are completely
honest with them, and even after learning that silver will eventually
tarnish unless they do a bit of maintenance on their jewellery, they
usually go on to buy my silver pieces. For which I am truly grateful!
Janet
I find by far the best way of going about this is to educate your
clients. If asked about silver tarnish I’m always honest and tell my
clients that it will always tarnish - the speed at which it does so
is often dependant on the environment (in towns with lots of
sulphurous car exhausts it will go much quicker than in the country
where there isn’t - generally - so much sulphur) It also depends on
the individual’s body than others.
Hmm - something got lost in my post - the thing about individual
body chemistry affecting the speed of silver tarnish. Oh well… 
I
always tell enquirers that what you are can make a difference to
your silver, as can what you eat. amazing, isn’t it? We all exude
chemicals from our bodies (sounds yukky, but it’s true) and some
people’s body chemistry makes silver tarnish a lot quicker than
other folks.
Janet
Yes! My wife turns Argentium black, she won’t use it. SS is better
for her!
Tom Parish
Apparently a diet with lots of onions and garlic will tarnish your
silver quite quickly! They are foods which are high in sulphur.
Helen
UK
Legor has a product called nano ceramic electro plating easy to use
and is wonderful. not only does it stop tarnish it makes it hypo
allogenic and resist scratches. I use it on all my silver bronze and
copper pieces. Never have had a problem… No affiliation with them
but love their product and service support.
Panama Bay Jewelers