Take Care of Your Silver

Wear it! Use it!
The best way to take care of your sterling silver jewelry is to wear it.  And the simplest way to assure your silver stays beautiful is to keep it clean. Wash it in warm water and dish-washing liquid to remove grease, sweat and dust before storing away. Always dry thoroughly with a clean, soft cotton kitchen cloth after rinsing.

Tarnish
Sterling silver will tarnish if not worn or used. Tarnish is a yellowish to brown, gray or black protective layer that forms on the silver as a patina. The copper alloy in silver will react to sulfur in the air or acids found in food like olives, mayonnaise and citrus fruits.

Gilded silver
Silver is often gilded.  A layer of gold is plated onto the inside surface of a silver object that is meant to store specific foods like a silver salt pot for salt or a mustard jar.  The gilded layer is there to protect the silver against oxidation that is visible as tarnish. 

Tarnish can be beautiful
Tarnish can enhance the beauty of the silver object especially if it is often used and a natural patina forms. The tarnish could appear in the creases and surfaces not reached by touch. Hand-polish valuable items to preserve unique and beautiful patinas.

Remove tarnish
A safe way to remove tarnish and dirt from silver objects with or without precious, semi-precious and other stones is to use talcum powder, ammonia and a very soft tooth brush. Dip the tip of the bristles of the toothbrush in ammonia, then in the talcum and carefully brush the surfaces that need cleaning. Rinse under running warm water while brushing lightly with a soft tooth brush. Dry thoroughly.

Cleaning bigger silver objects and silver chains, dissolve 5ml baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) per 200ml warm water in a flat glass or plastic container. Place a piece of alluminium foil in the bottom. To remove tarnish from silver, submerge the silver objects into the solution of baking soda and warm water and make sure the items touch the alluminium foil. Items should be clean in a few minutes and the alluminium foil will be blackened.

Storing Silver
When storing your silver, the simplest is to store individual pieces in an airtight plastic zipper bag or wrap in acid-free paper respectively before sealing it in acid free plastic, thus in an air-free environment.

In combination with humidity and heat, materials like rubber, wood, silk, wool, and foods like stock-fish, egg will start the oxidation reaction when in contact with the silver. Always clean silver before storing.

Care for displayed silver
If you are displaying a big piece made of sterling silver or silver plated items, like a chandelier, you should clean it often in warm water and a little dish-washing liquid, rinse and dry thoroughly. Avoid touching with the naked hand to avoid finger marks and do not polish these silver objects too often.

Silver plating
To obtain a long lasting glossy, white silver surface, you can have your displayed silver object silver plated. The thin silver layer that is plated on the sterling silver is a layer of fine silver with no copper content and will not tarnish easily, unless it has been rubbed or polished away when cleaning.

Hallmarking
Sterling silver, fineness hallmark 925 (92.5% silver, with the balance usually copper)
Britannia silver, fineness hallmark 958 (95.84% silver, with the balance usually copper)
Argentium silver is a modern sterling silver that does not tarnish easily, fineness hallmark AS 930 or AS 970

Note that
Britannia metal is a pewter-like alloy and contains no silver

EPNS is Electro Plated Nickel Silver (Nickel Silver: is an alloy of copper, nickel and often zinc, contains no silver unless plated. Also known as German silver, paktong, new silver, alpacca (or alpaca))

References
Workshop tips, and
Rudling Silverstolpe, Sofia, Modernt Svenskt Silver, 2009
Sited on 2009-12-29 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarnish
Sited on 2009-12-29 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_silver
Sited on 2009-12-29 on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver
 
Compiled by Rae White