Salvaging tarnished sterling silver?

[KLC]

I just spent 10 days in the hospital. I had to remove my jewelry because I had to have multiple MRIs. They put my jewelry into a plastic bowl with a lid and gave it to my husband. He left it in the bowl, lid on, and now the sterling pieces are pretty tarnished. One ring especially has an almost orangish discoloration. Is there any way to restore them that won't damage the stones? One ring is set with citrine, one ring and a pair of studs are set with moissanite, and one piece is set with diamonds. I am hesitant to use chemicals not knowing how it will affect the stones. Thanks.

 

[lambskin]

there are silver polishes on the market. I prefer a paste over the liquid or foam. Do not use instant tarnish removers like Tarnix. There are also treated tarnish remover cloths but those seem like a lot of work and hard to get into crevices. You can google tarnish removers available in your area. Amazon might have some too. If all else fails take them to a jeweler who may polish them up for a small charge. Good luck and fast recovery.

 

[stracci2000]

I can also recommend toothpaste, any kind.
It works just like silver polish, and we all have it!
It works great. Just use a small dab on a soft wet toothbrush, and very gently scrub the foam on your pieces, and rinse.
As long as you're gentle, this will not harm your stones.
Healing vibes to you!!

 

[KLC]

Thank you both

 

[KLC]

I can also recommend toothpaste, any kind.
It works just like silver polish, and we all have it!
It works great. Just use a small dab on a soft wet toothbrush, and very gently scrub the foam on your pieces, and rinse.
As long as you're gentle, this will not harm your stones.
Healing vibes to you!!

Just wanted to say the toothpaste worked great! Shined it up as good as new!

 

[stracci2000]

Just wanted to say the toothpaste worked great! Shined it up as good as new!

Yay! It's a beautiful ring! Like a drop of sunshine!
I'm so glad it worked out.

 

[glitterata]

I collect silver. Toothpaste is not a terrible solution for jewelry, as long as it’s not set with porous or very delicate stones (like opal, turquoise, or pearl), but please don’t polish your valuable, antique, or sentimental silverware and larger silver objects with toothpaste. It’s much more abrasive than polishes formulated for silver. Also avoid dips and kooky time-saving methods involving aluminum foil and so on. Instead, use a gentle silver polish like Twinkle, or if it’s very heavily tarnished, Wright’s or Hagerty. Use SILVER polish, not “metal” polish, which will be too abrasive and will ruin the surface finish. Once you‘ve removed the tarnish, all you need to do is use the item and wash it regularly before the tarnish has time to build up again. You can store it for longer periods wrapped in silver cloth, acid-free flannel, or zip-lock bags and it shouldn’t need more than a little touch up.

@KLC , the reason your rings tarnished may be that the plastic tub was out gassing some chemical that interacted with the silver? Wishing you good health and a speedy recovery!

 

[KLC]

I collect silver. Toothpaste is not a terrible solution for jewelry, as long as it’s not set with porous or very delicate stones (like opal, turquoise, or pearl), but please don’t polish your valuable, antique, or sentimental silverware and larger silver objects with toothpaste. It’s much more abrasive than polishes formulated for silver. Also avoid dips and kooky time-saving methods involving aluminum foil and so on. Instead, use a gentle silver polish like Twinkle, or if it’s very heavily tarnished, Wright’s or Hagerty. Use SILVER polish, not “metal” polish, which will be too abrasive and will ruin the surface finish. Once you‘ve removed the tarnish, all you need to do is use the item and wash it regularly before the tarnish has time to build up again. You can store it for longer periods wrapped in silver cloth, acid-free flannel, or zip-lock bags and it shouldn’t need more than a little touch up.

@KLC , the reason your rings tarnished may be that the plastic tub was out gassing some chemical that interacted with the silver? Wishing you good health and a speedy recovery!

Thanks. I normally wear these daily and never had a problem with them tarnishing. It had to be something to do with the plastic the little tub was made with. This ring was the one with the orangish discoloration on the undergallery. It cleaned up nicely but it's not something I'd do often.

 

[LilAlex]

Just wanted to say the toothpaste worked great!

Don't forget to floss between the stones

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

this is what i use
it doesnt actually take much effort on a ring
i have a silver pandora cat pendant that tarnishes like crazy if it isnt worn for a while
i use my fingernail to get into any fiddly bits
ive also found it shines up gold really good too

im glad you are home from hospital @KLC
nothing is as important as our health
but in saying that 'damaged' jewlery is not good for stress
i love your citrine ring, im so glad it was easy to put right