Most advice on cleaning silver is written for smooth spoons and plain chains. Carved silver is different: the dark in the recesses is there on purpose, and the usual tricks take it out along with the tarnish. How to keep a carved piece bright where it should be bright, and dark where it should be dark.
Every piece of sterling silver will change colour if you leave it alone long enough. A warm grey first, then gold and brown at the edges, then something close to black. People see that and assume something has gone wrong. Nothing has. It is what silver does.
The question is only which parts you want to bring back, and which you want to leave.
What tarnish actually is
Tarnish is silver sulphide. Air carries tiny amounts of sulphur gases, and silver reacts with them, slowly forming a thin dark film on the surface. It is not dirt, and it is not damage. It sits on top of the metal and can be taken off again.
It forms faster in some places than others. Damp air speeds it up, which is why a bathroom is the worst place to keep jewellery. So does contact with rubber, which is made with sulphur. A piece stored next to a rubber band or in a drawer with a rubber-soled shoe will darken in weeks.
Why carved silver needs different care
On hand-carved pieces, part of the black is deliberate. After carving, the low ground is darkened almost to black and the raised surfaces are polished back by hand, so the design can be read from across a room. We wrote about why in Oxidized Silver: Why It's Darkened on Purpose.
Chemically, that patina and ordinary tarnish are close relatives. Anything strong enough to strip tarnish from every surface will strip the patina from the recesses too. The carving goes flat and grey, and it looks like a cheaper piece.
So the rule for carved silver is simple: clean the high points, leave the low ones.
What to use
- A silver polishing cloth. The kind impregnated with a mild polish. Rub only the raised surfaces, the edges of a scale, the bridge of a nose, the rim of a ring. The cloth can't reach into the recesses, which is exactly the point. This is all most pieces ever need.
- A soft, dry brush. An old soft toothbrush, used dry, lifts dust and skin oil out of deep carving without touching the patina.
- Mild soap and lukewarm water, for pieces with no stones. If a piece without stones has picked up grime, a little washing-up liquid in warm water and the soft brush will clear it. Rinse, then dry it completely with a soft towel, paying attention to the recesses.
What to avoid
- Silver dips. Liquid dips dissolve tarnish fast and do not care where it is. On carved silver they take the black out of the recesses, and they can leave a yellowish stain if not rinsed perfectly.
- The foil and soda trick. Hot water, soda and aluminium foil will pull tarnish off everything at once, patina included, and leave the surface dull and matte.
- Toothpaste and kitchen scourers. Both are abrasive. They scratch, and over time they wear down the fine carved edges that took the longest to cut.
- General metal polish. Most is far too abrasive for silver.
- Ultrasonic cleaners, on anything with stones. The vibration can loosen a setting, and porous stones such as turquoise and agate can be damaged.
Pieces with stones
Many of our pieces carry stones: garnet, Swiss blue topaz, turquoise, agate. Treat them more gently than the silver around them. Use the polishing cloth and the dry brush only, keep them away from perfume, lotion and cleaning chemicals, and don't soak them. Topaz is hard, but it can split along one plane if it takes a sharp knock, so a table edge is the thing to watch.
What about the gold?
Our gold is fire-gilded: 24K gold fused into the silver at about 900°C, not a plated film. It doesn't flake or wear through, and the polishing cloth is safe on it. It may simply look brighter after a pass, because the cloth also lifts the thin tarnish from the silver around it. Read more about the process on our Traditional Fire-Gilding page.
How to store it
- Keep each piece in its own small cloth pouch or a sealed plastic bag, so pieces don't scratch one another and air can't reach them.
- Add an anti-tarnish strip or a small silica gel sachet to the box. Both are inexpensive and work.
- Keep it out of the bathroom, and away from rubber.
The best care is wearing it
A ring worn every day rarely needs cleaning at all. The skin and the small movements of a day keep the high points bright, and the recesses stay dark. The pieces that tarnish worst are the ones left in a drawer for a year.
If you are not sure whether something you own is sterling at all, that changes the advice. Start with What Is Tibetan Silver?
Carved silver is meant to look lived in. Polish the edges your hand touches, and leave the shadows alone.
Rings · Cuffs & Bracelets · Necklaces
More from the Journal: Oxidized Silver · Hand-Carved Silver: Five Ways to Tell · What Is Tibetan Silver?