[Jewelry making - Article 00379] - [Orchid] Re: [Updated Source] Argentium Sterling Silver

[Cynthia Eid]

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>       I have recently purchased A silver from Stueller... nice
>     product... Understand that it 'Resist' tarnishing.... that's why I
>     used it!... Question is...'for how long? what can I expect from a
>     finished product?? 

    Hi Jim, I think you'll be amazed to find that you may not see
    tarnish for years---especially if you follow the advice that Peter
    Johns gives: Be sure to keep your buffs (or "mops" if you live in
    England) separate from buffs used on sterling or other metals that
    tarnish, to avoid contamination----smearing the regular silver onto
    the Argentium.  Another tip that Peter Johns gave me is to use
    Goddard's Long Shine polishing cloth as a final wipe down.  Something
    in the cloth chemically bonds with the metal, and makes it even more
    tarnish resistant.  Peter showed me samples that had been rubbed with
    the Goddard Long Shine polishing cloth, and then scrubbed with a
    cotton rag, to see if the effect would rub off.  Incredibly, when the
    sample was exposed to tarnish-producing conditions, it did not
    tarnish any more than the un-abraded Argentium that had the
    Goddard's on it. Both samples were more tarnish-free than the
    un-treated Argentium. The un-treated Argentium was only slightly
    tarnished.  The regular sterling was nearly black.  Personally, I
    have not needed to re-clean anything made of Argentium yet.  

    Argentium sterling is one of those things that I was skeptical about
    at first---it sounds too good to be true!  Incredibly, it is true. 
    The only "down" sides that I can think of is that it has a lower
    melting point, so one needs to be very careful with hard solder, and
    it can "sag" a bit, if you are doing silver-soldered/brazed work with
    flat sheet, and aren't careful to pre-harden it, and set it up
    carefully. 

    I could go on and on---I just love the stuff! 

Cindy  
Cynthia Eid
http://www.cynthiaeid.com/

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