[Jewelry making - Article 00862] - Re: [Orchid] Argentium Sterling Contamination

[Trevor F]

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>     You told me that the only thing I really must concern myself with
>     is a separate set of buffing wheels. 

    If you go back and check that email I think you'll find that I
    recommended _two_ things: 

        - separate polishing buffs, etc.
        - separate fire bricks.

    I think, as does ArgentiumSilver.com if you read their datasheet on
    Argentium Sterling (AS), that both of these are important. IMHO, the
    second even more so than the first. 

>     If I were to take a fully polished piece in Argentium Sterling, and
>     put it for a few minutes in the Super Pickle would I be preventing
>     later oxidation from residual copper? 

    Personally I doubt it but it's probably not going to hurt anything
    either so why not give it a try. The question, of course, is how do
    you know if it worked. This brings us to accelerated tarnish testing. 

    One of the little tricks I use to see how good the tarnish resistance
    is on a piece of AS it to put it and a polished strip of regular
    sterling silver in a steamer with a handful of fresh broccoli (cut
    into flowerlets). It is important to degrease the metals first. Let
    the steamer run at full boil for about 10 minutes, you should be able
    to smell the broccoli. This is usually enough to turn the sterling
    quite grey, longer in the steamer will darken it even further. 

    If your AS is still clean after this test, or has light blush of
    straw colored oxide on it, then I'd say your tarnish resistance is in
    pretty good shape. If the AS darkens noticeably then it's not in such
    good shape after all. I realize that this test is about as
    bush-league as it gets but at least it's something. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
www.touchmetal.com

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