[Jewelry making - Article 00005] - Re: [Orchid] Florida Brown Silver Tarnish

[Hratch]

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well Liane

    I have the same problem, in Florida, cape cod and stone harbor... I
    don't know if you notice they are all oceanic coastal atmospheres.
    Salt + water + air. I had a trunk show this summer in cape cod and
    until then I couldn't tell why this was happening to my work in
    certain areasand not others until this time. while we were outside
    under a large tent miles away from the beach itself, I watched my
    jewelry go from this wonderful silver frosty white to the brown that
    you speak of, so I walked around to look at what other peoples
    jewelry was doing, and my conclusion was all the silver that was
    textured in any way even the lightest sand blasting was turning that
    brown. the polished pieces were turning but you couldn't tell from
    the shine until it was heavy enough and against a light colored back
    ground. I was told by the gallery owners and the other artists that
    this was the salty moist air all around us. the deox silver was
    holding up a little better but even that was turning. I had a polish
    cloth by lockhart jewelry, that cloth did work, but it is a
    something that you have to moisten and wipe, it also comes with a
    effervescent tablet, the cloth worked fine, but the tarnish was not
    as heavy as you say, but it was just with in six hours that it turned
    as we watched. so if left alone in a gallery case it would surly get
    heavier by the day. the gallery I deal with actually has an
    ultrasonic and all the cleaning materials and they do clean, so the
    galleries who clean and take care of the work don't have any
    problems it's just part of the course, while others can not deal with
    the tarnish cleaning and give up or go to white gold. I personally
    toyed with Lacquering and every once in a while I do, the problem
    with that is that if there is any tarnish that makes it's way through
    the lacquer, near a seam with weather heat and moisture in the
    atmosphere, then you have a problem of tarnish trapped and getting
    worse behind the lacquer, which would mean more work for you or some
    one who is trying to repair or clean the piece. the non tarnish
    paper works only so far and so long, they do make them in blocks for
    jewelry cases but even they can't hold up against a salty
    atmosphere. I looked into argentium and it seems pretty promising,
    but with a huge learning curve, and quite expensive to cast, not many
    casters are casting it yet. the other choice for me is the deox which
    works a Little better then the regular sterling. or the platinum
    silver which is more money and again not too many casters are casting
    it. unless you don't need casting and all your work is fabricated.
    Ask the other gallery in the area if they clean the jewelry.
    ultimately that is what has to come down to. also check the interior
    of your galleries cases, as to what kind of material are they using
    for covering the pads, paper? cloth? plastic? even the smallest
    detail will be important. and check the other galleries cases. I have
    zip lock bags that would tarnish pieces, and others don't which would
    tell me something about the chemical make up of the plastics being
    used in the baggies. Salty moist air is probably the cause. 

Hratch Babikia
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