Okay....here is a simple way to get rid of tarnish when you have a piece that doesn't get much rotation, and unfortunately has turned a lovely shade of deep grey...you can do this with things you most likely have in your home at this very moment...as always, please exercise CARE and safety for yourself and your jewels...
you will need:
-------------
an aluminum pie plate or facsimile or aluminum foil lining a bowl or pan
baking soda
boiling water
a soft cloth or towel for drying
step 1: lay out the jewelry you want to clean in the pie plate or whatever piece of aluminum you are using
step 2: cover the pieces liberally w/ baking soda
step 3: boil some water
step 4: pour boing water ( maybe 1/2 inch worth) over the jewelry...you will see by the bubbling that it is HOT...and a mild chemical reaction is occurring here, so PLEASE lean back and try not to inhale anything that is going on until it starts to cool
step 5: as it is cooling use a spoon and noodle the baking soda around a bit over the jewels
step 6: dump out the mixture, rinse WELL to remove residue and RUB w/ soft cloth
step 7-ish: you might have to repeat this process a few times to bring your jewels back to your desired level of shine...make sure, if you do rinse and repeat that everything ( including the pie pan) is bone dry before you start agin....the ring and necklace I am showing you here took 3 tries, so be patient! ( there was an amethyst in here and that was fine too..
and a CAVEAT...again, KNOW YOUR JEWELS!...some stones cannot take the heat shock of boiling water, so when in doubt, ask your jeweler...and of course this is not good for pearls....
an ounce of prevention really works great though...storing your things using a hunk of silvercloth, if you are not planning on using them for a while really helps!
an ounce of prevention really works great though...storing your things using a hunk of silvercloth, if you are not planning on using them for a while really helps!