Tiffany & Co. Silver Jewelry Cleaning and Polishing Tips

As the proud owner of a sterling silver serving tray manufactured by Tiffany & Co., silver jewelry, and even a small picture frame fashioned from the precious metal, I am meticulous about their shine. Anyone who has ever owned a piece of jewelry or other item fashioned from silver or containing silver parts knows that these items tend to tarnish quickly.

Even as popular lore will seek to inform you that silver reacts with the elements around it, a closer look at its chemical properties as indicated on the periodic table indicates that this is not the case! Instead, it is the metal that accompanies the silver - for the sake of jewelry and tableware manufacture this is usually copper - which is known to react with elements found in the atmosphere, most notably oxygen and sulphur. The result of this chemical reaction is a grey tarnish which speaks of the corrosion and change in atomic oxidation number.

Cleaning and polishing tips for Tiffany & Co. silver jewelry and other products are mentioned on the company's website, and by and large the main suggestion is the purchase of a non-abrasive silver polish which should then be applied according to the manufacturer's recommendations. While this is a great solution when company is a scant half hour away and I want to get the Tiffany & Co.'s silver jewelry looking great now, in the long run there are other methods which yield better results.

Removing silver tarnish with the transfer method

Find a cooking pot large enough to contain the silver item you wish to polish. Place heavy duty aluminum foil inside the pot so that it fits like a second skin over the inside of the pot. Mix a gallon of lukewarm water with a third cup of baking soda and a third cup of liquid dish soap.

Place the pot on the stove and put the silver item into the aluminum foil padded pot, gently pour in the liquid and turn on the heat. Simmer - do not boil! - the mix for a third of an hour (20 minutes, but using 1/3 makes it easier to remember all the figures involved). At the end of that time remove the silver item and wash it. The aluminum foil will have taken on the tarnish and may now be discarded.