Is there a pearl-safe detarnisher?

[snufflepig]

I browsed through the old topics before I joined and found this interesting. Has anyone ever try tomato sauce (ketchup) to remove tarnish on silver? tomato sauce should be more gentle compared to soda. just brush some ketchup with soft toothbrush onto the affected area and leave it for 10-15 minutes before brushing and rinsing it gently under running water. try to minimize the contact of ketchup and pearls as much as possible though. The weak acid in tomato sauce will remove the oxide (tarnish) from the silver. as long as you are not immersing the pearl into the ketchup, I feel that this is not a bad way to try!

I'd be more worried about accidentally dying the silk string red and then having to restring them @.@

Perhaps... try this WHILE restringing?

 

[pearlescence]

Don't people come up with some extraordinary notions to get out of using the right things ..can you imagine the oozy mess tomato ketchup would make of some pearls - get inside the drill hole and stink away. yuck.
Get a silver polishing cloth and that will do most jewellery silver just fine and last for many years (I still use one which is 25 years old and it still works well)

 

[juliebeth]

oh i use ketsup on my 14kt gold items - a good 20 minute bath, then a rinse in soapy water then fresh, and they're good to go! toothpaste is GREAT for silver, as well. oh yes, AND if you get those weird black spots on your stainless cookware, you can just boil water in the pot, add a ton of baking soda, keep it at a boil, and those spots will float off after a while.

about pearls, i have no idea. seems like ketsup might eat away at the nacre. i just looked up the moh's scale numbers for sodium bicarb (baking soda) and it is 2.5. pearls are 3-4.5. toothpaste ingredients can be anywhere from 2-9.5 (silicas)!!! yeesh. (for the record, teeth are 5) so i'd say no toothpaste on the ol' pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I just use a Sunshine cloth (impregnated with tarnish removing chemicals) on the metal, avoiding the pearls.

For stainless or copper cookware, I like Barkeeper's Friend.

 

[MSC]

I was just searching for a pearl safe tarnish remover and found this thread. I have a bunch of pieces that have pearls delicately wrapped in silver wire. The wire and chain has tarnished and it is REALLY difficult to use any product on the wire without touching the pearls. Has anyone found a practical solution for this issue? Obviously, pre-treating silver in a piece already made cannot be done

 

[MSC]

Well, I found this on ebay via a google search and was wondering if anyone has tried it on here? http://www.ebay.com/itm/natural-jew...d-silver-/200914397430?_trksid=p2054897.l4275
It got positive reviews on the sellers ebay feedback page, but nothing descriptive like "didn't ruin my pearls," etc.

I also found this: http://organicallyyourscleaner.com/ I messaged the company to ask if the pearl safe cleaner will remove tarnish.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I found that The Pearl Doctor pearl cleaner removed some tarnish from a pearl pin I had, but the pin isn't marked sterling silver or 925.
It does seem to brighten up my metal jewelry but is not nearly as good as regular tarnish remover. But it might be worth a try anyway.

 

[MSC]

I found that The Pearl Doctor pearl cleaner removed some tarnish from a pearl pin I had, but the pin isn't marked sterling silver or 925.
It does seem to brighten up my metal jewelry but is not nearly as good as regular tarnish remover. But it might be worth a try anyway.

Thanks for the rec, I'll give it a try!

 

[cyndayco]

I tried the baking soda method on a silver ring with a keshi-type pearl.

I left it in the solution as briefly as possible and allowed the pearl to air dry--so as not to leave any marks, in case the nacre softened. Much of the tarnish was removed, and the pearl seems none the worse for the wear.

 

[GemGeek]

I tried the baking soda method on a silver ring with a keshi-type pearl.

I left it in the solution as briefly as possible and allowed the pearl to air dry--so as not to leave any marks, in case the nacre softened. Much of the tarnish was removed, and the pearl seems none the worse for the wear.

That's great to know. Thanks for posting!

 

[BeadersSecret]

My method, I would use French chalk and a jewellers brush this is a very safe way to clean the hard to get to settings.

Using toothpaste I reckon is too abrasive, I used to polish plexi-glasses in watches with toothpaste.

 

[pearlescence]

For a quick and safe brighten up use a silver polishing cloth. Obviously this will only reach outside bits of any item but it is safe and lasts for many years (I've had the same cloth for 30 years. I have no idea how it works but it works)