Tarnishing silver

[curious]

i have a fabulous silver charm bracelet that won't tarnish. i think a jeweler may have treated it with something to prevent tarnishing because it's about 10 years old and looks like new. i hate it this way...no character. does anyone know what the jeweler may have used on it, and how i can get it off or some what to tarnish this thing?

[Metalman]

There are a couple of possibilities.
Many of the bracelets and chains [especially coming from Italy] have been plated with Rhodium. It won't tarnish and gives a look very close to silver look.  The other option would be to have lacquered or varnished the bracelet in some way.
If you were to dip or clean your bracelet in something like lacquer thinner [nasty stuff] that would probably cut and clean off most coatings.  The slow method would be to wear it a lot - the wear on the bracelet from wearing it will eventually take the coatings and/or the plating off.
I suppose you could get some very fine sandpaper - 1000 grit or higher [ 1200, 2000, etc] and sand the finish . At these fine grits, you would be able to get a nice looking soft polish using a hand polishing cloth when you finish sanding.

[curious]

where can i get lacquer thinner? i'm new at this...i don't work with metal, and don't want to ruin the bracelet. it's a charm bracelet--all the charms are from santa fe and taos. some are pretty intricate, which is why i like the tarnishing. i don't mind a little stink if i can get the bracelet back to what it's supposed to look like.

thanks!

[curious]

also, just looked up lacquer thinner on google...says it can damage surfaces...any advice on how to treat this bracelet without damaging it?

[Metalman]

The lacquer thinner will clean plastics, varnish, coatings, glue etc. off of metals, glass and other surfaces.  It will not damage the metal parts of you bracelet, but I am concerned about the charms. Some charms are made with plastic coatings and enamels, some are glass enamels.
Lacquer thinner will EAT PLASTIC ALIVE.  If you are unsure what the charms are made of - do not get any lacquer thinner near them.
You can get lacquer thinner at paint supply and hardware stores.  use in well ventilated areas

[LynnK]

What have you tried to do to tarnish the silver?  Some of the more experience wire/metal workers will probably shake their heads at me, but I just tried using hard boiled eggs to oxidize silver (granted it had not been treated in any way) and it worked GREAT.  Gave the silver a deep, gorgeous patina after I'd buffed it a bit with some fine steel wool.

[Metalman]

Lynn has a ggod one there- the egg works great.
I personally would not use the steel wool. It will scratch your surfaces.  Buffing with a polishing cloth will give good results with out a such an abrasive effect.

[LynnK]

Kurt, thanks for that tip. I had read (and been told) to use ultra fine steel wool.  I made a pendant the other day, used the egg method to oxidize, but this time used just a polishing cloth to clean it up (after getting the egg off!)  It worked great.

Lynn