Marty Magic Ear Cuff and Jewelry

Just as you expect to dry clean a fine piece of silk or wool clothing, you must expect to clean your jewelry occasionally. Sterling silver will tarnish over time, but its tendency to tarnish is part of its beauty. Marty oxidizes each piece so that the recessed areas are dark, and then polishes the highlights. This antiquing is an added step that commercial jewelry is lacking. The oxidation brings out the sculptural details of the design. If your piece becomes tarnished on the highlighted areas, purchase a good quality silver CREAM. These are available in most supermarkets, on the cleaning aisle. Mrs. Wright's is a good brand, but I am sure most any silver cream will perform. Using a soft cloth, buff the highlights with a small amount of the cream. Rinse with warm water and, if necessary, use a soft tooth brush to get any residue out of the recessed areas. A Q-tip swab can be used if your piece is very intricate.

NEVER dip your piece in a liquid jewelry cleaner. The liquid anti-tarnish cleaners, which are available beside the silver creams, strip everything off of the piece, including the antiquing in the crevices. What is worse is that the chemicals in the liquid anti-tarnish dips react with the oxidation, making the recessed areas a "fuzzy" greyish-white, and removing the shine from the surface as well. Many customers mistakenly do this and then come to me with their tails between their legs and heads bowed, asking for my forgiveness.

It is actually more work to repair this mistake than to polish the piece to begin with. It's okay, however, to dip chains in liquid cleaners. Another way to polish a piece is with a rough cloth or a polishing puff. These work reasonably well, but once again, the residue must be washed off with warm water and a soft toothbrush. My tip for general cleaning is a 1/2" of 99% lemon sudsy ammonia in a glass. Plop your ring in and spend 30 seconds working on it with a soft toothbrush. This won't remove actual tarnish, but it will clean instantly all the scum stuck behind a stone, and the daily layer of lotions and dirt that collect on a piece.