Caring for Your Silver

We recommend using a mud such as Hagerty's Silver Foam or Goddard's Silver Polish Foam for heavily tarnished pieces and a silver polishing cloth for lightly tarnished pieces. We strongly recommend that collectors never use chemical baths. Chemical baths will permanently damage the surface of your silver. Never buff or use mechanical devices to clean your silver. Even the most heavily tarnished silver can be cleaned without the use of these devices or chemical baths. Any dealer or collector would rather receive a piece of old silver that is black with tarnish rather than one that has had its original finish permanently destroyed by these means. We would also recommend that when leaving your silver with a silversmith that you request that the item be cleaned by hand and not machine. It will be costly and take more time but in the long run it will help your antique retain value and desirability in the marketplace. A piece of antique silver is original only once. Improper cleaning will result in irreparable damage to the surface of your silver.