One of the easiest and safest ways to age your sterling silver jewelry is by doing the following: Boil an egg. Take a zip-lock bag, place the hard boiled egg inside (best while still warm) and smash it. Take your sterling silver ring, bracelet, earrings, pendant or necklace and place them inside the bag along with the smashed egg. Seal the bag. Within minutes, the gases inside will tarnish your silver while not damaging any stones or delicate components of the piece. If you are hungry, finish off by eating them ;)
If eggs aren't your thing, you can simply purchase "Liver of sulphur". Heat some water in a bowl or pot (if material is in a solid state), and apply a few pieces of liver of sulphur into the warm / hot water. The hotter, the quicker the reaction time. Stir and place your silver into the solution. Depending on the amount of time it is placed inside, you will view a variable amount of colors ranging from blue, red, purple, orange and black. The longer the silver is in the solution, the darker it will get. JSP is what we use as of now. So far, it's been a great product. The solution can be used time and time again as long as you store the solution in an air tight container. If the strength diminishes, just repeat the process and add more pieces of liver of sulphur.
Note: the entire piece of jewelry will tarnish. Take fine sandpaper and sand the areas you don't want tarnished. A good tip is to use a tooth brush and tooth paste as an abrasive prior to sandpaper. It will work on hard-to-reach areas in an even fashion. Check out our pieces at www.LUGDUN.com for excellent examples of how this recipe can make your jewelry stand out.
