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Re-anodizing or oxidizing silver jewelry

I purchased a pair of earrings that the hooks are gold and the hoop is silver. The silver hoops were black. The artist said the hoops were either anodized or oxidized. I don't remember. First at the joint the black flaked off a tiny bit, and then I mistakenly put them in jewelry cleaner and now the black has faded almost off. Do you know how I can get the silver black again? The artist lives in rural New York state and has not as yet answered my e-mail.

Thank you for your help,

Pepper Wells
consumer of artistic jewelry - Buffalo Grove, Illinois
2003

I think I remember from my jewelry class that egg whites oxidizes silver. Hope it helps.

Hector Hernandez
- Los Angeles, California
2004

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2004

The egg yolk contains sulfur which blackens silver. See letter 1178 & 12714. Note: silver can also be dipped into or brushed with raw yolk, although that may be messier than the methods described.

Ken Vlach [deceased]
- Goleta, California
Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.
Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.

Silver may also be oxidized by using liver of sulfur ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] compound. This can also be controlled to give different patinas. Once you have mixed the liver of sulfur and oxidized the silver, use a very fine #0000 steel wool ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to softly rub the surface and give it a burnished sheen or wipe with a jeweler's cloth or jeweler's rouge ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to remove the oxidation you want and highly shine the raised surfaces.

Susu Roberts
- Bowling Green, Kentucky
2005

I tried the hard boiled egg method and it didn't work. I also tried several other things. The one that finally did it was lemon juice.

Michael Meehan
- Indianapolis, Indiana
March 8, 2009

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March 12, 2009

Hi, Michael. Hmmmmm, are you sure it's silver? Sounds more like what pewter would do.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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