@Cicadalady Ugh, that’s one of my pet peeves. Sorry that happened to a favorite ring of yours. I make my jeweler write “Do not polish” across the work order every time 
. (They have to polish/clean the back to re-size which isn’t a problem to me.) Honestly, I think most people like their jewelry bright & shiny. For me, that’s a no-no for antique & vintage jewelry. I don’t have an answer on how to restore the patina. Eventually, natural patina will return 
.
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With a name like yours, who would have thought! 
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I’ve been wondering about this also. I have a older silver cuff, that to me had a really lovely patina when I got it. It had been sitting in the case at Ogg’s Hogan for years. Now that I have it, it’s gotten polished looking from me wearing it, which normally is fine, but I really liked the look of it better a little less shiny. I read that humidity sometimes helps with bringing some patina back to the silver, and that leaving it in the bathroom while you shower would help. That has not worked.
I don’t think I’m ready to try something else on it; I just need to get used to the fact that it’s shinier because I’m actually wearing it Here are the before and after pics…
I have never polished it at all.
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Hey @Ziacat
Check out this video about oxidizing silver with cooked eggs
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I don’t know, Zia. It looks pretty dang good with the brighter finish. 
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Thanks @TAH. I’m trying to make up my mind… I guess I just always like that older look, and now it looks newer.
Thanks @Stracci, I’ll take a look at it, and think on it a while.
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It looks newer because you love it and wear it. I get what our saying though. I prefer a dark patina too, but the Navajo prefer their silver polished. So, the “experts” would say you’re wrong. You should be proud of the finish you have given it. It shows how much it means to you.
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Actually @Ziacat , your bracelet has a vintage hand rubbed patina with depth to it that happens over years of use. The shop “patina” to me looks pretty dull and lifeless from just sitting around. Compare it to a new bright piece of polished silver for comparison. I have early American silver pieces with great patina like yours.
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Thanks y’all, I appreciate it. I’ll leave it shiny for now. But I’ll still watch the video, because I had something being fixed come back polished, so I also now say, “please don’t polish.”
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Hey Zia, not that this is a poll, but I agree with @TAH and @StevesTrail. The photo of your beautiful cuff in the case at Ogg’s really shows the tarnish it acquired from sitting, compared to the photo after years of use that shows an awesome patina. As @StevesTrail points out, the shine from honest wear has so much more depth than the “chrome plated” look that polished silver can have, and the patina that’s on your cuff is perfect, in my opinion. As @TAH mentioned, it goes to show how much you love it and wear it, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
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@Stracci, I used the boiled-egg approach to re-oxidize a piece of sterling jewellery once. Worked like a charm! And of course you can always gently re-polish the piece afterwards to add gleam where you want it.
That said, if I thought I’d be doing this a lot, I would just buy liver of sulfur and use that. But eggs work well as a one-off.
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Thanks! It really didn’t look tarnished when I bought it - it just looked, hmmm, I don’t know how else to say it, but not shiny new. That’s honestly partly what drew me to it. I really liked how it looked then. But I don’t know that I trust myself to try to change it now. Besides, it would just probably polish right up again when I wear it
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I,too, love the gleam than comes from wearing. The dark areas define the contours and details of the piece, but the glow that comes from use is what makes it special and unique to you. All the tiny surface scratches work the light in ways that a “polished” (new and perfectly smooth) surface can never achieve.
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I hear what you’re saying, but I just can’t make myself like the high shine on this cuff now. TBH I haven’t really worn it a lot since it’s gotten so shiny. No matter what I do the dang thing just stays shiny. I don’t even have it tucked away; it’s just in a drawer, and sometimes I leave it sitting out for weeks on end hoping it’ll change a bit. Oh well.
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Wow, that sheen and patina couldn’t possibly be more perfect in my book. I wish all my sterling had that magical perfection going on!
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Zia, I think one of the reasons your cuff polished up “shiny” is because of the inherent nature of its design. There isn’t a lot of recessed areas to hold dark oxidation, so the overall piece appears shiny, exaggerated by the vast amount of unstamped silver (which I love, by the way). The existing stamp and tool work are holding the dark color nicely.
You, or a professional, could force a patina, but I have a feeling this cuff will return to its polished state because that’s where it wants to live. Personally, I love its mellow sheen and all of the little surface scratches. You’ve done a great job giving it a soft, warm finish from hours of wear. If you stop wearing it, you stop creating history with it.
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Thanks to y’all I tried an application of liver of sulfur on the ring my jeweler “made more betters”. It’s now well on its way to its former presence. I’m guessing that the more I wear it the nicer it will get. Here are before and after shots:
The collective wisdom here is incredible!
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I believe you’re correct; that must be why it doesn’t look quite right to me.
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Hi everyone 
So this is the squash that I tossed in a box and recently found again that was magnetic. Now that I know that it is the backing material that is magnetic, I wanna wear it. I bought it because my other one is really heavy and I can just throw it on with jeans but it’s really tarnished. I also just noticed that the bottom left stone looks like a replacement stone 
but it’s not horrible lol. Anywho, I bought these silver wipes and then chickened out. Any suggestions? I tried a cloth but that is taking forever. Idk… maybe I just need a new one.
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