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My grandmother has always cleaned her own silver, but I will say you are probably on the right track by contacting antique stores. Also, a furniture restorer will likely be able to help with the box, and who knows, they might have a name for you in regards to the silverware.
Actually, now that I think about it, lots of jewelers carry old silverware. I bet they could help you.
My grandma used to have "polishing" days. IT was a good chance when i was a younging for slave labour. I do remember those days being great fun.
I suggest the DIY route if you cant find anyone.
I didnt inherit silver but inherited a Royal Dolton plates/tea set. They sit in a glass cabinet but dont get polished. Occasionally dusted.
I think it is actually easiest to do it yourself once, and then remember - if you use it, you never have to polish it. :o)
I'll call some of the jewelry stores around here; that's a great idea!
I do think, once I get it professionally done, I'll be able to keep up with it. But the flatware has been sitting in storage for a number of years, so doing it myself seems a little daunting, lol.
My mom has some, and we always polished it ourselves. I have memories as a little girl sitting there polishing the flatware before all of the special occasions. My MIL doesn't use hers b/c she's too lazy to polish... I'm hoping one of them will pass theirs down to me.
I use antique silverware. We polish it ourselves. Part the silverware sacrifice, I guess. If you use it regularly, SeptCABride is right--you shouldn't need to keep polishing it.
Hmmmm, I'm not sure how often we'll use it at this point. Eventually, we'd like to host the family for holidays, but because of our location, it's normally difficult to travel to our house during the winter months. And with just me, my husband, and the baby, I doubt we'll break out the family silver and china any time soon.
Since we don't plan on using for maybe 5+ years, would it be better to just leave it alone for now? I thought it would be better to get it polished now and then keep up on it, but maybe that's not true?
@Mrs. Spring: I would get a professional opinion on the now v. later question. I know that letting it sit can errode the silver, but cleaning it often won't hurt it. However, I only know from personal experience, so ask someone who *really* knows. :o)
I'd look for old family-owned businesses in your area. Where I live there is an old china shop and and old jewlery store that sells fine china and I'm sure they'd service silverware.
Have you tried polishing just one piece to see how it cleans up? Then you would know whether you really need a professional cleaning/restoration.
And once you get a professional opinion, let the rest of us know.
I would do it myself if I were you. Antique silver usually has a lot of grooved details that turn black over time - and that's how it is supposed to be! You should never clean it so thoroughly that you remove the blackened patina from the details of the pattern. My family owns a 4th generation jewelry store and this is what my grandfather always taught his customers. You should clean the top surface to be shiny, and that's it. This allows the intricate pattern to be displayed properly. When you don't try to clean off the many years of patina from the pattern, it's not that big of a job. Also - never use those "dip" silver cleaners, as they strip all the tarnish, including the patina. Use a cream cleaner and a soft cloth and go gently on it.
Its pretty labor intensive once you get started, so I can't even imagine what somebody would charge to do flatware. How many pieces?
I polished mine for years and got tired of it, so it sits in the box tarnishing away! I did polish all my silver candlesticks and used a clear spray poly on them afterwards to keep them nice. That's held up for years now, but it can't be used on any serving pieces or flatware.
Polish some yourself and use them regularly so they stay silver,especially things like ladles and serving spoons.
I do! I clean it with toothpaste or baking soda. That works just fine. And it's inexpensive.
To clean silver with baking soda, line a baking pan with tin foil, place the silver on top of the foil, sprinkle baking soda over the silver pieces, and pour boiling water in the pan. Let the silver soak for a while before rinsing off the baking soda.
http://www.ehow.com/video_4756205_clean-silver-baking-soda.html
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Where do you go to get it cleaned or serviced?
When we got married, my mom handed down my grandma's silver flatware from the 30's, and I've been meaning to get it cleaned and polished for the last couple years. I called an antique store in town, but they don't do any antique restoration, and I'm not sure where else to look? I also need to get the original box restored/restained, but I have no clue where to go for that either.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!