Cleaning Silver with Roger Crowther

Roger Crowther: It’s a classic vase, but not exactly in classic condition, is it?

Client: No.

Roger Crowther: So where have you been keeping it? In the cold cellar?

Client: Well, it was in my grandmother’s house and it looked exactly like that when I got it about ten years ago and I just kept it on my bed stand.

Roger Crowther: You mean Granny never polished it.

Client: Never.

Roger Crowther: Naughty Granny. Well, it would clean beautifully. If you spend a little TLC on it. I mean, look at this, these are… leaves, they’re lovely. All the way around. Then one thing ends way around here and there’s another kind of leafy emblem. It’s banded here, it’s banded there, there’s a trumpet shape here. It would be a lovely vase for holding long, tall flowers. And it seems neglected. You’re going to do something about it… ?

Client: I will. I promise. I wasn’t sure if I should because I didn’t know if it would be harmful to it…

Roger Crowther: No, no, it’ll bounce back. I mean, you musn’t be too rugged with it and certainly nothing abrasive. You can clean it gently, and on an obscure place try (ie, first, for testing), with a q-tip or something like that with a little liquid solvent on it which would show in what way this would respond (to the solvent). You can’t be rough with it. The object of it is to restore the patina of the sliver, that is to say, the depth of shine. You don’t want it too bright and you have to rub the silver oxide back into the surface of the silver, it’s that that gives it its depth. So it’s not entirely a write off from the point of view of its usefulness, it’s just what you should do. But you have to caress it. Do you really like it?

Client: I really love it.

Roger Crowther: Oh, well…

Client: It reminds me very much of my grandmother.

Roger Crowther: There you go. Well, use some of that affection on the vase. I’m sure it will respond to it.

Client: Thank you.

Roger Crowther: Thank you.

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