Cleaning up Tarnished Copper

We’ve just had a client ask us how to keep their copper bracelet clean, so I thought I’d do a little research to see what I could come up with. A lot of this information also applies to sterling silver or gold – basically any metal that can tarnish.

Natural copper can tarnish over time as it reacts to air and the natural chemicals in your skin (a month could be all it takes to lose that beautiful coppery sheen). The reaction (called patina) will make the copper darken into a brown colour (like old pennies). [For interest’s sake, when copper is outside and exposed to the minerals in rain, copper will turn that light bluish-green colour (called verdigris) over time that really makes old architecture stand out - see the Parliament buildings in Ottawa or the Statue of Liberty in New York if you don’t know what I mean.] If you like the dull brown, leave it as is. If you want to keep your copper jewellery in that beautiful bright shade it comes in, there are a couple of things you can do.

When you first get your lovely new piece of jewellery, you could store it in a tightly closed container (a Ziploc bag will work in a pinch) with an anti-tarnish paper (a 1”x1” square is all you need). There are also baggies you can buy that are designed with a thin sheet of anti-tarnish plastic that does the same job. These items should be replaced every 6 months or so to keep your jewellery shiny and bright. Make sure to buy ‘jewellery’ anti-tarnish items as there are some industrial materials out there that can be abrasive to jewellery.

If you wear your jewellery every day or have some old jewellery that’s been sitting around, you’ll probably need to clean it. There are several store bought options (Copper Glo, Brasso Metal Polish and Wright’s Copper Cream are a few) – your local jewellery store or friendly eBay vendor will be able to set you straight. There are some homemade remedies you can try (to varying degrees of success), and they can most likely be found in your kitchen. Coke (or Pepsi) works like a charm – just check on it every few minutes to see how it’s doing and take it out when you think it’s ready. I tried this last night on some jewellery I had and it does a good job. However, I have read that if the patina is too strong on the item, this remedy won’t work too well. Other home grown solutions (not yet tried out by us though) are:
• Ketchup (smear it on, wait 10 minutes and rinse clean)
• Lemon & Salt (dip the lemon in salt, rub across the copper and rinse clean)

As always, the remedy you want depends on the amount of work you want to do. If you’re lazy (like me!), use a dip solution (like the coke) that you can drop your jewellery in and walk away for a bit. If you prefer to do things the hard way , then a cream or paste solution is your best bet. Use a cloth or an old toothbrush and have at it.

Good Luck and I hope this helps!
Cheers!