I think everyone needs a polishing cloth in their home tool kit.  Similar to having a screw driver, hammer and pliers.  You might not use it every day, but you sure miss it when you need it and it's not there.

You'll find a wide range of brands of polishing cloths, and they're probably all fine.  I've only ever used the Fabulustre cloth, so I can't comment on the others.

Why do I think everyone needs one?  Obviously for polishing your tarnished jewelry, but it's not just that.

With the two-part cloth, you use the red, or rouge side, to polish, and finish with the plain cloth to buff and add shine.  (Keep in mind that sterling that is deliberately tarnished is not intended to shine the way brightly polished silver does.)

The cloth will also polish gold, nickel and plated jewelry.  It's easy to store, doesn't smell and doesn't get messy.  And it doesn't have to be used just for jewelry.  Perhaps you have a picture frame, a sterling baby spoon, or another special doodad that's gotten dull.  Yep, you can use your polishing cloth.

Perhaps my favorite reason for having a polishing cloth is it's simplicity and longevity.  The directions are printed right on the cloth.  And it's "Good until worn to shreds."  No kidding.  The cloth I have at home is from my high school days, and I'm not telling how long ago that was!

Let's talk some more about sterling silver.  Customers frequently ask about sterling -- everyone likes it, but they don't want to have to keep it polished.  What is it that causes tarnishing?

It turns out that the tarnishing doesn't have anything to do with the silver.  Sterling, because it is too soft to use as jewelry in its pure form, is combined with another metal to add strength.  Usually with copper. And copper reacts to chemicals in the air, notably sulfur, that causes it to darken.  Moisture, dirt and oils can accelerate the tarnishing.

This feature can also be used to its advantage.  Silver jewelry can be deliberately oxidized to create a patina that enhances a design on the silver.  There are different chemicals that can accomplish this (liver of sulfur being commonly known), with slightly different effects.  Even scrambled eggs can be used, although I've heard the results are not as reliable, and there is a lot of cleaning required.

How to minimize the tarnishing?  Keeping your silver dry, clean, and protected from the air as much as possible.  Giving it a quick rub with a polishing cloth when taking it off, and storing it in a zip-lock bag or plastic container with a lid, can help a lot.

Why do we like sterling so much?  Partly because its so nice and shiny (when new and polished).  And it sounds fancy.  But other metals are worth considering if you are not one to be bothered with the care, upkeep and polishing of your silver.  Stainless steel is becoming popular as jewelry and will not tarnish, though it is not as bright and shiny as sterling.  Rhodium plating on pewter is much slower to tarnish and is almost as shiny as sterling.  Materials that coat sterling and protect it from the elements can also help slow the tarnishing process.  Just remember that options are available and whatever you go with, it's all beautiful and it's all good.

I want to create a quick reference sheet about metals, so naturally I turned to the internet.  I don't work with wire or metals a whole lot, so I knew I needed to do some research.

Turns out there is A LOT of information on the internet. (Who knew?  I'm starting to think my reference sheet isn't going to be too quick.)  If this is a topic you've always wanted to know more about but just haven't gotten to, here are some teasers to get you started. 

The term precious metal refers to rare metals of high economic value. The term usually includes platinum, gold, and silver.  Base metal is a catch-all term in the jewelry industry for metals used in costume jewelry. In metal working, base metal is any metal that is not one of the noble or precious metals.  

And that's another term (and a new one for me).  A metal is “noble” if it is highly resistant to corrosion.  So a metal can be “noble” without being "precious." Gold, silver, and platinum are considered to be both noble metals and precious metals.  Other noble metals are ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and iridium.

The Silvers
Sterling Silver is 92.5% Silver and 7.5% metal alloy, usually copper.  The alloy added to sterling silver makes the silver more durable.  Sterling silver is typically marked "Sterling"  or .925.

Silver-filled is a lamination of .925 sterling silver and a less costly metal (such as nickel). This produces a surface of sterling silver or fine silver that is hundreds of times thicker than a silver plating.  (More about lamination when we get to gold-filled.)

Nickel silver has no silver.  Nickel is a combination of 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc.  It is sometimes called German Silver, dressing it up a bit, but the same underneath.

Argentium® Sterling Silver is basically sterling silver, but replaces some of the copper with germanium.   This gives it "increased ductility, high tarnish resistance, and greater thermal  resistance for easier welding and laser forming."  The silver content remains 92.5%, to keep the name “sterling silver”.  (It is actually patented and trademarked by Argentium Silver Company, UK).

The Golds
Pure karat gold is 24kt, meaning 24 out of 24 parts are gold.  Since pure gold is too soft to be functional, it is alloyed with other metals for durability, cost and color. 14kt is 14 parts gold out of 24, and the remaining 10 parts are other metals (which can be copper, silver, nickel, zinc, tin, palladium and/or manganese). The reason you get different colors of gold is due to the different alloys used.

Gold-filled, like silver-filled, means that an item has a layer of karat gold bonded on the outside of another metal called the base metal. The process generally uses heat and pressure to apply a layer of karat gold.   The minimum layer of karat gold must equal at least 1/20 of the total weight of the item. 

Gold filled and silver-filled are hundreds of times thicker than regular plating, and about 17 to 25,000 times thicker than heavy electroplated gold and silver.

Vermeil, pronounced "vehr-MAY," is a plating of karat gold over sterling silver.