What is the best way to clean a sterling silver marcasite band ring?
As a general rule, you have to be careful with rings that have porous gems when cleaning, so they are not damaged. Many silver polishes contain abrasives which can turn a shiny mirrored surface into a dull matte one. Once dulled, the only way to get the shine back is to have the metal polished by a jeweler. One of my favorite cleaners for shiny silver surfaces is Tarn-X, applied on the non-stone areas with a q-tip or soft cloth. Once cleaned, flush with distilled water to remove the cleaner. If the silver item is non-edible, I sometimes put a soft lemon wax over the metal to keep it form tarnishing. Alternatively, the paper anti-tarnish silver strips work great, but you have to keep your silver items separate. Tarnish occurs when the silver reacts with sulfur in the environment.
