I paid $300 to get my great-grandma's locket 'professionally cleaned' and they stripped the patina right off it

3 comments

3 Comments

Wait, is the silver actually damaged or just shiny now? @the_hayden has a point about tarnish not being real patina. Maybe it looks weird because you're just used to seeing it dirty.

jennifer_west2mo ago

the_hayden knows his stuff, but I'd still cry over my shiny locket.

the_hayden4mo ago

That's actually a common misunderstanding with antique silver. The dark tarnish isn't the original patina, it's just built up sulfur from the air. A real patina on something like bronze is a stable, colored surface layer from age. A good cleaner should have just removed the tarnish, not any actual plating or engraving detail.