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Best way to clean/polish old cufflinks?

Flambeur

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I bought a couple of lots of vintage cufflinks on ebay. Most are in great condition, but might need a little polishing/cleaning - some are stained, dull, etc.

What's the best way to clean and polish them?
 

Jferg4350

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I have this jewelry cleaner that has a little tray that you put the jewelry on and then dip into the solution. It works pretty good, I'm sure you can find something similar at many places.
 

Flambeur

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any more tips?

this is styleforum, there's gotta be a detailed and sf-approved method.
 

chobochobo

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Get an ultrasonic cleaner
 

Flambeur

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Are there any preferred chemical cleaning solutions?
 

Wes Bourne

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Originally Posted by koolhistorian
Tooth polish or tooth paste goes great with silver!

+1. Great for removing tarnish and bringing back shine to silver, apply with an old toothbrush and scrub away! Otherwise, I use dishwashing soap (again, applied with an old toothbrush) to remove light surface dirt.
 

cuffthis

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I have sent a link to this thread to my friend Derek Anastasia. His collection of antique enamel cuff links makes mine look small.

He should respond soon.

FYI, Derek's web site is http://www.enamelcufflinks.com/
 

Collector23

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Originally Posted by Flambeur
I bought a couple of lots of vintage cufflinks on ebay. Most are in great condition, but might need a little polishing/cleaning - some are stained, dull, etc.

What's the best way to clean and polish them?


Sunshine cloth and a bit of elbow grease usually works for me!
 

Derek

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Hey Gents,

Sorry for the late reply as requested by my long-time comrade in cuffs, Sir Thomas of CuffThis.

To note ... the word "cufflinks" is correctly spelled as two words ... cuff links ... according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.

As to whipping these miniature works of art into wearable cuff presentation shape. Personally, 99% of my old enamel cuff links, whether on gold, sterling or base metal, pay a visit to the jewelry polisher/cleaner. I do not like any hints of patina or signs of use to the metal -- polishing with a cloth or several other of the methods mentioned above will not completely alleviate those conditions. Only the following will....

Marco Delano Fine Jewelry Polishing located on 47th street in Manhattan. I've been using him for 23 years and he's considered the BEST on the street as we say in Gotham.

What he does for me is threefold:

Step 1. Polishes the cuff link's metal to a mirrorlike finish using a motorized jeweler's buffing wheel. This removes all patina, scratches and dings that have occurred over time due to usage. Luster and cleanliness is at its absolute highest.

Step 2. Deep cleans the cuff links with high pressure hot steam. This removes all residue left on the cuff links from the polishing process.

Step 3. Optional depending ... many of the base metal cuff links were plated with nickel (a silver color look) and when polished it is removed by the wheel -- there is no way around this. Today, rhodium is used for silver plating. I then have it dipped in the rhodium plating to restore the original look to the cuff links. And voila ... a pristine pair.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Enamely yours,

Derek



Please visit my informational website @ ..... www.EnamelCuffLinks.com
" Your one & only e-source for news and information on e-namel Cuff Links "
 

cuffthis

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FYI, Derek is the PREMIER collector of antique enamel cuff links in the world.

For interested cuff link collectors, please cut and paste his comments for future reference.

Trust me.
 

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