How to keep vermeil in good condition?

[jthole]

Today I finally bought a new pen; a vermeil Parker Sonnet

 

Now I understand that the gold plating over the sterling silver is actually very thin, but that the bonding of the gold and silver makes it stronger than gold plating over lesser materials. How should I keep the vermeil in good condition? I don't mind the usual patina that silver develops over time, but I want to prevent excessive tarnishing and plating wear.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Btw, I bought the pen from Ebay seller "lewertowski", who is also an active FPN member, and has very good prices on Parker and Waterman pens. I didn't receive the pen yet, but since it is shipped within Europe, I expect it in a few days

[goodguy]

The best way to keep the Vermail body in perfect condition is not use the pen.Thats my system and so far it work wonderfully :ltcapd: .

 

I know thats not the answer you are looking for.Well I think if you use the pen in the manner it was design meaning normal use the gold platign should be ok for a long time but I guess after few years you will find the mark of use on the pen including some fading of the gold plating.

 

If you are a user thats a part of the price you pay for enjoying your darling.

 

I have a GF Parker Premier in MINT condition.Even though and maybe because the pen is Sooo gorgeous and a smooth writer I dont have the heart to use it so it stays in the stable.

 

Oh I forgot to say congrats on the wonderful pen.

Give us a nice review once you get the pen with MANY pictures

Edited January 22, 2008 by goodguy

[greencobra]

There's vermeil trim on my Stipula Etruria Volterra. I've had good success by wiping it down with one of those silky cloths that you use for eye glasses. You can get them almost everywhere, mine came from where my glasses were made. I use this cloth to wipe down all my pens and keep fingerprints and oils off the metal work of my pens. So far there is no patina on the vermeil, it's working for me.

[aunt rebecca]

greenbcobra the cloths are microfiber cloths. i buy 16x16 cloths in bulk on e bay. they are marvelous for all kinds pf cleaning jobs. they absorb about 40 tmes their weight -- great for spills. they clean glasses, silver and picks up lint when used dry. they are wonderful.

 

you can clean them in the washing machine, just don't use fabric softener. they last and last. icarry one with me to use as a hand kerchief that cleans my glasses too!

[jthole]

The best way to keep the Vermail body in perfect condition is not use the pen.Thats my system and so far it work wonderfully :ltcapd: .

 

Well, I use almost all of my pens, so that's not really an option for me

 

I guess an old cotton t-shirt will work for polishing up as well, and I should keep it away from my regular pen case. There is something in the lacquer that makes silver tarnish very quickly.

 

[ANM]

I was in an antique store and saw a Parker 75 FP and BP set in original box. It was just sitting out, not locked up or anything and the price was $5.00. I bought it of course. When I got it home and shined it up I realized it was vermeil. When I took off the price tag, I saw under it another price someone had put on with a marker. The guy had picked it up at a garage sale for five cents. Except for the indelible price on the box, the set is near mint.

[Jarno]

I bought a Crocodile Vermeil from mr.Lewertowski last week, and included in the box is a cloth which you can use to remove the silveroxide.

Congratulations on the pen by the way! It's absolutely stunning, and for that amount of money a great deal!

 

Regards,

 

Jarno.

 

[jthole]

I bought a Crocodile Vermeil from mr.Lewertowski last week, and included in the box is a cloth which you can use to remove the silveroxide.

Congratulations on the pen by the way! It's absolutely stunning, and for that amount of money a great deal!

 

Regards,

 

Jarno.

 

Yes, it like a very good price to me, given what the regular sterling siver cisele Sonnets cost in Dutch shops!

 

[Jarno]

There are only a couple of shops where I check the prices, most of the shops use the prices given to them by the importers, way too expensive. Only in the specialised I look for the prices, as these are more realistic and usually negotiable.

 

Best regards and good luck with your pen, knowing JML it will arrive quickly and in prime condition!

 

Jarno Verhoeven.

 

[Kimo]

Vermeil is gold plating over sterling. Since the surface metal is gold, you should never have to polish any tarnish off of it. Do not use any kind of polishing compounds, pastes, liquids, etc. since they can be very corrosive. Simply give it a gentle wipe with a soft, 100 pecent cotton cloth or a microfiber cloth once or twice a month to remove any grime. You do not want to be rubbing it down twenty times a day since with even the softest cloth any metal will eventually wear down over the years. The gold plating should last you a lifetime, or a great many years at least depending on how heavily you use the pen and if you use the common sense things I just mentioned to care for the gold plating.

[jthole]

Vermeil is gold plating over sterling. Since the surface metal is gold, you should never have to polish any tarnish off of it. Do not use any kind of polishing compounds, pastes, liquids, etc. since they can be very corrosive. Simply give it a gentle wipe with a soft, 100 pecent cotton cloth or a microfiber cloth once or twice a month to remove any grime. You do not want to be rubbing it down twenty times a day since with even the softest cloth any metal will eventually wear down over the years. The gold plating should last you a lifetime, or a great many years at least depending on how heavily you use the pen and if you use the common sense things I just mentioned to care for the gold plating.

 

I usually wipe my gold filled pens (I don't have any modern electroplated pens yet) every now and then with an old cotton shirt. I guess the same will apply to the gold over silver finish.

I only polish plastics occasionally with toothpaste, but that never comes close to any of my metal pens.

 

[greencobra]

greenbcobra the cloths are microfiber cloths. i buy 16x16 cloths in bulk on e bay. they are marvelous for all kinds pf cleaning jobs. they absorb about 40 tmes their weight -- great for spills. they clean glasses, silver and picks up lint when used dry. they are wonderful.

 

you can clean them in the washing machine, just don't use fabric softener. they last and last. icarry one with me to use as a hand kerchief that cleans my glasses too!

Ahhh, thanks, aunt rebecca, never knew what they were called. And you're right, they clean right up nicely and are ready to go again. I'll see if I can hunt some down in bulk too. Great idea!

[dare_nova]

Congratulations on your new pen! I am going to buy Sonnet Vermeil this week so this topic is very helpful.

[Diamondback]

Congratulations on your new pen! I am going to buy Sonnet Vermeil this week so this topic is very helpful.

 

Likewise for me. I have just bought my first MB vermeil FP and was wondering how I keep it in pristine condition. Now I know. Thanks all.

[Brian Bates]

Vermeil is gold plating over sterling. Since the surface metal is gold, you should never have to polish any tarnish off of it. Do not use any kind of polishing compounds, pastes, liquids, etc. since they can be very corrosive. Simply give it a gentle wipe with a soft, 100 pecent cotton cloth or a microfiber cloth once or twice a month to remove any grime. You do not want to be rubbing it down twenty times a day since with even the softest cloth any metal will eventually wear down over the years. The gold plating should last you a lifetime, or a great many years at least depending on how heavily you use the pen and if you use the common sense things I just mentioned to care for the gold plating.

 

 

I don't actually agree with this. I use Wenol on all my sterling, as well as plated, pens, and there has never been any corrosion or damage caused by it. I do believe that some polishes, like Brasso, do cause problems, but not all. It's best to check with a jeweller for advice. I also disagree about tarnish, since if the plating is thin (2-5 microns) then the silver tarnish will definitely show through after a period of time. Only very thick plating can hide the tarnish effectively, and thick plating is very unusual these days. The thickest plated pen I know is the 18k gold filled Cross Townsend, but electroplated pens normally have a thickness of no more than 5 microns - 10 microns at the very most.

[Kimo]

I don't actually agree with this. I use Wenol on all my sterling, as well as plated, pens, and there has never been any corrosion or damage caused by it. I do believe that some polishes, like Brasso, do cause problems, but not all. It's best to check with a jeweller for advice. I also disagree about tarnish, since if the plating is thin (2-5 microns) then the silver tarnish will definitely show through after a period of time. Only very thick plating can hide the tarnish effectively, and thick plating is very unusual these days. The thickest plated pen I know is the 18k gold filled Cross Townsend, but electroplated pens normally have a thickness of no more than 5 microns - 10 microns at the very most.

 

Metal polishes work by either chemically attacking tarnish, or physically removing surface oxidants and smoothing microscratches, or doing both. In looking at the Wenol website I see that is has the abrasives. Every time you use it you are taking off a thin layer of gold.

 

Also, gold does not tarnish. By definition, gold plating is pure 24K gold and so it will never tarnish. If it is an unbroken plating on silver, there is no way for sulfur or chlorine to get to the silver to start the chemical reaction to for silver chloride or silver sulfide that is known as tarnish. There is no need to polish a gold plated pen other than to smooth microscratches, and every time you polish it to do this you are reducing the life of the gold plating.

[ANM]

I don't know if it was dirt or tarnish but the vermeil pens I got (which I mentioned above) were brown. Until I cleaned them, I didn't know they were gold plated. Also all gold plating is not 24k. Most often it is 14k which is a more durable gold plating than 24k would be.

Edited January 23, 2008 by ANM

[ante]

I have a Vermeil. Didn't get it from JML, unfortunately. His prices are very tempting. And his service is impeccable. Anyway the Vermeil comes with it's own polishing cloth in the box. I give mine a gentle wipe when I fill it. No sign of any tarnishing yet after 3 months of use.

 

Cheers

 

Anthony

[Kimo]

I don't know if it was dirt or tarnish but the vermeil pens I got (which I mentioned above) were brown. Until I cleaned them, I didn't know they were gold plated. Also all gold plating is not 24k. Most often it is 14k which is a more durable gold plating than 24k would be.

 

By definition, all gold plating really is 24K. Rolled gold can be any purity. Here is why:

 

Gold plating: When you plate with gold, you use an electo-plating process where you put the object to be plated into a fluid and then you attach a wire to it. You then put a piece of gold into the liquid and attach another wire to that. You then run a current where the the wire attached to the gold has the negative charge and the one attached to the pen (or whatever) has the positive charge. This will create a chemical reaction where some atoms of gold from the chunk of pure gold go into the solution and deposit onto the pen. If you use something less than 24K, say 14K, the gold will go into the solution at a different voltage than the copper or zinc or whatever else is in 14K alloy and so you will either wind up with a gold plated pen, or a copper plated pen, or a zinc plated pen. It is not possible to drive the 14K alloy into the solution and have it redeposit as a 14K alloy.

 

Rolled Gold: This is where you take a thin sheet of gold of any purity, 24K or 14K or 10K or whatever and lay it on top a sheet of some other metal such as silver or brass, etc. You then pound this metal sandwich really hard (or put it through very high pressure rollers) and the metals will bond together in a kind of cold welding process. Rolled gold tends to not be used so much these days as electroplating is a much easier process.

Edited January 29, 2008 by Kimo

[Pelikanyo]

I've used an M900 Pelikan Toledo almost daily for the past 15 years.

I give it a gentle wipe once a week with a microfiber cloth, and nothing more.

While the gold has taken on a really nice rose color, there is no visual wear of the plate.

 

Regards,

Pelikanyo Paul