Antique Mexican Silver

Should I clean antique mexican silver? If so what should I use? They have lucite, mother of pearl, and jade.

 

Jewelry?

 

Lucite wasn't invented until 1931 so your item isn't going to be antique (if that's the actual material); vintage would be the more accurate term. May we see a photograph please?

Debora

 

Hello Debora
I have uploaded pictures of four items. I think the bangle bracelets are vintage. I am currently researching the marking for dates. The bracelet has some weight but is solid silver. I have not ran across my scale yet in the boxes. Let me know what you think about cleaning and polishing them to possible resale them. Also if you have any info on the date or era it would be very appreciated. Apologies pics are sideways. Maybe it will help stretch wrists and fingers turning phones to prevent carpal tunnel lol.

 

They're going to be 1970s when those styles of bracelet was popular. Abalone and chips of something on last three. But they don't look silver. Are they marked? Quality isn't top notch; they weren't expensive in their time. You'll want others more knowledgable to give advice re cleaning.

Debora

 

They are marked but the mark is hard to read. Maybe after cleaning the two where the marks are harder to read. But not sure if I should.

 

The first one is marked 925 for silver but don't see any marks on the others. Oh, yes I do. One appears to say "Alpaca" which is a silver wannabe.

Debora

 

If they're not silver, they're not going to brighten up much.

Debora

 

The rainbow colored inlay in the first one is abalone not "mother of pearl" (is that is the one you meant as MOP.)

 

That means it is probably fairly recent.

 

All are of minimal value so polish if you like. You may want to gift the alpaca one and sell the other two as a lot if selling on the internet.

 

Sunshine cloth is the best bet. Even on fake silver like alpaca it brings it up better.