What some are calling the most significant development in silversmithing in centuries, a British silversmith and Northern Europe's largest silver manufacturer have teamed up to produce what they are describing as tarnish-resistant silver. This new sterling silver never needs polishing and can be placed right in the dishwasher, according to Peter Johns, a trained silversmith and instructor at Middlesex University who spent 10 years developing the patented product. Like other silversmiths, Johns was vexed by firestain or firescale, a dark coating found on silver that occurs when the metal oxidizes at high temperatures.
Silversmiths often handle firestain by coating the metal with boric acid or other caustic solutions.
He found that by adding germanium, a semiconductor element used in early transistors and now employed mainly in fiber optic equipment, the silver alloy didn't develop firestain. The same properties of germanium that thwarts firestain also prevents tarnish since they are both forms of oxidation. The largest silver maker in Northern Europe, the company has been working with Johns for six years to determine the right amount of germanium and other metals to produce a silver product that has the best characteristics of sterling but without the firestain. One of the biggest advantages for silver makers is that products can be fabricated with time-saving laser welding, a procedure that was previously impossible because of firestain. Adding germanium adds about 7 to 10 percent to the price of finished products.