Restoring Silver & Gold Plated Jewelry: Can It Be Fixed?

Question
I bought a necklace second-hand that is six braided chains of sterling silver with yellow and rose gold plating on some of the chains. The silver has tarnished through the gold in some places and the gold has generally faded. Is there any reasonable way to fix up the gold plating and restore its tricolor appearance? Alternately, is it possible to get rid of the gold plate altogether, making it simply a pretty silver braided necklace?

Answer
Dear Heather,

The short answer is "no". Silver is so inexpensive (about $13 an ounce) that it is just not practical to put the labor into your piece to restore or strip it. I face this scenario quite often and advise my clients to move on to another piece unless the piece has lots of sentimental value.

Rich