quick question

[jipsyjune.livejournal.com]

a really good friend of mine recently passed away, and i've taken to wearing her necklace all the time. if its not on my neck, then its on my wrist...and what with the heat we've been having, it's gotten pretty dirty. she was allergic to any synthetic metals, so i'm almost 100% certain the chain is silver...its just a simple chain with a little celtic knot pendant.

i would really like to clean it, but being beyond broke, i googled to see if i could do it at home. there are various sites that advocate dousing silver jewellery with baking soda and pouring boiling water over it and after a few minutes it should be shiny and clean again...but i'm hesitant to try this on something this valuable to me, and i have no other silver jewellery.

so i thought i'd ask if any of you have tried this....and if so, did it work without any long term side effects?


thanks so much for any and all of your help!

EDIT: Thank you all SO much for your help! i did the simmering in foil thing that *goldkiwi* suggested and it worked like a charm..it made me incredibly happy! thanks again!