Cleaning silver - which method is better?
Abrading the silver sulfide removes it (and some silver underneath the tarnish). Electrolytic cleaning actually restores the silver previously part of the tarnish. In addition, it cleans crevices inaccessible to manual polishing.

There are disadvantages, though:


If the article has niello inlay, it could be damaged.
If other materials, such as parchment or glue, are part of the article, they would be damaged.
If the article is a valuable antique, cleaning may reduce its value.