A Tablemaster should be a person of the cloth

Silver has the greatest reflective properties of any medal.  However, when it undergoes a chemical reaction with sulfur containing substances in the air, it tarnishes.  As the chemical reaction starts to take place, silver exhibits a cloudy dullness.  In this case, one could polish their silver with a liquid or paste silver cleaner.  However, this is a bit of an overkill.  The easiest way to remove this dullness before it fully turns to tarnish is to use silversmith's cloth.  Silversmith's cloth is a cloth made of a soft material which contains a minute amount of a polishing agent.  Consequently, it should not be washed in order to retain its' polishing abilities.  The advantage with using silversmith's cloth is that it's not nearly as abrasive as a liquid or paste polish.

If one uses silversmith cloth to lightly touch up their silver on a regular basis, not only will it take only a few seconds to clean it, but without mess of a paste or polish.  Silver has a much maligned reputation with respect to tarnish.  This reputation is the result of people leaving a silver piece unprotected for a long period of time resulting in a thick layer of tarnish on the silver piece.  Cleaning a silver piece in this situation is a lot of work.  Those in the know protect their silver properly and touch it up with silversmith cloth before the tarnish fully manifests itself.  Protecting one's silver is easily accomplished by enclosing the piece in a tarnish resistant cloth and enclosing the piece(s) in a plastic bag or silver chest.  Keeping a piece of sterling silver in only a plastic bag is not advisable.  Silver is a very soft medal.  Repeated contact with plastic can actually scratch the surface of the silver over time.

Crystal or glassware offer a different challenge with respect to keeping them clear and shiny.  After glassware is washed, a minute amount of minerals will build up on the surface from the water.  Over time, you won't be able to simply wash it off.  The solution is to wet the glassware with water and polish the glass with a microfiber cloth made especially for glass.  Here again, the process is not time consuming and very much worth the effort.