A Quick Hack For Preventing Your Silver Jewelry Pieces From Turning Black or Brown!
Suppose you woke up one day, and you have to visit any party. You choose one dress from the closet, and wear perfect makeup.
But, you got some silver jewelry from the closet but when you opened the box, you saw the silver jewelry had been tarnished. Yes, you must be thinking how can you wear silver jewelry that is black and brown. It’s not wearable…
If you’re thinking, does real silver tarnish then, the answer is yes. It happens because the sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver where the remaining 7.5% is metals, therefore, it’s mostly copper.
It’s composed of air and moisture along with the copper that reacts with sulfur and oxygen that leads to chemical reaction causing a darker layer and tarnish for forming the surface of the silver.
You will find a lot of silver tarnish rings and gold rings that are trending in the world – however, silver tarnish can be protected using different tips and tricks that we are going to list down and discuss later in this blog.
Keep on reading this blog to learn about how to learn your silver jewelry, keep it protected from being tarnished and extend the life of your protected jewelry pieces.
You can enjoy wearing your silver jewelry for a longer time, and then, witness the style and luxury yourself!
So, keep such questions “does sterling silver fade” and “does silver rust” with you because we will answer them all with a defined solution in this blog.
What is Silver Tarnish? How Does it Happen?
If we refer to the term tarnish, then, according to a lot of platforms and Wikipedia, it’s a product of a chemical reaction between the metal and a non metal compound that is mostly oxygen and sulfur dioxide – which forms the metal oxide of the metal.
Silver tarnish can appear as yellow, brown, black or gray coating over the jewelry piece; making it look absurd.
Silver sterling tarnishes really quickly, and it causes pure silver to get darker so you need to be really careful. Even if you put your gold earrings with silver then, there are chances that your silver jewelry can tarnish over time.
Most of the jewelry pieces are made with sterling silver and allow the pure silver to turn worse.
You can use sterling silver jewelry and keep it protected by using the steps we’re going to discuss below.
How does your Sterling Silver Jewelry tarnish?
The tarnish appears mostly on the silver jewelry pieces so don’t assume and think that it’s due to the quality of the jewelry pieces or you could have purchased something more expensive. Anything that is made or silver will tarnish. Does sterling silver turn? Yes. Does 925 sterling silver tarnish? The answer is, yes.
When a silver jewelry like earring or necklace is exposed to gasses in the air, it’s mostly sulfur that discolors and darkens as it reacts with the gas to form a layer of tarnish on the surface. It’s a similar process that happens when the silver is exposed to an array of other chemicals – making it worse.
A lot of things in your everyday life can cause the silver jewelry to tarnish which includes:
- Hand creams
- Perfumes
- Soaps
- Makeup products
- Chlorine from swimming pools or cleaning chemicals
- The PH of your skin
- The air around you
However, the process to protect silver tarnish is impossible to avoid. However, there are a lot of factors that are less obvious, and it could happen less quickly.
The steps are discussed further in the blog. So, keep on reading.
How to Prevent Silver from being Tarnished?
Sterling silver turn silver really quick, but you can protect it from being tarnished by following these steps:
- Store Properly – You can keep silver sterling in the right place like containers, and anti tarnish pouches for better safety.
- Wear your Sterling Silver Jewelry regularly – wearing your sterling silver jewelry regularly will slow down it from being tarnished, as the skin oil helps the surface to be protected from tarnishing.
- Avoiding the Exposure – you can minimize the exposure to chemicals, perfumes, and lotions to protect the sterling silver jewelry pieces.
- Use Anti-Tarnish Protects – use anti tarnish strips or cloths to protect them from being tarnished, and wear it regularly as discussed below.
How not to Clean the Silver Jewelry?
If you search online you will end up seeing a lot of homemade remedies, and methods which you can use to protect your sterling silver jewelry from being tarnished. You can use these remedies to protect your silver earrings, necklace, and bracelets from being tarnished.
Some of the interesting methods include:
- Baking soda paste (too abrasive)
- Toothpaste (ditto)
- Vinegar (too acidic and may damage gemstones)
- Lemon juice (ditto)
- Olive oil mixture (leaves a sticky residue that may be difficult to remove)
- Any combination of the above
Hence, these are the ways by which you can protect your silver jewelry from being tarnished and protect it from the extended air and other points which we’ve managed to discuss before.
So, are you all set to purchase your sterling silver jewelry and save it from being tarnished?
You can purchase your stylish silver jewelry and don’t have to worry about it being tarnished because we have mentioned all the necessary points within the blog. These were the quick steps that you can take to protect your jewelry from being tarnished and wear it for a longer time.
If you wear your silver sterling jewelry for a longer time, and keep it away from gold jewelry pieces and other points mentioned – there are chances that you will protect it from being black. The lifetime of your jewelry pieces will also be increased.
FAQs
1. How long does sterling silver last?
High quality sterling silver can last for a decade if well taken care of whereas, it’s important to clean it regularly or after every wear and keep it in a container properly.
2. Does real silver rust?
The silver rusting happens to iron, while silver only tarnished and doesn’t rust. However, silver tarnishing occurs only at the surface level and can be easily reversed with the polishing, and cleaning techniques.
3. What does tarnished silver look like?
Silver tarnish can appear as a yellow, brown, black, and gray coating on the surface of the silver jewelry, which is mostly quite patchy. Sterling silver tarnished more quickly as compared to pure silver or gold.
4. Does 925 silver tarnish?
Yes, sterling silver is susceptible to tarnishing over time. However, proper care can protect your silver jewelry from being tarnished and you can increase it’s lifetime.
