If your silver jewellery is turning black, don’t worry it’s a perfectly natural process, and it’s not a defect. In this guide we’ll explore why your silver jewellery may have tarnished. We’ll also share how best to clean and care for your silver jewellery.

Why Does Silver Jewellery Tarnish or Turn Black?

Silver tarnishing is a natural chemical reaction that may occur when the silver comes into contact with sulphur compounds in the air or on your skin. This causes a dark coating of silver sulphide to form on the jewellery which gives it a black appearance. This is a natural process and may happen over time.

Can Common Everyday Chemicals Speed Up The Tarnishing Process?

Contact with everyday chemicals such as perfumes, lotions, cleaning products, chlorine (found in swimming pools), or hair products can cause silver to tarnish faster. So it’s best to remove your silver jewellery before applying perfumes, lotions and makeup. Also if you’re planning on swimming in a chlorinated pool or doing some cleaning.

Can My Skin Cause Silver Jewellery To Turn Black?

We are are wonderfully unique and this means that everyone’s skin has a different level of acidity. Our individual body chemistry means that some people’s skin produces more oils or acids than others. When silver comes into contact with these, it may cause tarnishing.

Exposure to sweat can also react with silver, particularly in humid or warm conditions. The salt and acids in sweat can cause the metal to darken.

How To Store Your Silver Jewellery To Prevent Tarnishing

The best way to store your silver jewellery to retain its shine is in an air tight container. This could be a zip lock bag, or in a tarnish-resistant pouch or box. Reducing the exposure to the air will help to keep yuur jewellery tarnish free.

How To Clean Tarnished Silver At Home

Polishing Cloth : You can use a non-abrasive silver polishing cloth. Gently rub the tarnished area with the cloth and very quickly the tarnish will be removed and your jewellery will shince once more.

Final Thoughts to Keep Your Silver Sparkling

Wear & enjoy your silver jewellery! Wearing your silver often prevents tarnish as your skins natural oils help keep it clean and polished.

Silver is timless, but it does need a little love to keep it shining bright. With the right storage and cleaning as mentioned above, your silver jewellery will look great for many years to come.

For more in-depth information on silver and why it may tarnish there’s a great article “Why Does Silver Tarnish” by the Sheffield Assay Office.