If you are reading this post, there’s a big chance that you love silver jewelry, just like me. There is something about the beauty of silver that makes it so special. From many characters of silver, I find the smart and elegant appearance of it are really appealing.
Once when I was teaching jewelry making intro workshop, one student asked whether a ‘dark silver’ means a ‘bad quality silver’. Apparently she was referring to tarnishing, which is the process in which silver gets darker color over time.
Tarnishing is a natural thing to happen to silver, either in 100% pure or in alloy form such as sterling silver. Pure silver tarnishes slower compare to sterling silver. There is a small amount of copper in the sterling silver which is added to make silver stronger. This little amount of copper makes sterling silver stronger but tarnishes faster than pure silver.
To put it simple, tarnishing happens because silver reacts with the sulfur substance in the air. The reaction creates a layer that is dark in color. Sulfur substance could be found anywhere such as in the air and food. Even human body has sulfur in it too. In places where the level of sulfur is higher, such as close by a factory that produces textiles, paper or fuel, tarnishing process goes faster.
Tarnish could be removed, but it can also be prevented. Here are a few simple steps that we can do to slow down tarnishing:
- Cleaning silver jewelry right after use
Right after wear, clean your silver jewelry quickly with lukewarm water, mild soap and dry with paper towel or soft cloth. If your jewelry is exposed to food which has strong acidity, immediately rinse and dry it.
- Using anti-tarnish products
Anti-tarnish product is designed to absorb sulfur in the air. It is non toxic and doens’t leave any residue to your jewelry. There are different types of anti-tarnish products, I will describe here the most popular:
Anti-tarnish bag. This actually looks like a regular zip lock plastic. If you have one, make a good use of it. Some of them come with color indicator. If the color on the bag has changed, it is time to replace it with a new one. (I use this type too and have never really seen color change even after years of use.)
Anti-tarnish strip. Instead of using the bag, you can insert a strip that can look like a piece of white paper or black carbon paper into any zip lock bag.
- Polish occasionally. Polish your silver jewelry occasionally to bring back its original beauty. One of the easiest way is to use the polishing cloth that already contains polishing agent. You can also use separate jewelry polishing cloth and paste.
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