Why is my Sterling Silver Jewelry Turning Black?

Jan 16, 2025
Why is my Sterling Silver Jewelry Turning Black?

Why is my Sterling Silver Jewelry Turning Black?

Reasons Why Your Silver Jewelry is Tarnishing and Ways to Prevent It

Have you lost count of how many times you dragged your favorite silver necklace from your jewelry collection only to notice that it is now one shade darker than before?


Your silver jewelry has tarnished, it is not dirt or dust that can be wiped off with a wet cloth. It may not sound perplexing, but the boiled eggs that you love in your breakfast also tarnish. Here’s an interesting fact about silver: it tarnishes; and we’ll keep on reading as we explain what causes it, and how to prevent it.


The smart sophistication with the effortless vibe makes sterling silver jewelry hard to miss upon its beauty and look. A balance of different metals like gold, platinum and silver make up a good jewelry collection. 


Silver jewelry is versatile to wear with any kind of look: formal or casual, it is highly cost effective and durable. Attractive to wear even with a friendly price point, it’s brilliant to wear for any occasion, any social gathering, its snob defying appeal. Yet it is essential to keep your silver jewelry looking its best by always keeping it right and providing it with its cleanser.


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Pure Silver VS 925 Sterling Silver

It contains pure silver, which is a metal that doesn’t tarnish or rust. However, 100 percent pure silver is simply too delicate and fragile to make into jewelry piping. The metal is alloyed with other metals (mostly copper), primarily to strengthen its attributes making it 92.5 percent pure silver and seven percent copper, which is what is called ‘925 Sterling Silver,’ the very metal that is good for molding into jewelry. 


As a jewelry metal, 925 sterling silver is popular because it is strong, beautiful and affordable, and it is malleable and easy to work with compared to pure silver.

925 Sterling Silver Tarnish?

So, sterling silver is susceptible to tarnish over time, but good news is there are steps to take to reduce and slow down the tarnish process. What then is tarnishing? Silver oxidizes, or becomes tarnished when it is exposed to gases such as sulfur containing gases that are present in air molecules or come from ambient molecules. 


Chemical reaction produced a silver sulfide compound which coats the surface of the metal with a thin, black film. In addition, oils, cosmetics, water and a few other substances will accelerate the process and discolor. The jewelry can tarnish even if you wrap it well in printed paper or tissue paper in which dyes contain sulfur. Exhaust, rubber bands, leather and cellophane can also make your silver tarnish quicker.


Well, now the answer to the question – why sterling silver tarnishes but pure silver doesn’t. While this is true of silver alloys, the copper causing the oxidation is present in the alloy, the more copper (which yields more tarnishing), is why you always look for 925 sterling silver (more high quality silver for jewelry) and not an adulterated silver alloy that has more copper. 


If it makes you wonder, the Statue of Liberty isn’t really green because she is green…she is a light bluish green because of the oxidation of the pure copper metal that she is made out of. The French gave Lady Liberty the typical copper color when it was first given to America... It was originally a dark orange red color. 

Is Tarnish besides Rust?

Tarnish is just a natural process, just like rusting, but tarnish doesn't harm the silver underneath, while rusting is a surface breaking down so the metal is being eaten away. Iron rusts but silver tarnishes, not rust. Silver tarnishing is not a deep effect and can be reversed by simply polishing and cleaning. In contrast to this, the metal rusts and spreads and deteriorates. With time, the metal chips off until it is fragile and brittle.

Is Silver Jewelry Tarnishable? How Fastly Does It Tarnish?

The degree to which your silver jewelry will tarnish and discolor depends upon only the frequency and concentration of sulfate gases to which your silver jewelry is exposed. Once you have your silver jewelry open in the air with very high levels of sulfate gas then it can tarnish in just a few hours. Said another way, if you keep everything away from moisture, light and air, the jewels will not tarnish for years.

How Is Tarnishing Affecting the Color of Silver Jewelry?

By looking at the color of your silver jewelry you’ve worked out to what extent it’s tarnished. Not all tarnished silver jewelry is black – there are also yellow, blue, brown red, etc. 


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The color of the tarnish is actually an admixture of all of the lights reflected off the two surfaces the light happens to strike on its way to us – the topmost surface of the tarnish and the original silver under the layers of tarnish. The proportion of final light being refracted from these two surfaces changes as the thickness of the tarnish changes. 


The layer is very thin when the silver jewelry tarnishes and the jewelry color changes from yellow-brown to blue, becoming redder as the layer gets thicker. The tarnish reaches its maximum thickness when the color of the tarnish turns black, which is the actual color of the tarnish caput, silver sulfide.

How to prevent silver from Tarnishing?

This doesn't mean you should completely forget about silver jewelry because it can tarnish. That includes avoiding any contact with water, chemicals, or other materials. Along with storing the jewelry separately in airtight packaging and not exposing it to extreme temperatures, it is also important. Read below to learn more.

Keep Away from Moisture

In water and humid, your jewelry may be more likely to tarnish. Therefore sterling silver jewelry should be kept in a cool, dry place such as in a container, jewelry box or in an airtight bag. Second, you have to draw all the air out of it before you put it in the package, in order to prevent oxidation.


But a little bit of shared hack that’s not spoken about so much: keeping silver in your jewelry charm pack safe by adding a few bits of chalk on top. It absorbs any moisture and will help prevent tarnishing. Keep your jewelry pieces separate from possible scratching and tangling.

Buy Silver Care Products.

There are many silver maintenance solutions that will inhibit or slow down the tarnishing process and keep your silver looking shiny. Silver care products that are popular include silver polishing cloths, silver polishes, silver tarnish inhibitors and silver dips. 


These silver jewelry removal products are special to remove the tarnishing signs from them. Silver jewelry polishing cloths and silver polish both contain chemical compounds which assist to keep your silver jewelry looking good and bring its original lustre. And besides, have your silver jewellery regularly professionally polished and cleaned.

Keep Harsh Chemicals at Bay

Shampoos, lotions and perfumes contain sulfates, as do hairsprays. Jumping silver sulfide compounds in the air or left on fingers’ or handles’ are likely to tarnish your jewelry when these sulfates run into silver.

Golden rule – 'last to be put on and first to be taken off.'

For example, take the time to put your silver jewelry on only when you are completely dressed, so makeup particles or perfume do not come into contact with the jewelry, and you take it off first (or before your makeup even if it’s silver). Don’t touch it with lotions on your hands, or when you’re going to put on makeup, etc.


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