silver tarnish

Silver Tarnish

Why Silver Tarnishes

If you look at most of the pieces of silver jewelry that you own, you will see a mark stamped into the metal that is composed of the three numbers: 925. This number indicates that your jewelry is actually sterling silver, which is composed of only 92.5% pure silver, with the remaining metal usually being copper at 7.5%.

Sterling silver is an alloy composed of silver and at least one other metal, and is created to increase the strength of the silver. Pure silver is incredibly soft and easily damaged, making it a poor medium to work with in the purest forms. Alloyed sterling silver, however, is hard enough to maintain form and to save the jewelry or other piece from the worst damage while still retaining the attractive aspects of pure silver.

One of the drawbacks of this alloy, however, is that sterling silver has a tendency to tarnish. Sterling silver jewelry begins bright, but over time might begin to collect a yellowish tinge. Given enough time, this will become a purplish black mark that detracts from the appearance of your fine pieces. Silver is not very reactive in the pure form, and does not tarnish under normal circumstances. The copper in the sterling silver, however, does tarnish. This appearance is unfortunately not confined to the 7% of your jewelry that is made up of copper, but will cover the entire piece.

The good news is that regular maintenance is very easy, and will keep your jewelry looking shiny and new. The bad news is that your pieces will tarnish whether you wear them or not, due to many factors. Sulfur pollutants in the air can contribute to tarnish, as can oils from your skin. Even the oxygen in the air can react with the copper to produce the dreaded tarnish.

So how do you keep your favorite jewelry looking beautiful? Silver cleaners and polishes come in a variety of forms ranging from special polishing cloths to pastes and liquids. A quick dip, scrub, or wipe, and your jewelry is back to shining and beautiful. Each method has its ups and downs, of course, such as the limited range of a polishing cloth (it cannot reach into cracks and crevices of chains, for example), the stink of liquid polish, or the mess that you can make with a paste. With experimentation, you can find your favorite method.

Silver is a beautiful metal, and the alloying of silver with copper does not detract from the beauty of the silver itself. Careful cleaning and storage of your silver jewelry will prevent the tarnishing of your favorite pieces, and keep them looking like new for decades.