Jewelry is one of the indispensable parts of people, especially women. They bring beauty to the fore by adding shine and elegance to the wearer. However, these precious items turn black with time and use, and lose their former shine. However, there are also methods by which you can easily polish the jewelry, which will inevitably turn black with use, at home. So why do you think jewelry turns black in time?
There are many reasons that make jewelry turn black. We can classify the most effective of these factors into three groups, namely daily use, misuse, and storage conditions. It becomes inevitable for jewelry to turn black, especially with the use of types such as rings, where the jewelry is in contact with the surfaces. A lot of jewelry comes into contact with a lot of things while in use. For example, necklaces can be exposed to weather conditions such as sun, wind, and rain from time to time during the day, as well as contact with your clothes such as sweaters and shirts. All these factors cause jewelry to darken over time.
Likewise, earrings are in constant contact with your skin and hair, as well as weather conditions. The biggest danger in daily use for rings and bracelets is water. While washing our hands, hand and wrist jewelry inevitably come into contact with water. All these factors cause the jewelry to wear out faster, shorten its lifespan, and cause negative situations such as turning black.
Jewelry is a sensitive item due to its structure. There are some points that require attention during use. One of the most common mistakes is to take a shower without removing jewelry. Taking a shower with jewelry that many people consider harmless or that they forget to take off due to constant wearing will seriously damage these elegant items. Although water may seem harmless, jewelry that is not dried after getting wet stays damp. In addition to water, jewelry is also exposed to chemicals such as shampoo and shower gel during the shower.
All these cause precious jewelry to wear out and darken very quickly. However, cosmetic products such as body lotions, hand creams, make-up materials also damage jewelry and cause them to darken. Another misuse is the failure to maintain and clean the jewelry at regular intervals. Jewelry needs regular maintenance and cleaning in accordance with its type and stone. Bypassing this need shortens the life of the jewelry, allowing them to darken faster.
The way jewelry is stored is as important as its use. Because most jewelry stays where it is stored for at least as long as they are used or more. This requires arranging these environments according to the needs of the jewelry. Jewelry must be stored in clean and dry places. Jewelry stored in damp, wet, sun-exposed, or contact with chemical/cosmetic products will quickly turn black and age.
We talked about the regular cleaning needs of jewelry. Wash your jewelry with soapy water once every two or three months, brushing it gently both inside and out. If you dry it with cotton after the washing process so that there is no wet place, you will see that your jewelry will start to shine as before! Another method is to mix a glass of warm water with four or five drops of detergent and some sodium-free mineral water.
Place your jewelry in this mixture and wait for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove your jewelry from the mixture and brush it lightly with a soft brush. Rinse your jewelry with water that is not very hot and complete the drying process with a soft cloth so that there are no wet areas. The process is complete, now your jewelry is as bright as before! You can use another method in the same way by using a glass of ammonia instead of a glass of warm water, detergent, and mineral water.
Why Silver Jewelry Turns Black?
After a certain period of time, silver jewelry will turn black and become darker in color. The main reason for this blackening is the element sulfur. Even the smallest amount of sulfur, which is abundant on Earth, will cause tarnish on the silver mine. Keeping silver jewelry in the same place as other jewelry and accessories may cause darkening due to the substances on it. The element silver is very prone to tarnishing due to its chemical structure.
Silver jewelry standing in a damp and humid area will turn black within a day. However, blackening is not an insoluble problem. It can be easily polished and returned to its original state. After owning silver jewelry, the biggest mistake is to leave the jewelry exposed when not in use. Silver left in the open, especially in damp places such as bathrooms, darkens beyond recognition in 1 day. The silver used does not tarnish. When not in use, it should be stored in an airtight manner.
Sometimes people have their accessories rhodium-plated due to the blackening complaint of silver, but the rhodium-plated accessories wear out and rust early besides blackening. For this reason, rhodium coating on silver accessories will damage your accessory. The conditions that cause silver to turn black are listed below:
- Perfume on jewelry
- Contact with chemical products
- Being in the same place with other jewelry
- Prolonged contact with the open air
- Standing in damp environments
- Contact with water, acid, and salt
- Plating with rhodium
- Seawater
Silver jewelry is brought to the required brightness to be ready for use by using various techniques during production. In order to be able to use it with the same brightness for a long time after it is ready for use and reaches the customer, some points need to be considered. Well, if you’re wondering, “Does all silver turn black?”, let’s answer that too. It is normal for every silver product to darken if the necessary conditions are not observed during use.
The blackening of silver does not indicate that it is not silver or that there is a problem with its setting. In fact, we can clearly say that it is not possible for the products that are said to never tarnish to be silver. Therefore, when you see that the silver jewelry you use has darkened, it would not be right to associate it with its originality.
Your silver jewelry, which has a dazzling shine when we receive it, darkens after a while and loses its old appearance. We, on the other hand, want our silver jewelry to always maintain the shine of the first day. For this reason, we answer the questions of how to prevent the darkening of silver jewelry and what are the most damaging things to silver jewelry in the items we have mentioned below.
- Silver jewelry is very sensitive to chemicals. When chemical substances such as cream, bleach, deodorant, detergent come into contact with silver jewelry, corrosive and darkening effects occur.
- Silver jewelry can also darken quickly in salt water, that is, in seawater. For this reason, it is best to remove them when swimming in the sea. Especially in the summer months, we see that complaints about this issue increase.
- Another factor that will cause darkening is the contact of the products with sweat. Since the level of sweating varies from person to person, this is the reason why some people have early darkening and some have late.
- If your jewelry is to be kept unused for a long time, if you store it in its own boxes, both scratches and darkening will be prevented. By paying attention to these issues, you can ensure that your jewelry is long-lasting.
Why Gold Jewelry Turns Black?
Gold, which is among the jewelry most used by women, will start to lose its old shine as time goes by. The types of gold jewelry you use, especially the types of wedding rings, start to turn black over time. Gold ring models or bracelets that you use constantly are exposed to cleaning products such as bleach and dishwashing liquid during the day. For this reason, they begin to lose their old colors and shine.
Gold jewelry types are included as items that are in contact with our bodies throughout the day. If our body gets dirty for various reasons in our daily life, our gold jewelry gets dirty over time because it is subject to the same reasons as us. Chemicals in shampoo, shower gels, and even cosmetic products to be used for body cleaning cause our gold jewelry to turn black.
However, the lubrication that our body continues to produce naturally can cause our gold-plated jewelry to become dirty and darken over time. That’s why removing your gold jewelry when you take a shower or while cleaning the house prevents the darkening of gold jewelry to a great extent. Jewelry in low settings such as 8 carats will darken automatically. Apart from that, mercury is the only substance that makes gold turn black irreversibly. The thermometers we use in our homes may contain mercury. You should be careful not to let the liquid in the thermometer come into contact with your gold jewelry as they break.
First of all, gold jewelry should be removed while dealing with household chores. However, if you apply cosmetic products such as cream on your hands, you must remove your gold. If your jewelry turns black despite all the precautions you take, what you need to do is very simple. Prepare a mixture of eggshells, vinegar, salt, and water. After putting your gold in this mixture, leave it for a few hours. At the end of this period, your gold will start to shine.
The gold rings that you use on our fingers in our daily lives, the gold bracelets on our arms, the gold necklaces we wear around our necks, the gold earrings on our ears lose their shine after a while. Therefore, gold varieties have a matte appearance. So, what are the methods of restoring your gold jewelry, which has darkened and started to lose its shine over time?
Your gold will start to shine if you wipe it with a cotton ball by cleaning the inside, outside and edge areas with an old brush in soapy water once every 2 months or 3 months. However, in some periods, gold can be drawn due to the use of gold together. In such matters, gold is taken to jewelers and gets a bright appearance with the application of polish.
There are other methods of polishing gold and jewelry types. One of these applications is to add three to five drops of detergent to a glass filled with warm water. Mineral water, which does not contain sodium, is also added and mixed. The gold is thrown into it, waited for 30 minutes, and it is taken out and cleaned with the help of a brush. Finally, it is washed in hot water and dried with a dry and soft cloth.
Another method is using ammonia. In the same way, a glass is filled with ammonia and thrown into gold and waited for 30 minutes. Then it is taken out and washed with hot water, and it becomes dry with the help of a dry and soft cloth.
How to Prevent Jewelry From Turning Black?
The jewelry we use is produced from silver, gold, and iron mines, processed by jewelry masters, plated and polished, and delivered to us. When some people start using these jewelry pieces, sometimes in a day, sometimes within a year, regardless of the type of jewelry, our necklaces and rings start to turn black.
Man is in a physical and chemical relationship with everything around him. Jewelry consists of metal items that come into direct contact with our skin. Our jewelry, which has a perfect brightness, starts to darken after a while. Sometimes silver turns black but not gold. Some other times vice versa is true. There is only one reason for this. It is the amount and types of acidic oil in our skin. Even without sweating, the oil on our skin can have chemical properties that will darken our jewelry.
Some jewelry darkens in 1 week, while others darken in 1 year, this is again related to the amount of oil in our skin. According to a study, 4 out of 10 people have darkened metals of any kind. After the jewelry is produced, they already have a pale and non-shiny appearance. Jewelry masters use special polishing products to deal with the scratches and gloss problems caused by production as a final step and sell their products to jewelers.
Taking a darkening ring to the jeweler every time and polishing it becomes cruelty. Wearing the roads every time not only reduces the pleasure you get from the jewelry you wear but also makes you tired. However, you should stick to it. Since I also find the methods that we can describe as homemade formulas healthy, I will share them with you. However, one of these methods is harmful, the toothpaste method causes scratches and irreversible damage to the jewelry for which hundreds of dollars are paid if it is not performed carefully.
How to Shine Your Jewelry That Turned Black?
Regardless of its type, gold, silver, or imitation, all jewelry gets dirty, faded, or turns black over time due to environmental factors. As a result, they may lose their visual appeal and cause some allergic reactions in our bodies. The methods used to restore the deformed jewelry to its former shine differ according to the raw material of the jewelry. Now let’s examine together some of the most effective methods to return your jewelry to its original state.
- Gold Jewelry
The problem of blackening in gold is less common than in silver or imitation jewelry. However, this does not mean that you do not need to regularly care for your gold jewelry. In addition to discoloration due to contamination over time, a decrease in the brightness of the first day can also be seen in the jewelry. There is no need for expensive jewelry cleaners to eliminate this situation. You can make your gold jewelry shine like the first day by taking care of it with a few simple methods.
Method 1: In order to restore gold necklaces, bracelets, or rings to their former shine, we need to purify them from dust, dirt, soap residues, and stains accumulated over time. For this, you should put some liquid dish soap in a deep bowl of warm water (using mineral water may give better results) and mix it well. Then you should put your jewelry in this mixture and wait for about 25-30 minutes.
Detergent water will soften the dirt on the jewelry. To remove this dirt, you should gently brush all surfaces of the jewelry with the help of a soft-bristled toothbrush. Fine-tipped makeup brushes that you do not use will also work at this stage. After cleaning your jewelry from dirt, it is enough to rinse it again with warm water and then dry it.
Method 2: Now there is a 100% natural recipe that will remove the oils that penetrate the jewelry from the body and the dirt accumulated on the jewelry due to external factors. A container large enough to fit your jewelry, one white eggshell, the shell of a few garlic, a small piece of potato, a pinch of salt, vinegar, and some water is our essentials when it comes to natural cleaner. After keeping the jewelry in this mixture for about 25-30 minutes, all surfaces of the jewelry are cleaned by gently rubbing with a soft-bristled toothbrush, as in the previous recipe. Then, after rinsing with warm water and drying, your jewelry is ready to be used again!
- Silver Jewelry
There must have been times when you could no longer use the silver jewelry you bought with love because it turns black over time. If it’s time to take your beloved silver rings out of their boxes and return them to their original state, we have 2 tried and true methods for you.
Method 1: We strongly recommend you to try this method as you will get incredible results in a very short time. The materials you need are quite simple: a bowl large enough for jewelry, aluminum foil, boiling water, a tablespoon of baking soda per glass of water depending on the amount of water you use, dry cloth, and kitchen tongs. You have to start by placing the aluminum foil in the bowl with the shiny side up. After pouring the carbonate you have adjusted according to the amount of water in the middle of the aluminum foil, you should pour the boiling water on it.
Then you should put your silver jewelry in the bowl, making sure it touches the aluminum foil. For normal levels of darkening, 2 to 5 minutes will be sufficient, but if the darkening is too much, you can leave it for up to 10 minutes. After this time, you should take your jewelry with the help of kitchen tongs and rinse it under cold water. When you complete the drying process, be ready to encounter a perfect result!
Method 2: If you’re after a quicker and easier method, this recipe is for you! After mixing half a glass of white vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda well, you should keep your jewelry in this mixture for 2-3 hours. Then you can start using your silver jewelry again by rinsing and drying!
- Imitation Jewelry
Compared to gold and silver ones, imitation jewelry is more susceptible to external factors and tends to deform in a short time. Therefore, depending on the frequency of use, you may need to perform maintenance every few months. It is possible to extend the life of your jewelry by applying one of the following methods, instead of throwing them away by using the blackening as an excuse because they are imitations.
Method 1: The citric acid contained in the lemon is perfect for destroying the layer that forms on the surface of the jewelry over time and causes it to darken. You can apply this process by directly applying a lemon that you cut in half to the jewelry, or you can use the mixture you created by adding some baking soda to the lemon juice.
Method 2: Another material used to shine imitation jewelry is toothpaste. With an old toothbrush and a small amount of toothpaste, you can easily remove even the toughest dirt on the jewelry and make it look brighter. However, you should dry this type of jewelry well after cleaning, as they are in danger of rusting if they remain damp. It is possible to eliminate this risk with the help of a hairdryer.
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