Care and Cleaning
The most common query about Sterling Silver jewellery is TARNISHING. If it is Amber-Jewels jewellery which is in question, then this tarnishing is NORMAL. It is not a manufacturing fault. In fact, it is because the item is genuine Sterling Silver that it tarnishes.
All sterling silver will, sooner or later, tarnish or go black. Even simple exposure to air will eventually tarnish sterling silver. It is important to understand WHY the silver tarnishes, so you may explain to your customers the proper care and handling of their jewellery.
There are a variety of reasons, the most common cause is simply the oils and natural secretions of the human body. We produce an amazing variety of chemicals which find their way to the surface of our skin and react with the silver.
Perspiration, hormonal changes, even some medications and tablets can cause a change in the chemicals found on the skins surface. There are some people whose chemical make-up is such that sterling silver will go black on them very rapidly and they find that they cannot wear any silver at all.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF TARNISH – WHITE & BLACK TARNISH
When the item is manufactured, it is polished and cleaned to a mirror-bright finish. After a few days it acquires a thin layer of tarnish [called oxidation] which protects it from further tarnishing to some degree. This first, protective layer is called WHITE TARNISH. It will inhibit the blacking of the silver from occurring too rapidly. Should the item be worn before the white tarnish has had a chance to occur, it is possible that BLACK TARNISH will set in very rapidly.
Sometimes, customers who regularly wear silver jewellery with no problems may find that their new pieces may go black on them, while their other does not. This is usually because of the white tarnish has not had an opportunity to form and protect the item. |
