Tarnish Talk : caring for your jewellery

Author’s Bio - Angela Benjamin of Ange B Designs, is a sustainable jewellery designer and maker based in West London. In addition to designing and making her own unique brand of jewellery, she teaches one-day jewellery making workshops for beginners from the comfort of her cute garden studio.

After recently completing a polishing masterclass with an expert in the field and also receiving a message from a customer, in which she described a silver bangle that she’d purchased from me as now being a “bronze colour”, I was prompted to write this blogpost.

As jewellery makers we are used to seeing colour changes in the precious metals that we work with, but I can totally understand how this can cause panic for customers (especially if you’ve paid good money for your jewellery!) So hopefully by the end of this brief article you’ll have a better understanding of what tarnish is and how to keep your handmade jewellery looking tip-top.

What is tarnish?

Firstly tarnish is normal, harmless and reversible! Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, with the residual 7.5% being made up of copper. This copper gives the sterling silver it’s hardwearing properties but leaves it more susceptible to tarnish.

The air around us contains various gases, one of which is sulphur. The levels of sulphur in the atmosphere will vary depending on what’s going on: for example lots of cooking can increased sulphur levels. When the copper in your jewellery reacts with sulphur it causes tarnishing of the metal. Other things that contribute to tarnish are the natural oils or perfumes on our skin, water, different food stuffs (again those cooking odours!), chemicals and many other things.

The good news is that tarnish is pretty easy to get rid of.

Texture and tarnish

I love to play with texture in my jewellery: whether that be a soft matte finish or a hammered effect. Lovely as it looks, these changes on the metal surface can also increase the rate of tarnish. Some people like the warm-yellow/brownish tones their jewellery takes on as it ages, but I appreciate that this is not to everyone’s taste. It is therefore worth considering this even before you purchase a piece of jewellery: are you happy to let it ‘age gracefully’, are you ready for the maintenance involved in keeping it clean or do you like you jewellery ‘bling-shiny’??

Ways to clean you handmade jewellery

My jewellery care page goes into more detail but as stated at the outset, tarnish is a reversible phenomenon. If your jewellery is heavily tarnished or dark in colour, a cleaning cloth may not suffice.

You can use natural cleaning agents like baking soda or Vienna Lime (a recent discovery of mine and I love it!) or you can opt for chemical-based cleaners or dips. None of these options will cause any damage to your jewellery, and they are great for keeping you handmade jewellery looking box-fresh.

If you’re concerned about a piece of jewellery that you’ve purchased from me, feel free to get in touch with me directly by clicking on the tab below.

I hope I’ve been able to provide not only reassurance but also some education on how to care for your handmade jewellery pieces.