Preventing your jewellery from tarnishing

Tarnish is a thin layer of corrosion that happens on certain types of metals. It’s a chemical reaction that takes place on the outer layer of the metal when it comes into contact with oxygen and sulphur, also known as oxidisation. When your jewellery has become tarnished you will notice a dull or darker appearence in places where the oxidisation has occured. This is a completely natural occurrence and can be easily rectified, so don’t panic if your jewellery has tarnished. If you would like to know more about how to clean your jewellery please head over to the eco-friendly cleaning tips blog post. Where I explain some really helpful environmentally friendly ways to clean your jewellery.

Copper, brass, silver, alluminium, and magnesium are particularly sensitive to oxidisation so knowing how to prevent it, will help you keep your jewellery staying bright and shinny for longer. You would be surprised at how easy it is for your jewellery to tarnish, especially when we use lots of different chemicals in our day to day routines. Including moisturisers, perfumes, hair sprays, hand sanitisers, cleaning products an so on. Sulphur naturally occurs in the the air but these different products can help speed up the oxidisation process.

A slightly tarnished ring.

Here is an example of what it might look like when your jewellery is starting to tarnish. If you look closely you will be able to see darker patches in the silver.

There are many different things you can do to prevent your jewellery from tarnishing. One very simple technique is to wipe over your jewellery with a polishing cloth every now and again. Especially if your jewellery has been sat around for long periods of time or exposed to moisture. Polishing cloths will remove any dirt and tarnish that may have built up over time. It is important to use the right polishing cloth for different metals as you don’t want to mark your jewellery while you are wiping it over. Some polishing cloths have an anti-tarnish ingredient in them to help remove the oxidisation and coat your jewellery in a thin layer to prevent the chemical reaction from happening quickly after cleaning. If you would like to purchase a small polishing cloth you can find one over in the shop section under accessories.

Wear your jewellery. It may sound silly but when you are wearing your jewellery, it is constantly being brushed against your skin or clothes. This doesn’t give the tarnish chance to form on the metal. You may then want to consider how you store your jewellery when you are not wearing it. There are ways to help slow down that oxidisation process, to keep your jewellery looking shinny and new for longer. Some easy ways to store your jewellery to prevent them from getting damaged or tarnished may include keeping your jewellery separate to avoid scratching or chains from tangling. The storage area should then be dry with low humidity. It has been suggested that by placing a piece of chalk to your storage area will help prevent tarnish.

By caring for your jewellery in these very simple ways you will prevent your jewellery from looking dark or dull and will keep it looking fresh and new. You cannot completely prevent this from happening but knowing these simple prevention methods and ways to clean it off when it does happen from the eco-friendly cleaning tips blog post, your jewellery will stay looking beautiful for many, many years to come.

I hope this post has been helpful and you now feel confident in preventing your jewellery from tarnishing.

Milly x