Why Does Silver 925 Jewellery Tarnish?
Silver 925 jewellery tarnishes because silver 925 is not 100% silver it is made up of 92.5% silver and the rest other metals, most commonly copper.
Silver tarnishing is not due to the quality of silver used, it happens because of the other metals added. Other metals are added because pure silver is a soft metal not suitable for jewellery making.
Copper and other metals added to silver react with salt and sulfur in the air, making sterling silver and copper jewellery tarnish.
Some jewellery makers use chains and silver embellishments that have been coated (or coat them themselves) to slow the process of tarnishing, however this makes the inevitable tarnishing extremely hard to clean when it does happen.
What Causes Copper to Tarnish?
Copper tarnish (known as oxidisation) is an electrochemical reaction of molecules on the surface of copper and molecules in the air, resulting in chemical compounds forming a layer over copper that is a different colour.
Copper tarnish is a pain for the lovers of sparkly shiny things, but the vintage boho effect that copper oxidisation brings out and enhanced detail in intricate pieces is what many people love about copper (along with the ancient benefits of copper for our bodies!)
All jewels I make can be brought back as good as new with a really fast, simple and natural cleaning process. It's taken me some time to find the best chemical free solution for this, but a little Blu birdie told me the secret!
What is the simplest most effective natural
cleaning method?
As a lover of all things Bluhouse I have been using the Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste they stock for some time now and Jen owner of Blu gave me a hot tip that I will use forever! The activated charcoal acts as a natural tarnish remover!
I stock Bluhouse regularly with my TWD collections. Over the years of visiting Blu we have witnessed jewellery tarnish and tried many solutions and concoctions. In a cafe environment tarnish happens a lot quicker than a regular store.
A number of factors here speed up the tarnishing process: salty air (being close the the beautiful ocean), being subjected cafe air where non stop deliciousness is cooked through the day, and exposure to all sorts of chemicals such as creams and perfumes from customers trying on items.
I am a firm believer in spending big on quality over quantity and only use the best rated 925 silver there is and pure copper (the electroplating process I use will strip down any other materials and stop working if pure copper is not used).
No matter the quality of silver or copper, if it is exposed to our daily lives tarnishing is inevitable.
Stocking jewels across the world and keeping them bright and shiny isn't so easy as tarnishing is a natural process that happens at at different speeds in different places. It's always different as stores are in all types of environments exposed to many different things.
I have spent a lot of time concocting natural recipes to quickly and effectively clean jewels that are in collections all over the place. Iv'e tried just about everything and was just about to give up then I found the one and it's All NATURAL! Hell Yes to chemical free living!
Silver 925 + Copper Jewellery - Simple Natural Cleaning Method
