Gold Plated Sterling Silver Tarnish

The problem is often not with the plating itself but with the base metal which is prone to corroding and oxidizing.

Gold plated sterling silver tarnish.

Well gold plated jewelry is not made of gold actually. In a large bowl fully dilute a few drops of mild dish soap in warm water. Let it soak for 15 minutes. The base metal in that situation is usually a copper or silver which are much more affordable than any gold alloys.

Submerge your item in the soap water and gently rub it with your fingertips to release the tarnish. Sterling silver and silver plate are both sterling silver on the outside so both will tarnish. If the gold plating is very thin it will discolor and start to look like tarnish quickly. Plate is only a thin skin about 20.

Most commonly this type of tarnish occurs in sterling silver copper and brass. However gold plated jewelry is made by using electricity or chemicals to deposit a very thin layer of gold over that other base metal. The difference is real sterling is sterling all the way through. Gold itself does not tarnish but when it is plated it does tarnish over time.

Unfortunately because of the metals added sterling silver even real 925 sterling silver will always tarnish. After a few weeks of wearing your gold plated jewelry item the gold plate is likely to start chipping wearing or flaking off. Undiluted dish detergent will leave dark spots on the silver 2. Moreover this type of jewelry has little resale value unless they are rare or collectible items.

The resulting product is 925 sterling silver which contains 92 5 pure silver and 7 5 copper. Take the jewelry out of the soapy water. 2 the plating can be scratched or chipped. Because the silver plating is so thin you need a very gentle cleaning method.

Tarnishing thus does not mean that the silver is low purity. Notice that we didn t mention gold in that list. The reason that gold plated jewelry tarnishes is because the molecules of the base metals eventually transfer into the thin layer of gold causing the gold layer to break down. The metal at the bottom will eventually show after a while and it too will begin to discolor.

These metals are reactive meaning that when they are in contact with the nonmetal substance the reaction occurs. Over time the molecules of the base metal eventually move into the gold layer affecting its appearance. A note on vermeil. Unlike sterling silver the tarnish on silver plated jewelry is most of the time irreversible.

Place the gold plated jewelry in the soapy water. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub in the tight places on the jewelry.