Silver jewelry is well-deservedly popular. Almost every woman, and often a man, wears a cross and a chain or a silver ring. But, unfortunately, this metal can change color over time and become darker.
Why does silver turn black? There are many hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Some of them are associated with superstitions and folk signs. However, there is a scientific explanation that proves that the blackening of silver jewelry is nothing more than a simple chemical reaction.
Signs and superstitions
Damage or evil eye
According to popular belief, a blackened cross on the body is a bad sign. Most likely, a strong damage or evil eye lies on a person. When the curse loses its power, the decoration will return to its original color. Also, by the color of the plaque on a silver item, one can judge the strength of damage: the darker it is, the stronger the curse.
To understand jinxed or not, it is enough to listen to yourself, to your feelings. According to legend, the surrounding world of a person who has been spoiled becomes “gray”, joyless, everything irritates, tormented by longing. He constantly feels someone's presence nearby, especially at night.
The type of negative magical effect can be determined by the decoration that has changed color:
- Ring. The girl is wearing a crown of celibacy.
- Earrings or chain. Blackening speaks of the evil eye.
- Cross on the body. Strong curse.
- Silverware. If she changed color, then there is an evil spirit in the house.
Protection from negativity, the effects of dark forces
According to another sign, silver jewelry takes on all the negativity, protects its mistress or owner from dark forces, evil spirits. If the chain and the cross around the neck have darkened, then their owner has avoided serious trouble or trouble.
Health Problems
Another popular belief says that silver turns black because the owner of the jewelry is sick. There is some truth in this explanation. In fact, silver jewelry on a person changes color, as it oxidizes when interacting with sweat, which mixes on the surface of the body with the secretion of the sebaceous glands.
Since the metal in most cases touches the skin (decoration hangs around the neck, on the ears, worn on the wrist or finger), a chemical reaction occurs, due to which the silver changes color. If the amount of sweat released is normal, a person may not notice the oxidation of jewelry on the body, since it occurs slowly and plaque appears gradually.
But if sweating suddenly intensified, silver items on the body - most often a chain and a cross - begin to darken rapidly. And it is possible that the causes of increased sweating are health problems. For example, such a reaction is observed during hormonal disruptions, pregnancy and endocrine diseases.
It is also believed that silver changes color if a person has kidney or liver pain. However, this superstition is not supported by scientific facts.
scientific explanation
Why does silver really darken? This is due to its interaction with sulfur-containing compounds. Under the influence of oxygen, the metal reacts with hydrogen sulfide and a chemical reaction occurs, which is called the oxidation of silver.
As a result, a dark layer of silver sulfide appears on the surface of silver products, which changes their color.
4Ag + O2 + 2H2S = 2Ag2S + 2H2O
Why did the silver chain and silver cross darken, although such a reaction had not been observed before? Perhaps the fact is that the owner of these decorations moved to an area where there is more hydrogen sulfide in the air.
But most often, as mentioned above, the cause is contact with sweat on the surface of the human body. The composition of human sweat includes sulfates - salts of sulfuric acid, therefore, when sweat and silver interact, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which the surface of the metal jewelry oxidizes and turns black.
What can enhance the oxidation of silver?
Stressful situations, sports
The work of the sweat and sebaceous glands depends on many factors, however, a person begins to sweat intensely due to stress or during active physical exertion.
If you go to the gym or work out at home, and you have a silver cross and a silver chain around your neck, then you should not be surprised that they have changed color. With increased sweating, the concentration of sulfates increases, which means that silver darkens more quickly.
Therefore, if you want to wear silver jewelry on your body, and at the same time have to do hard physical work or exercise regularly, be prepared to clean them regularly. How? We will tell further.
High humidity
What else influences this process? Air humidity! If you wore a chain and a cross on your chest in rainy weather or didn’t take them off in the sauna, then the reasons why the silver changed its color is precisely in this.
At high air humidity, the evaporation of sweat slows down (since there is already a large concentration of water in the air, sweat does not evaporate so intensively on the human body). As a result, as in the previous case, the concentration of sulfur salts on the surface of the skin increases and jewelry on the body begins to oxidize.
Interestingly, over time, the same sweat can cause bleaching of silver products, since in addition to sulfates, it also contains nitrates - salts of nitric acid.
Reacting with them, silver sulfide (dark coating on products) is able to break down. Thus, silver on the ears or on the body of a person can again change color, only this time in the opposite direction - from dark to light.
Low sample of silver, the presence of a large amount of impurities in it
These are not all the reasons why silver jewelry can turn black when worn on the body. The sample of silver plays an important role: the higher it is, the less products made from this metal are subject to color change, and vice versa.
Jewelry made of pure silver without impurities is practically not made, since it is very soft and can lose its shape. In order to make the cross, earrings and other products more durable, other metals are added to silver, including copper.
When copper in a silver product interacts with sulfur salts (in contact with sweat on the skin or in air rich in hydrogen sulfide), copper sulfide is formed on its surface. It, like silver sulfide, also looks like a black coating.
How to clean blackened silver from plaque?
We figured out why silver turns black on the body. But what to do when it has already happened?
If you believe in signs and think that the reason is damage or the evil eye, superstitious people advise you to go to church, confess, take communion, and pray more. If you feel unwell, we strongly recommend to be examined by a doctor and start treatment. A darkened silver ring, earrings or a cross and a chain just need to be cleaned.
How to clean silver items without stones and coatings from blackness?
The simplest and safest thing is to contact a jewelry workshop for this. Also today on sale there are products specifically designed for cleaning silver products at home. They can be bought in jewelry stores and in stores that sell household chemicals.
Or use one of the folk methods, for example, clean a silver ring or chain with a solution of ammonia (0.5 liters of water - 1 tablespoon of alcohol), soda or tooth powder.
Please note that not all silver jewelry can be cleaned with the compositions listed above! For example, rhodium-plated silver products (and most of them are on sale today) from the above methods (ready-made composition, soda, powder and ammonia) are very likely to lose their appearance and become unsuitable for wearing.
Cleaning jewelry with rhodium and stones
To clean rhodium-plated silver jewelry, it is recommended to rinse them under a stream of warm (not hot!) water, and then wipe dry and polish with a special cloth (you can buy it in a jewelry store).
Silver items with stones can be cleaned in the same way. If heavily soiled, you can pre-soak them for half an hour in warm water, adding a little laundry soap to it.
After cleaning, try to properly care for silver items so that they do not darken again!
Silver jewelry is a great way to complement any outfit gracefully and elegantly, whether it's an evening dress or a formal pantsuit. But, unfortunately, over time, silver jewelry can lose its luster and iridescent color and become covered with the so-called patina (dark coating).
Why does silver darken on the human body? This happens due to chemical reactions between silver and skin. However, in addition to a strictly scientific explanation of this phenomenon, there are many signs that indicate the causes of the darkening of the metal.
Why does silver darken on the human body?
If your silver is blackened, yellowed or oxidized, it means that it is time to clean the jewelry. Additionally, a silver product can be coated with rhodium - it prevents blackening of the metal. So, let's figure out why silver turns green on the human body, why your favorite jewelry can turn black or oxidize - both from a scientific and from a philistine point of view.
Why silver turns black on the body: the main reasons
As a rule, silver blackens from sweat. But in order to understand why a patina appears on silver, you have to go a little deeper into chemistry.
Blackened silver rings Silver in its purest form is a soft, malleable metal and practically unsuitable for making jewelry. Therefore, in the process of creating a new product, silver is mixed with harder metals - for example, copper. And copper reacts strongly with the sulfur found in human sweat and develops a patina over time.
If you see that someone's silver rings on their fingers have turned black, or the pendant around their neck has darkened - most likely this is due to the fact that a person often sweats and wears jewelry without taking it off.
Why silver turns yellow on the body
If your favorite silver chain suddenly turned yellow, the same sulfur is to blame. However, do not rush to get upset - yes, your decoration has faded, but you were able to notice it in time!
Silver turns black only as a result of a long exposure to sulfur - at the very beginning of the reaction, it turns yellow. Therefore, if the silver has turned yellow, hurry up to clean it to avoid unpleasant consequences.
Signs about darkened silver
In folk legends, silver has a special place - it protects from evil spirits, protects from the evil eye and plays an important role in magical rites. The blackening of silver is explained by signs in different ways. Everything is important here - and the part of the body on which the decoration was worn, the gender and age of the owner, and even the type of product.
So, if a silver chain with a pectoral cross turned black around your neck, signs will say that you have been damaged, or they have jinxed you very much. If the silver chain around the child’s neck is getting dark, you should go to the priest as soon as possible and once again consecrate both the cross and the chain in order to protect the child from evil spirits.
Chain with pectoral cross blackened around the neck If silver turns black on a man's body, it means that someone's malicious intent dooms him to the life of a bachelor. The same with a young girl - if silver jewelry suddenly turned black, it means that she has a crown of celibacy.
Not only jewelry, but also household products can turn black. So, if silverware turns black, then according to signs, evil spirits appeared in the house. To get rid of uninvited neighbors, sprinkle the house with holy water and read a prayer.
What to do if the silver turned black
Do not despair if the silver has faded or darkened. Unfortunately, a similar fate awaits many jewelry made of this metal - especially those that we wear without taking off. Even if your favorite jewelry is covered with a patina, washing silver from blackness at home is not difficult. Choose any convenient way:
With lipstick
Oddly enough, ordinary lipstick is one of the best silver cleaners. It contains a lot of fat and titanium dioxide, which not only help to cleanse silver from plaque, but also give the jewelry a beautiful shine.
Cleaning silver with lipstick Smear the jewelry with lipstick, take a brush, rub the product until it squeaks. The decoration will brighten before your eyes! However, keep in mind that this method is only good for smooth jewelry without gems.
With soda
Every housewife has soda in her kitchen. So why not use it to save your favorite pendant or ring?
How to clean silver with baking soda Boil water and add soda to it at the rate of 50 grams per liter. Wrap the jewelry in foil and dip into the boiling solution for 10-15 seconds. Then rinse and dry the item.
With toothpaste
Toothpaste contains polishing (abrasive) microparticles that will help you remove the patina from silver.
Clean silver jewelry with paste Apply the paste to a soft-bristled toothbrush to avoid damaging your jewelry when brushing. Polish the product, rinse it in cold water, and then wipe it with a microfiber cloth.
With egg yolk
Our ancestors used egg yolk long before there were lipsticks or toothpastes. The yolk will not only help clean silver, but also protect it from new plaque for a long time.
To clean the jewelry, soak a cotton pad in the yolk and rub the surface of the product. Let the yolk dry and then rinse it off with cold water.
With the help of ammonia
The most reliable way to clean jewelry is to treat silver with ammonia or ammonia.
How to use ammonia to clean silver Pour a little ammonia into the jar and put the blackened product there. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. After the procedure, rinse the jewelry with water and dry thoroughly.
How to care for silver
To prevent silver from turning black, jewelers cover the product with rhodium. This material protects silver that is susceptible to sulfur compounds and helps it stay shiny.
Caring for silver jewelry In addition, in order to protect the precious metal from patina, it is worth taking proper care of silver jewelry - regularly clean and polish them, take them off when showering or washing dishes, and do not play sports in jewelry.
You need to store silver in a special box or case with soft upholstery. It is best to fold the jewelry so that they do not touch each other - this way you will avoid scratches and chips.
Silver jewelry is well-deservedly popular. Almost every woman, and often a man, wears a cross and a chain or a silver ring. But, unfortunately, this metal can change color over time and become darker.
Why does silver turn black? There are many hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Some of them are associated with superstitions and folk signs. However, there is a scientific explanation that proves that the blackening of silver jewelry is nothing more than a simple chemical reaction.
Signs and superstitions
Damage or evil eye
According to popular belief, a blackened cross on the body is a bad sign. Most likely, a strong damage or evil eye lies on a person. When the curse loses its power, the decoration will return to its original color. Also, by the color of the plaque on a silver item, one can judge the strength of damage: the darker it is, the stronger the curse.
To understand jinxed or not, it is enough to listen to yourself, to your feelings. According to legend, the surrounding world of a person who has been spoiled becomes “gray”, joyless, everything irritates, tormented by longing. He constantly feels someone's presence nearby, especially at night.
The type of negative magical effect can be determined by the decoration that has changed color:
- Ring. The girl is wearing a crown of celibacy.
- Earrings or chain. Blackening speaks of the evil eye.
- Cross on the body. Strong curse.
- Silverware. If she changed color, then there is an evil spirit in the house.
Protection from negativity, the effects of dark forces
According to another sign, silver jewelry takes on all the negativity, protects its mistress or owner from dark forces, evil spirits. If the chain and the cross around the neck have darkened, then their owner has avoided serious trouble or trouble.
Health Problems
Another popular belief says that silver turns black because the owner of the jewelry is sick. There is some truth in this explanation. In fact, silver jewelry on a person changes color, as it oxidizes when interacting with sweat, which mixes on the surface of the body with the secretion of the sebaceous glands.
Since the metal in most cases touches the skin (decoration hangs around the neck, on the ears, worn on the wrist or finger), a chemical reaction occurs, due to which the silver changes color. If the amount of sweat released is normal, a person may not notice the oxidation of jewelry on the body, since it occurs slowly and plaque appears gradually.
But if sweating suddenly intensified, silver items on the body - most often a chain and a cross - begin to darken rapidly. And it is possible that the causes of increased sweating are health problems. For example, such a reaction is observed during hormonal disruptions, pregnancy and endocrine diseases.
It is also believed that silver changes color if a person has kidney or liver pain. However, this superstition is not supported by scientific facts.
scientific explanation
Why does silver really darken? This is due to its interaction with sulfur-containing compounds. Under the influence of oxygen, the metal reacts with hydrogen sulfide and a chemical reaction occurs, which is called the oxidation of silver.
As a result, a dark layer of silver sulfide appears on the surface of silver products, which changes their color.
4Ag + O2 + 2H2S = 2Ag2S + 2H2O
Why did the silver chain and silver cross darken, although such a reaction had not been observed before? Perhaps the fact is that the owner of these decorations moved to an area where there is more hydrogen sulfide in the air.
But most often, as mentioned above, the cause is contact with sweat on the surface of the human body. The composition of human sweat includes sulfates - salts of sulfuric acid, therefore, when sweat and silver interact, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which the surface of the metal jewelry oxidizes and turns black.
What can enhance the oxidation of silver?
Stressful situations, sports
The work of the sweat and sebaceous glands depends on many factors, however, a person begins to sweat intensely due to stress or during active physical exertion.
If you go to the gym or work out at home, and you have a silver cross and a silver chain around your neck, then you should not be surprised that they have changed color. With increased sweating, the concentration of sulfates increases, which means that silver darkens more quickly.
Therefore, if you want to wear silver jewelry on your body, and at the same time have to do hard physical work or exercise regularly, be prepared to clean them regularly. How? We will tell further.
High humidity
What else influences this process? Air humidity! If you wore a chain and a cross on your chest in rainy weather or didn’t take them off in the sauna, then the reasons why the silver changed its color is precisely in this.
At high air humidity, the evaporation of sweat slows down (since there is already a large concentration of water in the air, sweat does not evaporate so intensively on the human body). As a result, as in the previous case, the concentration of sulfur salts on the surface of the skin increases and jewelry on the body begins to oxidize.
Interestingly, over time, the same sweat can cause bleaching of silver products, since in addition to sulfates, it also contains nitrates - salts of nitric acid.
Reacting with them, silver sulfide (dark coating on products) is able to break down. Thus, silver on the ears or on the body of a person can again change color, only this time in the opposite direction - from dark to light.
Low sample of silver, the presence of a large amount of impurities in it
These are not all the reasons why silver jewelry can turn black when worn on the body. The sample of silver plays an important role: the higher it is, the less products made from this metal are subject to color change, and vice versa.
Jewelry made of pure silver without impurities is practically not made, since it is very soft and can lose its shape. In order to make the cross, earrings and other products more durable, other metals are added to silver, including copper.
When copper in a silver product interacts with sulfur salts (in contact with sweat on the skin or in air rich in hydrogen sulfide), copper sulfide is formed on its surface. It, like silver sulfide, also looks like a black coating.
How to clean blackened silver from plaque?
We figured out why silver turns black on the body. But what to do when it has already happened?
If you believe in signs and think that the reason is damage or the evil eye, superstitious people advise you to go to church, confess, take communion, and pray more. If you feel unwell, we strongly recommend to be examined by a doctor and start treatment. A darkened silver ring, earrings or a cross and a chain just need to be cleaned.
How to clean silver items without stones and coatings from blackness?
The simplest and safest thing is to contact a jewelry workshop for this. Also today on sale there are products specifically designed for cleaning silver products at home. They can be bought in jewelry stores and in stores that sell household chemicals.
Or use one of the folk methods, for example, clean a silver ring or chain with a solution of ammonia (0.5 liters of water - 1 tablespoon of alcohol), soda or tooth powder.
Please note that not all silver jewelry can be cleaned with the compositions listed above! For example, rhodium-plated silver products (and most of them are on sale today) from the above methods (ready-made composition, soda, powder and ammonia) are very likely to lose their appearance and become unsuitable for wearing.
Cleaning jewelry with rhodium and stones
To clean rhodium-plated silver jewelry, it is recommended to rinse them under a stream of warm (not hot!) water, and then wipe dry and polish with a special cloth (you can buy it in a jewelry store).
Silver items with stones can be cleaned in the same way. If heavily soiled, you can pre-soak them for half an hour in warm water, adding a little laundry soap to it.
After cleaning, try to properly care for silver items so that they do not darken again!
Recently I was reviewing my silver jewelry and saw that some of them began to take on a darkish tint. The appearance, of course, was not the same, I no longer want to wear a ring and a chain. A friend scared me, said that something was wrong with my health. Naturally, I got upset. I cleaned the products, but decided to find out all the information about why silver turns black on a person and what to do. I share with everyone who is interested, as many men and women wear silver jewelry.
When beloved and familiar jewelry loses its former gloss and luster, acquires a dark coating, this trouble can be explained by several reasons. Let's try to understand these issues in more detail. It turns out that there may be several such factors.
Magic and energy impact
- If you believe folk signs, it is believed that the darkening of this noble metal from which the product is made (not only jewelry, but also dishes) signals that evil spirits have wound up in the house.
- Some psychics immediately offer to perform rituals of purification not only of the human biofield, but also to clean the energy of the house.
- If a silver ring darkens on a young unmarried girl, it means that she has a crown of celibacy. When the pectoral cross, which is connected with the owner in the closest way, darkens, it means that the person is susceptible to negative energy influence. It can be damage or the evil eye.
- What to do in such cases? You need to go to church, be sure to confess and take communion. Some people don't mind repentance. After that, you need to visit 3 churches, and put a candle in each of them.
- After all the procedures, you need to throw the jewelry into the river so that all troubles and curses are carried away by the current. Then purchase a new product.
- It has long been believed that silver is an excellent metal that protects against evil spirits. In ancient times, silver bullets were made to protect warriors in battles from death, silver bells protected family members and the house from evil spirits, an anchor made of this metal served as a talisman for sailors going on a voyage, and a silver month saved from insomnia and anxiety.
- When there is an inscription “save and save” on a ring or bracelet, a cross, it greatly enhances the protection of the owner from damage and the evil eye. Therefore, when the decoration darkens, it is additionally necessary to call a priest to the house to consecrate your home.
Many keep other amulets in the house. Holy water helps a lot, bunches of garlic and wormwood in the home, and other talismans designed to protect the family and home from evil, envious people and negative influences. But modern scientists have found other explanations that have absolutely nothing to do with magical spells and corruption.
Darkening of silver due to perspiration
If a person wears jewelry directly on the body (for example, a ring, a pectoral cross, a bracelet), then the product is constantly in contact with the skin.
- Human skin constantly emits sweat, which reacts with silver. And it, being a metal, is subject to various chemical reactions.
- It turns out that sweat contains sulfur, which reacts with silver to form silver sulfide. This compound has a dark, blackish tint, which, when worn for a long time, stains it.
- Silver sulfide tends to accumulate gradually, so at first it is almost invisible. However, later it becomes denser, and it can already be seen with the naked eye.
- Thus, the process of darkening from a scientific point of view is a completely explainable phenomenon. But not everything is so simple.
- If the days are not hot outside, and the lifestyle cannot be called active, there is also little physical activity, and silver still darkens quickly enough, then perhaps there really are health problems. You should go to the doctor and check the condition of your body.
Experts in jewelry do not advise wearing silver jewelry in places where a person may sweat a lot. Before going to the beach, to the bathhouse, sauna or before traveling to hot countries, it is better to remove silver. Moreover, it can be simply accidentally broken or even lost.
What is a silver item made of?
- Everyone knows that silver is a metal that has a fairly soft structure. Any jewelry made of silver can be bent without much difficulty. To give more density and hardness, at least 5 - 8% of other compounds are added to any decoration.
- Among them are copper, which also tends to oxidize when in contact with air. A special sputtering is applied to high-quality products - a film of radium. Over time, it gradually collapses. The result is a darkening of the decoration.
- Sometimes seemingly solid and expensive looking chains, bracelets and rings lose their decorative effect and shine very quickly. In this case, we can talk about a rather low quality: a small silver content and a large percentage of various impurities.
Darkened silver - health problems?
In some cases, there are no special diseases, and a sharp darkening of a silver cross or ring is a consequence of pregnancy. In this state, a woman completely changes the work of almost all internal organs. The acid-alkaline balance also changes. Therefore, when sweating, your favorite silver things begin to darken quite quickly.
Well, if there are problems in the work of the liver and kidneys, then the silver product, on the contrary, begins to acquire a light shade, and even shines. It is explained simply. In case of violation of the functions of these organs, nitrogen is released, which causes such chemical reactions.
Do not worry too much if your favorite jewelry has begun to lose its luster and darken too often. It is enough to go to the doctor and check your health (the endocrine or genitourinary system may fail, so the composition of sweat changes).
If the product was in the box, and no one wore it, then perhaps the darkening is due to its contact with other jewelry, as well as dampness and high levels of humidity.
Silver can be affected by some chemicals. For example, when you do not remove the silver ring during cleaning and use various means, the jewelry may darken before your very eyes.
Also, silver can enter into a chemical reaction with certain foodstuffs and cosmetics for the face and body. Carefully read the composition, as the sulfur included in the product causes darkening of the silver jewelry.
We clean silver - common methods
First of all, you need to contact the jeweler, since self-cleaning with products containing abrasives can lead to damage to the product. This is especially true for blackened silver, which will simply peel off and completely lose its attractive appearance.
- Each jewelry store will prompt and offer tools that will affect the jewelry gently and carefully. If the silver is matte, then it is better to immediately contact the professionals.
- There are also folk remedies that have been known for a long time, and really help to put silver in order. The most famous can be called tooth powder or paste. The product is applied to a toothbrush or a napkin. Then the product is rubbed and left for a while. Then you need to rinse everything and wipe it dry with a towel.
- It can be very useful for cleaning a solution of salt or soda, ammonia. It is enough to lower the products for a short period of time.
- But it is undesirable to use citric acid, especially if the jewelry is with a precious stone. After treatment with citric acid, stones such as amber, pearls or coral may lose their attractiveness and luster.
Conclusion
- You can treat the darkening of silver jewelry differently. Some believe in signs, and immediately go to church, clean the house and themselves from negativity. But in the modern world, there is the simplest explanation for the process of darkening silver.
- If the jewelry darkens too quickly, then it is quite possible that there are health problems. You should go for a consultation with a doctor and determine the reason why the amount of sulfur in sweat exceeds the permissible level. Silver will immediately react with blackening in this case.
Silver has been a very popular precious metal since ancient times for the production of a wide variety of jewelry. The main advantage is the relatively low cost, which makes them accessible to a wide range of consumers.
However, the white noble metal has one significant drawback - over time, under the influence of the environment, silver turns black, oxidizes. This becomes an unpleasant surprise for the owners of such products, but there is no need to worry, such a process can be called natural. Particularly susceptible to darkening on the body of the chain, consider the main reasons for this phenomenon.
sweating
The largest number of sweat glands are located on the human chest and neck, through which various salts and other chemical compounds are excreted from the body. All of them are very detrimental to silver, causing darkening. That is why quite often there is a situation when a chain and a bracelet made of the same alloy turn black at different speeds, the chain on the neck is much faster than the bracelet on the hand.
Intense physical activity, regular trips to the sauna, very soon can ruin the appearance of the chain. In such cases, it is necessary, if possible, to remove silver to preserve the beauty of the products.
Stress- a serious shock for the body, it leads to the release of a large amount of hormones into the blood, cause increased sweating, frequent stress leads to the chain quickly turning black.
Diseases and medicines taken during treatment also significantly affect the appearance of silver. Most diseases are accompanied by an increased body temperature, and, accordingly, the amount of sweat increases. That is why a silver chain around the neck is often an indicator of the health of the wearer. The composition of modern medicines is solid chemistry, the remnants of all these not very useful substances are also excreted from the body with sweat, the result is that the chain turns black on the neck.
Environment
Air pollution with sulfur compounds and other harmful substances has a very detrimental effect on chains. Sulfur acts aggressively on copper, which is part of silver. The same effect is produced by chlorine, which is used to purify water.
Cosmetics and detergents
Most cosmetics, shampoos, soaps have a neutral ratio of acidity to alkalinity, so silver is not chemically attacked. However, they remain on the chain, which leads to serious pollution, tarnishing, loss of original luster. It is advisable to remove the chain before bathing or when applying creams and other cosmetics.
Silver quality
You can find it in jewelry stores. Fineness is the percentage of pure metal in an alloy. The purity of 99.9% does not oxidize or blacken, but is not used for the production of jewelry. It is very soft, deforms at the slightest impact, rubbed off, losing its original luster. To increase the strength of the alloy, copper is added, but this significantly reduces the resistance to the external environment. The most popular - 925 alloy, containing no more than 7.5% impurities - is an ideal composition in terms of strength - corrosion resistance, it is sometimes also called sterling.
- It is interesting:
Based on this, the conclusion is simple - the lower the sample, the stronger the influence of all the above factors and the chain on the neck turns black faster.
Evil eye
Silver has long been considered the most reliable protector of the human energy field. An attempt to inflict damage in the form of an evil eye or damage is instantly reflected in the appearance of this noble metal. It is the sharp darkening of the chain around the neck that can signal encroachments from bad people.
The fact that a silver chain turns black around the neck should not be an obstacle to those who wish to wear it. There are simple and effective methods of cleaning, the regular use of which makes it easy to restore the original beauty.
Modern corrosion protection technologies help to solve the problem. However, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Rodation- deposition of a thin layer of rhodium. Rhodium is a platinum group metal with high hardness, good anti-corrosion properties, which protects silver from blackening and scratches. However, it has a more gray color, over time the coating can be wiped off, restoration is required.
Silvering– protection by a covering of a product by pure silver. It has practically no drawbacks, but such products are quite rare.
blackening- the most ancient way to prevent corrosion, the chain is artificially oxidized with the help of chemical sulfur compounds, and then the protruding areas are bleached. Products look very impressive due to the contrast black - white. The disadvantage is that the highlighted parts darken over time and require cleaning.
