Since earrings are often a closet item that can be worn for long periods almost every day, your gold jewelry may begin to turn black over time. Losing your jewelry's attractive appearance can easily be upsetting, so in this article, we'll discuss why gold earrings turn black and how to properly clean them so as not to harm your piece of jewelry.
Why can gold earrings turn black?
To prevent your gold earrings from turning black and clean them correctly and safely if necessary, it is essential to be aware of the possible causes of the blackening of the precious metal. The main possible causes of the blackening of gold are considered to be the following:
- Low assay of the metal. Gold is a precious metal that has soft forging and strength values in its pure form (i.e., at 999 proof). To make gold stronger and easier to work with, nickel, silver, and other metals are added. But if the percentage of impurities is too high, the properties of the strengthening metals can take over and start to show in gold too much. For example, copper oxidizes quickly from contact with air, and if the copper content in your earrings is too high, they can turn black quickly.
- If you rarely wear any earrings in your collection, they can turn black faster than others. It's simple enough: the fact that you wear your jewelry often, take it off, and put it on every day, serves as a sort of substitute for mechanical cleaning. The clasps and the parts of the earrings touch each other and your skin and get clean simply by rubbing against something. If, however, the earrings are left undone for a long time, the oxidation process can become noticeable more quickly.
- Storing gold earrings with jewelry of a different standard or other precious metal. If you are concerned about your jewelry's safety, it is best to store it so that it does not touch each other. Especially if the jewelry is made of different metals. Keeping your earrings just in a jewelry box without any separators is like having them turn black by hand. The thing is that when the metals touch each other, they slowly but surely react chemically, thus speeding up the blackening of your favorite jewelry.
Can I clean my earrings at home and how should I do it?
If you have gold earrings that are not encrusted with precious stones, it is quite possible to clean them at home. For this, you need to prepare a light soapy solution (you can use some dish detergent), and take some sharp toothpicks or a needle with absorbent cotton and a microfiber cloth.
The cleaning will take place in three steps:
- Soak your gold earrings in a soapy solution for 2-3 hours. The temperature of the water is not particularly important, as long as it is not boiling water.
- After your earrings have soaked, proceed to the mechanical cleaning step. You can clean hard-to-reach places with a toothpick or a needle with absorbent cotton wrapped around it. But don't forget that gold is quite a soft metal, so it's better not to put too much pressure on it so as not to leave scratches on the jewelry. You can also use a soft toothbrush.
- Rinse gold earrings under running room temperature water and wipe them with a microfiber cloth. This will remove any dirt and dehumidify the jewelry.
But if you have jewel-encrusted or intricately weaved earrings, it's best to have them cleaned by a professional jeweler. Professional cleaning usually uses special cleansing pastes, acids, and other solutions. Such cleaning is more effective and has a longer-lasting effect as your earrings are at a deeper structural level.
Where can I buy quality gold earrings?
Centaurus handmade jewelry workshop offers you to buy gold jewelry earrings at a bargain price. We are ready to work out the jewelry's design, especially for you or repeat jewelry of a famous brand. We can also create earrings of gold by photo or even by hand sketch.
Also, our earrings have these advantages:
- We use the highest quality gold.
- All jewelry from Centaurus Workshop comes with a lifetime cleaning and repair warranty.
- We use only certified gemstones to inlay our jewelry.
- We guarantee fast shipping and free shipping to any country. Shipping is by mail order and takes from 14 days from order.
In addition, we offer great prices on gold earrings. You can choose from our catalog of ready-made jewelry, or you can write to us to order a custom design!
