If your silver has darkened or your gold plating has worn, nothing has gone wrong with your piece. Here's what's happening.
Why it happens
We work in 925‰ silver because it's durable and beautiful. But silver is a delicate precious metal, and it oxidizes, it reacts to the world around it and darkens over time.
What speeds this up:
- Direct contact with water
- Heat and direct sunlight
- Perfumes, lotions and cosmetics
- Sweat and chlorine
- Prolonged wear without cleaning
For gold-plated silver, the 24Kt gold layer sits on the surface, so the same factors wear it down faster. For more on the two finishes, see Oxidized silver and gold-plated silver.
What it means for your piece
Nothing about its value or quality. This is the natural behavior of precious metals, not a defect. Your piece is exactly what it was when you bought it, it just needs attention.
What we can do about it
We can restore your piece with a new bath or a professional cleaning.
- The work is free under our 3-year warranty
- A shipping fee applies for sending the item(s) to our workshop and returning the repaired item(s) to you. This fee is charged before the repaired jewelry is shipped back and varies depending on the delivery address.
- It generally takes 2 to 8 weeks
Contact us and we'll send you the instructions for getting it to our workshops.
How to slow it down
- Put jewelry on after perfume, lotion and cosmetics have dried, and take it off before water, sleep and physical activity.
- Wipe it with a soft, dry cloth after wearing.
- Store it in a closed pouch or box, away from air and humidity.
Our care articles cover each of these in full: Caring for your jewelry day to day, How to clean your jewelry and How to store your jewelry.
