MY SILVER HAS GONE BLACK!
Does your Sterling Silver tarnish? Summer months can be a nightmare for lovers of Silver, when, for no obvious reason, your Silver jewellery doesn't look as lustrous as it should. Here we explore some reasons why this happens. First of all what causes the discolouration? Silver turns black when kept in the air because it reacts with sulphur compounds such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) present in air. The phenomenon is called corrosion and, for silver in particularly, is called tarnishing. The black substance formed is silver sulphide. This is a common issue with Silver, even British hallmarked 925 solid Silver can tarnish, it's not a fault, it's a natural occurrence. It is common and certainly not a sign there is a quality issue with your Sterling Silver and can infact be used to provide a decorative contrast against polished Silver to highlight detail, but, how can we prevent it from happening? Sterling Silver is an alloy and is created when copper is added to pure Silv