Why Jewelry sometimes Blackens the Skin or Clothing
Blackening or discoloration of either the skin or clothing or the jewelry itself is certainly very annoying. There are several causes for these occurrences.
Metallic Abrasion:
Make-up present on the skin or clothing is the most common cause of the blackening or smudging. Cosmetics often contain chemical compounds, which are harder than the jewelry itself. Metallic abrasion occurs when these hard compounds come in contact with the jewelry metals and wear or rub off very tiny particles of metal which appear as jet black dust.
We recommend that you remove your rings and other metal jewelry while applying cosmetics.
Corrosion:
Discoloration can be caused from corrosion of the metals from which jewelry is made. Pure gold will not corrode but is too soft for jewelry so it is alloyed with base metals- usually silver or copper. Only the base metal used for alloying corrodes, leaving the gold untouched. The chemical compounds of silver and copper, which are formed, turn very dark even when slightly corroded. This corrosion occurs under moist or wet conditions.
Our skin, on which the jewelry lies, is provided with thousands of perspiration glands. These essentially mild chemicals are enough to cause corrosion of 14kt gold especially when aided by warmth and free access of air.
When this happens, we suggest that you remove your jewelry often and use an absorbent powder, free of zinc oxide, on the skin areas that may come in contact with the jewelry.
Rings containing copper and silver alloys, particularly sterling silver, corrode readily on the skin if enough salt is present. Rings should be removed when exposed to salt.
Tarnishing of Sterling Silver Jewelry:
Sterling silver is a copper-silver alloy and is somewhat softer than most gold alloys. It is more likely to be abraded to black dust by relative movement between the jewelry and the skin or clothing. Sterling silver has a pronounced tendency to tarnish. The tarnish is always due to the contact with sulfur compounds. The main cause of tarnishing of silver is a trace of hydrogen sulfide gas in the air.
The tarnish may turn the jewelry black and may also be rubbed off on the skin or clothing. A few people with especially moist skin may find that the sterling silver stains their skin green. This is due to the copper component of the silver alloy.
When this occurs, the jewelry should be polished frequently and use an absorbent powder on those moist skin areas.
Soap, detergent, wax, polish and cosmetic creams may build up under a ring, causing a type of dermatitis. A burning sensation and redness of the skin results. To prevent this, you should remove all rings before using soap or detergent and clean your jewelry frequently.
