It’s said that diamonds are forever, but gold does seem to hang around for a while, too. If you’re thinking about purchasing a piece of gold jewelry, you want to know you’re getting something you can have for the long term. So, does gold tarnish? The short answer is: yeah, mostly. Not all types of gold tarnish (we’ll get into that in a bit), and some do more than others. However, if you’re committed to keeping your gold in good condition, this isn’t a big deal.
So, What Is Tarnishing?
When your gold tarnishes, the surface corrodes slightly and causes discoloration. Why does this happen? Moisture and oxygen meet, and together they run into sulfur compounds in the metals that are mixed with the gold. When the trio of moisture, oxygen and sulfur meet, they don’t play nicely together, causing discoloration. Basically, it’s some magical science stuff in the air.
If you’ve ever seen your dad’s old wedding ring, chances are you’ll see tarnish on it. You can prevent tarnishing if you end up selecting a men’s gold wedding band of your own, though! Tarnishing is something that you can preemptively prevent, and it’s also fixable if you do notice a little bit of it on your ring.
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Do All Types of Gold Tarnish?
Most of them do, but not all. Remember that sulfur we were talking about earlier? Well, that only applies to gold that’s mixed with other metals. Pure 24-karat gold, as the philosopher Bruno Mars tells us, is magic. He also tells us that designer mink coats look good when they, in fact, make you look like a villain from the Narnia series, so take his advice with a grain of salt. Mr. Mars is right about one thing, though: 24-karat gold is basically magic.
Pure gold will not tarnish since there are no (non-gold) metals to fight with the oxygen and moisture. Therefore, there’s no tarnishing to worry about. You do have to worry about the price tag and the fact that pure gold, though it doesn’t tarnish, is much softer and easier to damage than gold mixed with other metals.
Besides pure gold, gold vermeil also doesn’t tarnish. Vermeil is actually sterling silver cosplaying as gold, with a thick gold coat around itself. Plating for vermeil must be at least 10k gold and 2.5 microns thick. Vermeil won’t tarnish, but it may fade over time. Similar to tarnishing, you can prevent fading with routine care for your ring.
Everything that isn’t pure gold or gold vermeil is prone to tarnishing. Even men’s gold-plated rings can tarnish since, as we learned, anything less than pure gold can do that. Not a huge deal, though. It’s just a part of non-pure-gold jewelry. While gold-plated rings do tarnish, along with most gold rings, you can prevent tarnishing pretty easily. We’ll tell you how to do that in just a bit.
In short, the purer the gold is, the less likely it is to tarnish. However, pure gold isn’t great for everyday wear.
Signs Your Gold Jewelry Has Tarnished
Small, dark discolorations are a telltale sign of tarnishing. Tarnished gold loses its luster and is noticeably different than un-tarnished gold. Of course, it’s only noticeably different if you’re looking at it close enough to notice, and most people aren’t staring that intently at your ring finger (we assume).
How to Care for Gold if It’s Tarnished
Is your gold tarnished? All hope is not lost. Everything will be okay. Depending on your level of tarnishing, different steps will be required. Even if you’ve got some decent discoloration on that jewelry piece of yours, it’s not time to call the time of death on it just yet.
Mild Tarnishing
This is, as the name suggests, much easier to fix. Little bit of tarnishing? No big deal. There are plenty of great home remedies out there to fix mild gold tarnishing, and they use everyday products you probably already have at home. Most of them start with dish soap or some other cleaning agent and a couple of other basic products. With a quick YouTube video and a few spare minutes, you should be able to get your piece back to mint condition.
Now, if you’re on the fence between mild and major tarnishing, you may want to consult a professional. If you don’t have the time to do it or just don’t trust yourself to complete simple tasks, that’s your prerogative. No one’s telling you not to go to a jeweler for mild tarnishing, but you definitely don’t have to.
Major Tarnishing
Alright, this is the big leagues. You started with a beautiful gold ring, and now it looks more like a carbon fiber one? You might want to get that one checked out. Local jewelers are the place to start for those with major tarnishing on their gold. If your jeweler does a good job, bring the ring back once or twice a year for a cleaning. It’s just a good idea.
As a side note, ring insurance almost never covers tarnishing. Unless it’s explicitly stated otherwise, tarnishing is considered normal wear and tear, and you’re not gonna get a dime for it. This isn’t to say that ring insurance isn’t worth it — for some people, it is. If, however, you want to protect your ring from tarnishing, ring insurance will not be helpful to you.
How to Prevent Gold from Tarnishing
You just got yourself a spiffy new rose gold men’s wedding band. Not sure why we just used the word spiffy, but so be it. You want this thing to keep its shine for as long as possible, so you sit down to commit yourself to a ring cleaning schedule. That’s step one.
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Clean Your Damn Ring
Seriously. The number of rings you see that have tarnished because guys won’t put in like one hour a month, in total, to clean them is ridiculous. It’s just not that hard. We get it — you’re busy at the office with your spreadsheets and whatever, but just make some time. If you can’t commit yourself to a DIY cleaning routine, you can buy ring cleaning kits at any big box store and probably some local ones near you as well.
If you still don’t have the time because of your commitment to your spreadsheets, you can get your ring cleaned professionally. It’s not the most economical, but it’s going to be the best quality cleaning and will save you time. One or two good cleanings a year tend to be enough, but your mileage may vary.
Your Ring Is Not Amphibious
Don’t bring it while swimming. Don’t clean your dishes while wearing it. Don’t put it on a tiny floatie in a cup of water and pretend it’s at the pool in South Beach. Admittedly though, that’s kind of amusing. Water and your ring do not play together nicely, so, like two rival Jack Russell Terriers, you should keep them far away from each other.
Oh, also, sweat and your ring aren’t friends either. Get a silicone ring for the gym, or just go without your ring for a bit. Either way, keep your ring dry. That’ll eliminate most of the issues right there.
If you get caught in an unexpected rainstorm or pushed into a pool by your friends who forgot we live in the smartphone-in-pocket age, all is not lost. Just dry that sucker off ASAP. Your best bet is a gentle drying with a soft cotton cloth. If you don’t have that, just air dry it. Paper towels can scratch your ring, causing an out-of-the-frying pan into the fire-type situation. Sure, your ring is dry, but now it’s got your paper towel’s autograph etched into it.
Give It a Good Home
Think about a ring box as a little apartment for your golden friend. You don’t want him to be in a run-down old studio. He should be in a two-bedroom penthouse with exposed brick and a nice view. We may have overly anthropomorphized this ring, but whatever. The point is that a good ring box is key for the long-term health of your ring. You don’t need to spend tons of money on it. You just need a nice place to put your ring that’s free of moisture and safe from scratches.
Consider a Secondary Ring
Look, if you’re committed to wearing your gold ring every day, the previous points are good enough to keep it healthy and shiny for years to come. If you’re not committed to the everyday gold ring agenda, you can really increase the length of your ring’s luster. Buying a budget-friendly secondary ring, either in a gold-plating or even a silicone, can be beneficial to the life of your primary, fancy gold ring.
We get that not everyone loves the aesthetic of having a secondary ring for everyday wear — and it isn’t for everyone — but it’s worth taking into consideration.
Your ring isn’t going to magically turn black overnight if you get a tiny drop of water on it while you’re out on a walk. Can gold tarnish? Sure, it can. Will it? Yeah, it probably will a little bit, but that’s no big deal. You don’t need to be overly focused on preventing your ring from tarnishing because some of it is just to be expected from a ring you wear for years. If you’re good about keeping your ring in the best shape possible, small amounts of tarnishing are easy to fix and really nothing to worry about.
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