It happens that your favorite silver jewelry suddenly suddenly begins to turn black. As a rule, there are no particular visible reasons for this, but the silver still turns black. Moreover, this happens regardless of how long ago the item or decoration was purchased. The Land of Soviets decided to figure out Why does silver on the human body turn black?
Humanity has known about the various properties of silver for a long time. Everyone knows that silver ions contribute to the death of bacteria, This is why silver cutlery is very valuable, and silver items are used in religious ceremonies.
To the question why silver turns black, folk wisdom found a completely understandable answer - damage. Like, if your ring has darkened, it means you are wearing a crown of celibacy, the earrings are a strong evil eye, and if your pectoral cross has darkened, you don’t even want to think about it.
Of course, you can believe this interpretation, but there is a more scientific, and therefore more serious an explanation of why silver turns black.
The fact is that the silver jewelry that we are used to wearing contain copper. Under the influence of humid air, sweat and other external factors, copper oxidizes. Silver itself belongs to the noble metals. Under the influence of the same external factors (water, humid air) a plaque forms on the surface of the silver product silver sulfide, it gradually becomes denser, and the silver jewelry darkens.
The rate at which plaque forms on silver items is may be associated with external reasons, which include climate change, increased air humidity, frequent contact with water, exposure to certain substances on the product, and with internal processes body. Especially if you wear silver jewelry all the time.
If not all the silver jewelry you wear darkens, but only some, it means that the problem is not in external factors, but in your body. There can be many reasons why a silver chain on your neck darkens, but don’t sound the alarm right away. Listen to your physical condition and pay attention to which jewelry has darkened.
Most of the sebaceous glands in humans are located on the chest. That's why First of all, chains and crosses turn black. And this is due to increased sweating, and not to the evil eye and damage. Darkening of jewelry on the chest most likely indicates hormonal changes in the body. For example, during pregnancy. In this case, the chain can darken very quickly, in just a few days.
In addition, the reason may be severe stress, emotional stress or anxiety. All this also affects the functioning of the sebaceous glands, and accordingly increases sweating, which is why the silver darkens. Perhaps the silver has darkened due to taking any medication, which contains sulfur compounds.
There is a version that the darkening of silver indicates to improper functioning of the kidneys or liver. The brightening of silver can also indicate this, since in this case, substances containing nitrogen are released with sweat, and this gives the silver shine. In addition, a change in the color of silver may indicate problems with the nervous system. And the darkening of silver items on certain parts of the body can indicate local disruptions in the functioning of the endocrine system.
There are also a more prosaic explanation, why silver darkens on the human body: physical activity, heat, contact with certain chemical compounds.
Try do not play sports, do not go to the bathhouse and do not bathe in silver jewelry. This will help prevent them from darkening. And if in this case the silver still turns black, you should pay attention to your health.
Silver is a malleable and generous metal. It has been understood by people since ancient times and is intensively used for the production of various jewelry, coins and the rest. Most ladies and guys love to decorate themselves using beautiful silver items, but from time to time they are disappointed by one thing - the change in color of their beloved ring, chain or earrings. Then a logical question arises: why does silver jewelry turn black when worn on the body? Usually there are no visible circumstances for this, but color changes still occur regardless of how long ago the product was purchased or cleaned.
Common signs and beliefs
Because the population of the earth has long since learned about the various properties of silver, it is often used in religious rituals. It is clear that metal ions destroy bacteria, which is why silver cutlery is very valuable.
In most cases, to the question of why this generous metal darkens on the body, folk wisdom gives one logical answer - damage. In other words, if, for example, the ring on the finger of a lady or young girl has darkened, it means she is wearing a crown of celibacy. If the color of the earrings in the ears changed, a strong evil eye occurred. Suddenly a cross darkened on his body - it’s even creepy to think about.
Silver is also often used by white and dark sorcerers in their own rituals. Products made from it are considered the best way to recognize witches, werewolves and vampires. According to legends, if silver touches the skin of these creatures, severe burns will remain on it.
In the East, it is believed that a person’s silver decorations darken at certain moments when he has successfully managed to avoid severe problems.
Magnanimous metal is a massive amulet against evil spirits and vile people, and it turns black because it is able to absorb all the negative impacts of the world around us.
In most cases, products that have the appearance of closed contours change color: bracelets, rings, chains or pendants with pointed elements. This is justified by the fact that such decorations close the channels connecting the human energy field with the energy of the narrow world.
It is completely natural that many people believe similar interpretations and have every right to do so, but there is a more rigorous, scientifically based explanation of why the color of silver changes.
Chem reactions
In fact, all silver decorations that people are accustomed to wearing on their bodies contain copper. Under the influence of sweat, wet air and other external causes, copper begins to oxidize, despite the fact that silver itself is a generous metal.
Water or damp air also contributes to the appearance of a coating on the surface of the decoration, which is evenly compacted, which leads to its darkening.
Internal processes occurring in the body can also have a significant impact, especially for those people who wear silver items on their bodies all the time.
External conditions can also influence how quickly the generous metal can blacken. These include a change in weather conditions, an increase in air humidity, and the release of various chemicals onto the decorations.
Configurations in the body
If not all of a person’s decorations turn black, but only some, this means that the matter is not only in external factors, but in the body itself. Accordingly, there can be quite a lot of circumstances why silver changes its color. But you don’t need to immediately sound the alarm, it’s better to listen to your own physical state and pay attention to which specific scenery has darkened.
The largest number of sebaceous glands are located on the human chest, therefore, with prolonged contact with the body, pendants and chains first turn black. This process is caused by excessive sweating. The darkening of such jewelry is usually caused by hormonal changes in the body. For example, in pregnant women and during puberty in adolescents, jewelry quickly loses its original color. With all this, changes can happen very quickly, almost in a number of days.
Other reasons for the darkening of silver include strong sensory stress, stress or anxiety. All these conditions affect the functioning of the sebaceous glands, which is why sweating increases and silver darkens. Also, a prerequisite may be taking a medication that contains sulfur compounds.
Disruption of internal organs
There is another version that explains the change in color of silver items - incorrect functioning of the liver or kidneys. Lightening of the metal may also indicate this problem. In this case, nitrogen-containing substances are released together with later, which can give shine to silver. Difficulties in the nervous system can also affect and cause the scenery to darken. If jewelry changes color on certain parts of the body, this indicates changes in the functioning of the endocrine system.
There are also more common explanations for the color patterns of silver jewelry: heat, physical activity, exposure to certain chemical compounds. Therefore, it is better not to play sports or go to the bathhouse wearing products made from this generous metal, which will help preserve their original appearance longer. In this case, if these measures do not help and the silver still darkens, you should pay special attention to your own health.
Nowadays, many women wear silver jewelry, which is undoubtedly pleasing to the eye. But some of them may occasionally experience minor, easily removable troubles - the products may darken. In this article, we will share effective and efficient tips on how to clean black from a silver ring at home.
Why does silver turn black?
There is an interesting fact proven by scientists:
- if nitrogen predominates in the human body, then silver items darken less often;
- if there is a large amount of sulfur in it, then darkening occurs much more often.
Important! Often such a reaction is caused by creams or lotions that contain sulfur.
Before taking a bath or washing dishes, you should definitely remove silver jewelry, because due to increased humidity, mold may appear on the surface of the metal. You should also avoid storing jewelry in places with high humidity.
Where to clean silver?
The most effective way to get rid of blackening is to take your jewelry to a professional for cleaning or purchase jewelry liquid for cleaning the alloy. However, carrying out such procedures requires significant financial investments.
There are also several effective, low-cost home methods for cleaning silver. After using folk methods that have been proven over the years, your products will look like new and shine as if they came straight from a jewelry workshop.
Important! If your products have inserts made of amber, pearls or coral, then these products should be cleaned by a jeweler. These stones are very delicate and capricious, they are easy to spoil.
How to clean silver earrings at home? — 8 useful tips
If your silver jewelry is only slightly dirty, then you just need to soak it in a hot soapy bath for a while. You can use dishwashing detergent to prepare a cleaning solution. After soaking for a short time, brush the product with a soft toothbrush and rinse in cold, clean water.
Important! This process will not make the jewelry shine, but it will help remove all dirt from its surface.
If there are no stones in the products, then it can be easily cleaned and lightened by immersing it in a 10% solution of citric acid or ammonia, which should be heated well to obtain the best effect.
An excellent folk remedy for cleaning silver items is obtained from potatoes:
- Grate the raw potatoes and fill them with cold water.
- Immerse your silver items in the mixture for a few minutes.
- Then thoroughly wipe the jewelry until it shines with a piece of dry and clean flannel or wool.
To use the following method, we prepare the following: soda, salt (it doesn’t matter which one - large or fine), any dishwashing detergent and a container.
What to do with all this to clean a silver ring from blackness at home:
- Place your decorations in an even layer at the bottom of the container, pour salt and soda in equal proportions, add a few drops of detergent and pour boiling water over it all.
- We wait 10 minutes, rinse all items with cold running water and wipe with a dry and soft woolen or flannel cloth.
To remove blackening from silver inserts on your products at home, you will need a regular stationery eraser, a light-colored (less abrasive) eraser, and a little human effort.
Wipe the silver inserts with an eraser, and the blackness on them will disappear with incredible speed.
The following method is considered the most effective, but also the most aggressive:
- Take tooth powder or paste, add baking soda and ammonia.
- Mix until smooth and apply the mixture to objects with a soft toothbrush.
- Leave for some time and wash off with running water at room temperature.
Important! This composition removes blackness from silver items well, but it is often not recommended to use it, as it can cause damage to the metal - microcracks may appear. You can also remove soda from the composition for more delicate cleaning.
To effectively clean small silver items, you can use a mixture of chalk and ammonia. It is applied to the product with a soft toothbrush and then washed off with running water.
One of the most unusual ways is the Coca-Cola drink:
- Pour it into a saucepan, bring it to a boil, put your decorations there and “cook” for about 10 minutes.
- Then we take out the jewelry, rinse it with clean running water and wipe it with a piece of soft and dry cloth.
Important! You should not fanatically clean filigree or blackened silver items from blackening. The noble patina gives them a special chic and sophistication.
How can you clean silver with stones?
Silver items with stones are best cleaned using special liquids sold in jewelry stores. Such compositions will not only not harm your favorite jewelry, but will also cover its surface with a protective film.
Using the following method will help you clean silver inlaid with stones at home without resorting to the services of a master jeweler:
- Add shavings of laundry soap and a few drops of ammonia to the water.
- Bring the resulting mixture to a boil, but do not boil.
- Using a soft toothbrush, apply the cooled mixture to the item you need and clean it.
- Clean around the stone using a cotton swab dipped in the same solution.
Important! If you are planning to clean matte silver at home, then under no circumstances use abrasives - soda, salt or acids. A sufficient and effective means for cleaning matte products is soap shavings dissolved in water.
- Try to wash your products more often, preventing plaque from accumulating on their surface.
- After cleaning, silver items cannot be worn immediately, but should be allowed to sit for several days to allow a natural protective layer to form on them. Or have a master jeweler coat them with a special varnish.
- Never use harsh abrasives for cleaning.
- To avoid scratching the products, use only soft toothbrushes for processing.
- After cleaning, be sure to rinse the product with running water.
- You need to dry the products on laid out paper napkins or with a hairdryer.
- After cleaning, it is recommended to polish silver items with dry and clean pieces.
Silver jewelry is deservedly popular. Almost every woman, and often a man, wears a cross and a chain or ring made of silver. But, unfortunately, this metal can change color and become darker over time.
Why does silver turn black? There are many hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Some of them are associated with superstitions and folk signs. However, there is a scientific explanation that proves that the blackening of silver jewelry is nothing more than a common chemical reaction.
Signs and superstitions
Damage or evil eye
According to popular belief, a blackened cross on the body is a bad sign. Most likely, the person is under severe damage or the evil eye. When the curse loses its power, the decoration will return to its original color. Also, by the color of the plaque on a silver item, one can judge the strength of the damage: the darker it is, the stronger the curse.
To understand whether you have been jinxed or not, it is enough to listen to yourself, to your feelings. According to legend, the world around a person who has been damaged becomes “gray”, joyless, everything is annoying, and he is tormented by melancholy. He constantly feels someone's presence nearby, especially at night.
The type of negative magical effect can be determined by the decoration that has changed color:
- Ring. The girl is wearing a crown of celibacy.
- Earrings or chain. Blackening speaks of the evil eye.
- Cross on the body. A strong curse.
- Silverware. If it changes color, then there is evil spirits in the house.
Protection from negativity and the influence of dark forces
According to another sign, silver jewelry takes on all the negativity and protects its mistress or owner from dark forces and evil spirits. If the chain and cross on the neck have darkened, it means their owner has avoided serious trouble or trouble.
Health problems
Another popular belief says that silver turns black because the owner of the jewelry is ill. There is some truth in this explanation. In fact, silver jewelry on a person changes color because it oxidizes when interacting with sweat, which mixes on the surface of the body with the secretion of the sebaceous glands.
Since the metal in most cases touches the skin (the jewelry hangs on the neck, on the ears, or on the wrist or finger), a chemical reaction occurs, due to which the silver changes color. If the amount of sweat produced is normal, a person may not notice the oxidation of jewelry on the body, since it occurs slowly and the plaque appears gradually.
But if sweating suddenly increases, silver items on the body - most often a chain and a cross - begin to rapidly darken. And it is possible that the reasons for increased sweating are health problems. For example, such a reaction is observed during hormonal imbalances, pregnancy and endocrine diseases.
There is also an opinion that silver changes color if a person has kidney or liver pain. However, this superstition is not supported by scientific facts.
Scientific explanation
Why does silver actually darken? This is due to its interaction with sulfur-containing compounds. When exposed to oxygen, the metal reacts with hydrogen sulfide and a chemical reaction occurs called silver oxidation.
As a result, a dark layer of silver sulfide appears on the surface of silver items, which changes their color.
4Ag + O2 + 2H2S = 2Ag2S + 2H2O
Why did the silver chain and silver cross darken, although such a reaction had not been observed before? Perhaps the fact is that the owner of these decorations moved to an area where there is more hydrogen sulfide in the air.
But most often, as mentioned above, the cause is contact with sweat on the surface of the human body. The composition of human sweat includes sulfates - salts of sulfuric acid, therefore, when sweat and silver interact, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which the surface of the metal jewelry oxidizes and turns black.
What can increase the oxidation of silver?
Stressful situations, sports
The functioning of the sweat and sebaceous glands depends on many factors, but a person begins to sweat heavily due to stress or during active physical activity.
If you go to the gym or exercise at home, and you have a silver cross and a silver chain around your neck, then you shouldn’t be surprised that they have changed color. With increased sweating, the concentration of sulfates increases, which means the silver darkens more quickly.
Therefore, if you want to wear silver jewelry on your body and at the same time have to do difficult physical work or exercise regularly, be prepared to clean it regularly. How? We will tell you further.
Increased air humidity
What else influences this process? Air humidity! If you wore a chain and a cross on your chest in rainy weather or did not take them off in the sauna, then this is the reason why the silver changed its color.
With high air humidity, the evaporation of sweat slows down (since there is already a high concentration of water in the air, sweat evaporates less intensely on the human body). As a result, as in the previous case, the concentration of sulfur salts on the surface of the skin increases and jewelry on the body begins to oxidize.
Interestingly, over time, the same sweat can cause silver items to bleach, since in addition to sulfates, it also contains nitrates - salts of nitric acid.
By reacting with them, silver sulfide (dark coating on products) can be destroyed. Thus, silver on a person’s ears or body can again change color, only this time in the opposite direction - from dark to light.
Low standard of silver, the presence of a large number of impurities in it
These are not all the reasons why silver jewelry can turn black when worn on the body. The silver standard plays an important role: the higher it is, the less susceptible products made from this metal are to changing color, and vice versa.
Jewelry made from pure silver without impurities is practically not made, since it is very soft and can lose its shape. In order to make crosses, earrings and other items more durable, other metals are added to silver, including copper.
When copper in a silver item interacts with sulfur salts (in contact with sweat on the skin or in air rich in hydrogen sulfide), copper sulfide is formed on its surface. It, like silver sulfide, also looks like a black coating.
How to clean plaque from blackened silver?
We figured out why silver on the body turns black. But what to do when this has already happened?
If you believe in omens and think that the reason is damage or the evil eye, superstitious people advise going to church, confessing, taking communion, and praying more. If you feel unwell, we strongly recommend that you be examined by a doctor and begin treatment. A darkened silver ring, earrings or cross and chain just need to be cleaned.
How to remove blackness from silver items without stones or coating?
The simplest and safest thing is to go to a jewelry workshop for this. Also today there are products on sale that are specifically designed for cleaning silver products at home. They can be bought in jewelry stores and in stores that sell household chemicals.
Or use one of the traditional methods, for example, clean a silver ring or chain with a solution of ammonia (0.5 liters of water - 1 tablespoon of alcohol), soda or tooth powder.
Please note that not all silver jewelry can be cleaned with the compounds listed above! For example, rhodium plated silver items (and most of them are on sale today) from the methods listed above (ready-made composition, soda, powder and ammonia) with a high degree of probability can lose their appearance and become unsuitable for wearing.
Cleaning jewelry with rhodium and stones
To clean rhodium-plated silver jewelry, it is recommended to rinse it under running warm (not hot!) water, and then wipe it dry and polish it with a special cloth (you can buy it at a jewelry store).
Silver items with stones can be cleaned in the same way. If they are heavily soiled, you can pre-soak them for half an hour in warm water, adding a little laundry soap to it.
After cleaning, try to properly care for your silver items so that they do not darken again!
Have you ever wondered why silver on the human body turns black and what it might be connected with? Silver has been used for making jewelry since ancient times. Moreover, from ancient times this noble metal was considered a symbol of spiritual purity, which is why church attributes and utensils were made from it - icons, crosses, frames, etc. And if we recall ancient beliefs and legends, then silver was the best weapon against witches, vampires and other evil spirits. Thus, to this day, silver is considered a unique natural amulet against damage, the evil eye and negative energy.
It often happens that silver begins to turn black on the human body. What do folk signs say about this and what is the reason for this phenomenon from a scientific point of view?
Folk signs about silver
Darkening of silver has always been considered a bad omen. For example, in the East, people believe that blackened silver jewelry is a sign that a person managed to avoid trouble or magical influence. This explanation of this superstition is due to the fact that amazing properties are attributed to silver - it is believed that this metal has the ability to absorb all the information and energy of the surrounding world. So, if they try to have a negative magical effect on a person. If you believe the signs and superstitions of the East, then silver can protect against envy, damage, the evil eye, the evil intent of enemies and love spells.
There are also more detailed versions of the reasons for the blackening of silver. If a silver ring on the hand of a young girl or woman turns black, this is a bad sign that indicates the presence of a crown of celibacy or speaks of failures in his personal life. The earrings have darkened - the evil eye has occurred. If the silver cross turns black, then this indicates damage or a curse.
What causes silver to turn black? Scientific explanation
If you don’t trust signs, then it’s time to turn to the scientists’ version. From a scientific point of view, the darkening of silver is nothing more than chemical reaction. Almost all silver jewelry contains copper, which begins to oxidize under the influence of sweat, high humidity and other external factors.
There is also a pseudo-scientific version that silver turns black on a person’s body due to changes in the body. Silver reacts sensitively to all body processes and can change color due to illness, stress and strong emotional stress.
According to popular belief, blackened silver should be washed in salt water and not worn for several days to allow it to cleanse. We wish you good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and
24.12.2014 09:02
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