Is this normal for silver jewelry?
I bought a Pandora charm of a shop on Ebay that looked like an authentic seller (99.9% positive feedback, price seemed right ect.) But it just doesn’t seem like it was advertised.. And I am sure it is an authentic one because on the bottom of the charm it says ALE 925.
It looks as though the charm’s silver is coming off? There is discolouration on the charm. I can’t really explain it, but here are some pictures, sorry they are not the best quality but I only had a cheap camera to take them:
http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Graceful_xo/?action=view¤t=swan1.jpg
http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Graceful_xo/?action=view¤t=swan2.jpg
http://s367.photobucket.com/albums/oo114/Graceful_xo/?action=view¤t=swan3.jpg
What is this discolouration? IS it normal? Can I get rid of it? If so do can I do it myself?
Thankyou and Merry Christmas! :]
The “925″ mark, if authentic, indicates sterling silver (92.5% silver, with the rest mostly copper for hardness) rather than silver plate.
Silver does tarnish, but I think what you are seeing might be an intentional effect. Notice how the black color is only found in recessed areas.
Jewelers sometimes apply a solution of sodium sulfide to copper and silver surfaces. This tarnishes the metal to a black color. The tarnish can easily be removed from raised areas, but remains in recessed ones. This adds visual contrast to the piece.
It is also possible (but less likely) that the piece sat around for a while before sale, and the seller cleaned it quickly, resulting in the same effect.
If you want to remove it, you could try scrubbing hard with silver polish, but this might not get the tarnish out of the cracks. An electrochemical tarnish removal method might work – I have linked to one (I have not tested this method).
Create Pandora Charms in 60 Secs
