My husband and I just gave our twin fifteen year old daughters their purity rings. One having an adverse reaction to the silver. Or should I say, the silver is having an adverse reaction to her. (she is not experiencing any problems) Basically, the ring is changing colors (darkening). It's a good ring that was purchased at a reputable jeweler. I did contact them re: e-mail but thought someone would have a solution sooner.
Thank you everyone for your advise... I also contacted the company where we bought the rings. It looks like she may be acidic and I told her she would just have to polish it often. She does not want a gold ring (thankfully, daddy and I cannot afford that) and she'll have to wait for the platinium ring from her husband (hopefully about 10 years from now).
So, it looks like I'm off to purchase the cleaning cloths (I don't want to use anything else for fear of scratching the rings). Meanwhile, she and her twin have been proudly wearing their rings everyday. We're planning their 16th birthday party for next month. The rings were an early surprise present.
Hi,
Real silver do get darken if it is not used daily, either use daily or when ever you are ready use wash it with 'softscrub'.
L.,
One jeweler told me that it was usually the nickel content, not the silver, that causes the reaction?
Good luck!
L.,
Just take a good silver cleaning cloth to the ring....it may have been exposed to the air more than the other ring and is already oxidizing. There is nothing to worry about if it is good jewelry...it will just take some rubbing. The other thing could be the amount of acid in your daughter's system causing it to turn...as this happens to me as well...just use the cloth... Good luck with it and your teenage daughters. I am sure they are lovely and are very pleased with the idea of the rings.
She might be allergic. If so, she won't be able to wear the silver. I can only wear good gold myself.
I wear a silver toe ring and when I go swimming in a chlorine pool it turns black. Has she been swimming alot? The only thing that helps is to not wear it in the pool or if you do just buy one of those silver jewelry cleaners and drop it in for a couple of seconds and it will be like new. If she hasn't been swimming maybe it's something else that she uses on her hands such as lotion or something like that. Hope this helps and if not good luck!
I had the same problem with silver and found if I used clear nail polish on the item (essentially painted it), my body chemicals did not react with the silver. Of course, I also have a reaction to silver and break out too after 8 hours of wearing.
D.
Her body must be acidic.
Your daughter may just be an acidic person. I have to coat the inside of my silver jewelry with clear nail polish and clean it weekly with baking soda and a wet cloth. It's a reaction between her skin and the nickel - it just causes it to tarnish faster.
S.
Hi L., your daughter may be very acidic. My jewlery used to do that to me. The fastest thing to do would be to take clear finger nail polish and paint the inside of the ring. This will help keep the metal from contact with her body. Hope this helps
M.
It sounds like your daughter's chemical makeup has more sulphur content and that is turning the ring dark (black). My husband does this to silver as well. You could possibly coat the ring but it would wear off. Perhaps you could have an alternative ring in gold for her. The other S.
Wow! What a wonderful gift! :o)
Is it possible that she got in contact with something that made the ring change colors? Some kind of chemical or cleaning product maybe.
If not, it IS possible that she has something in her body that is changing the ring (like Suzanne suggested).
Hello L.,
if her body is too acidic, then it's time to do something about it. read more about it. not trying to alarm you but just want to point out that perhaps her body's ph is out of balance.
http://www.drlam.com/opinion/acidic_body.cfm
One of the key determinants of the speed of aging and onset of degenerative diseases is the internal biochemistry and terrain of the body.
Internal biochemistry is best measured and discussed in terms of the pH. pH is a measurement of the amount of acid and base. It ranges from 1 to 14, with 1 being extremely acidic, and 14 being extremely basic. A neutral state has a pH of 7. The term acidosis is relative and only meant to convey a shift in total body chemistry towards the acidic direction. . The acidic biochemical type is not meant to represent the absolute pH measurement of the blood system, which generally requires a laboratory test performed in hospitals known as blood gases. While certain areas of the body normally may have an more acidic environment (stomach, kidneys, bladder) than others, the overall pH of the body and blood normally must be maintained within a narrow range of alkalinity (pH 7.30 - 7.45. An absolute blood measurement of acidity (pH below 7.0) is incompatible with life.
It is important to note that the body's biochemistry is an important but just one of many tools to help the physician understand the whole body. pH in an of itself is not a diagnostic tool and is not a medical diagnosis as a disease entity.
here is the google search I did:
http://www.google.com/search?q=acidic+body&rls=com.mi...
silver will darken and tarnish over time . The best thing to do for silver is to wear it - daily wear keeps it shiney. You can remove the darkening from the metal with a 4/1 mixture baking soda/water paste or a commercial silver cleaner. But it sounds like a reaction b/c of your daughter. I can't wear white gold - my skin gets a horrible rash and over time the white gold will turn yellow (sooner than it should!).
You can coat it with clear nail polish on the inside of the ring. Has she had this with other silver jewelry???
Real silver tarnishes with air. Remember the commercials for Tarnex...? Now some of the newer silver that doesn't tarnish is not pure silver. Just get a jeweler's cloth or silver cloth and polish it. Likely as someone said, her chemical makeup is causing it to tarnish faster. I am constantly having to polish mine even when it just sits in my jewelry box it turns dull and dark. Occasionally I have a ring or bracelet that turns my skin dark, it washes off with no ill-effects. I seriously doubt that there would be any physical problem attached to wearing it unless SHE actually has a physical reaction to it such as a rash.
Tell her to wear it, polish it and enjoy it.
D. M
I am too acidic with gold and a jeweler told me to coat the inside of my ring with clear finger nail polish. I have done this for years and it works fine and doesn't hurt my rings.
try to have her take it off when she washes her hands, showers, etc... see if that helps - especially when swimming - you could also see if you can find a jeweler to rhodium plate it - i'm not sure of a jeweler, but fast fix might - that should help to keep it looking bright
Hi L.. First, what a wonderful gift! Unfortunately, there are some people in this world who cannot wear silver--I am also one of them. I have been told by both jewelers and a physician that my skin is "acidic" which makes the silver turn dark in combination with exposure to the air. I have had this problem since I was a teenager and now I'm 38 and still have the problem. Sometimes the darkening silver will also leave a residue on my skin. Both the silver and the skin can be cleaned and it is not a threat to health.
That beign said, I have a few pieces of white gold whenever I want the look of silver. Of course this is more expensive, and I hate looking at beautiful silver jewelry and not being able to wear it, but that's just the way it is for me. Unfortunately this is just something your daughter will have to deal with, just as if she was allergic to a certain food and couldn't eat it.
I remember my mom having a similar issue and found out that when she drank orange juice, the ring would change colors and leave her finger discolored underneath the ring's surface.
