Which Precious Metals Tarnish?

Recycle Precious MetalsRecycle Refine SilverRecycling and Refining
Written By Barry Lenson

When you’re poking around an antique mall one day, you see a display of jewelry – rings, pins and other small items. All the pins and rings and other items you see are bright and shiny, except one. It’s a small cross on a chain, and it looks dull, chalky gray and tarnished.

So what are your eyes telling you? They are telling you that that cross is made of silver, while the other items on display are not. You see, silver tarnishes, while gold, platinum, titanium and other metals that are commonly used to make jewelry do not.

So the thing to remember is . . .

Silver is a metal that tarnishes

That’s another way of saying that when exposed to the air over a period of time, a chemical reaction takes place between the surface of the silver and the air around it. In other words, it oxidizes, which is another way of saying that a tiny amount of the metal combines with oxygen.

How Much Silver Is Lost when the Tarnish is Polished Away?

For centuries, people have been using silver polish to remove the tarnished surface of silver items. It is a practice that is so common, that you can buy several brands of silver polish in your supermarket. But if you buy a bottle or jar of that polish and use it to remove the tarnish and expose the bright shiny silver underneath, are you damaging the silver? Aren’t you removing some of that precious metal?

Yes, you are. But the fact is that you are removing such a tiny amount of silver, that you are not damaging the item or causing it to lose value. You would have to go on polishing your item often, over a period of years, to cause the item to lose value.

A Quick Guide to Metals that Will and Will Not Tarnish

Metals that will tarnish include . . .

  • Brass

  • Bronze

  • Copper

  • Iron

  • Pewter

  • Steel (even stainless steel can tarnish over time)

  • Sterling silver 

Metals that will not tarnish include . . .

  • Aluminum

  • Chromium

  • Gold

  • Palladium

  • Platinum

  • Titanium

  • Tungsten

    What Other Issues Can Hinder Your Ability to Visually Recognize Precious Metals?

Tarnish can limit your ability to see what kind of metal you are looking at. Yet tarnish is not the only factor that can make it hard to know exactly what you are looking at. These can limit you too . . .

  • Dirt, dust, and grime

  • The presence of numerous small gemstones or surface appliqués can make it hard to make a visual assessment

  • Surface abrasions and damage

  • Lacquer and coatings that have been applied to the surface

If you want to know what a piece of jewelry or scrap is made of, give us a call at 800-426-2344. Our state-of-the-art testing facilities can tell you exactly what any item of jewelry or scrap is made of. Gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap . . . we can identify them all and tell you both the content and the value of your items.

Barry Lenson
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