Gold plated tarnish

[englishcharmco]

Hi I made a keepsake charm for a customer in pure silver then had it gold plated. I purchased a gold plated ball chain from Cookson gold and the customer came back to me a few months later and said it tarnished. I replaced the chain for her and explained she should make sure no perfume or shower gels etc. went near it. The customer has come back to me again one year on with the same complaint. The charm which i had gold plated by a third party company is fine and hasnt tarnished at all. How would you respond? as they have now asked me to remake it in silver when the charm itself is fine.

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[CJ57]

No doubt someone will come back to you about the chemistry of the plated chain.
If it's taken a year for it to tarnish again then surely it needs a clean, people don't seem to realise that jewellery does need a clean occasionally, I've had a customer come back to me with food in hers and she was a GP! As you have already told her, it could be perfume, body acid, how she is even storing it and I would imagine the charm isn't touching her skin in the same way. You would be buying a ball chain in silver anyway and that will tarnish.
A year seems a long time to come back to you with a tarnish problem and expect you to sort it. Good luck

[Dennis]

Actually the copper content in gold alloys takes up sulphides and will cause them to tarnish, more so with the lower carats obviously. However, the remedy is simply to use a silver dip solution for a minute or so, and then rinse.

The same goes for sterling silver.

Sadly Goddards silver dip, which I thought the best, has been discontinued, but is still available on line, as is Hagerty Silver Clean.
Used occasionally, a jar will last a year or two. Dennis.

[CJ57]

Actually the copper content in gold alloys takes up sulphides and will cause them to tarnish, more so with the lower carats obviously. However, the remedy is simply to use a silver dip solution for a minute or so, and then rinse.

The same goes for sterling silver.

Sadly Goddards silver dip, which I thought the best, has been discontinued, but is still available on line, as is Hagerty Silver Clean.
Used occasionally, a jar will last a year or two. Dennis.

You can buy Goddards Silver Dip direct from Goddards, Amazon and a huge number of other outlets which is great as I believed that it had been discontinued completely and as Dennis said I think think it's the best

[enigma]

I think a year is really too long for you to feel responsible , especially if its tarnishing!
I would explain to her that tarnishing happens and how to deal with it as Dennis suggested above.
If she wants a different chain then I would charge her for it.
Do you have written terms and conditions of sale? as its fairly standard to set a time limit on your responsibility for any item.
Jewellery can last forever if cared for properly but some people are very rough on it so you don't want to be permanently responsible for it IMO.

[englishcharmco]

I think a year is really too long for you to feel responsible , especially if its tarnishing!
I would explain to her that tarnishing happens and how to deal with it as Dennis suggested above.
If she wants a different chain then I would charge her for it.
Do you have written terms and conditions of sale? as its fairly standard to set a time limit on your responsibility for any item.
Jewellery can last forever if cared for properly but some people are very rough on it so you don't want to be permanently responsible for it IMO.
thank you for getting back to me. I thought the same so it is good to hear it from someone else.

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[englishcharmco]

You can buy Goddards Silver Dip direct from Goddards, Amazon and a huge number of other outlets which is great as I believed that it had been discontinued completely and as Dennis said I think think it's the best
thank you I thought a simple cleaner would be the answer it is gold plated afterall

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[englishcharmco]

Actually the copper content in gold alloys takes up sulphides and will cause them to tarnish, more so with the lower carats obviously. However, the remedy is simply to use a silver dip solution for a minute or so, and then rinse.

The same goes for sterling silver.

Sadly Goddards silver dip, which I thought the best, has been discontinued, but is still available on line, as is Hagerty Silver Clean.
Used occasionally, a jar will last a year or two. Dennis.
thank you Dennis

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[englishcharmco]

No doubt someone will come back to you about the chemistry of the plated chain.
If it's taken a year for it to tarnish again then surely it needs a clean, people don't seem to realise that jewellery does need a clean occasionally, I've had a customer come back to me with food in hers and she was a GP! As you have already told her, it could be perfume, body acid, how she is even storing it and I would imagine the charm isn't touching her skin in the same way. You would be buying a ball chain in silver anyway and that will tarnish.
A year seems a long time to come back to you with a tarnish problem and expect you to sort it. Good luck
Thank you this is helpful for my response back to the customer

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