The earrings you wore twice look fine. The ones you wore every day for a month have gone dull at the edges and slightly grey where they touched your skin. Nothing went wrong. Plating is a surface, and surfaces wear.
What you can do is slow it down considerably, and most of that happens in the ten seconds after you take the earrings off.
Why gold-plated jewellery tarnishes
Gold itself does not tarnish. The metal underneath does. Plating is a thin layer of gold or gold-tone finish over a base metal, usually brass or an alloy. Once the plating thins or breaks anywhere, air and moisture reach the base metal and it oxidises.
Four things accelerate that, roughly in order of damage caused.
- Perfume and hairspray. Alcohol strips plating faster than anything else in a normal routine.
- Sweat and skin oils. Salt and acidity react with base metal. This is why the back of an earring dulls before the front.
- Humidity. Coastal cities and monsoon months are hard on plated jewellery. An open jewellery tray in an Indian July is a slow oxidation chamber, which is why our monsoon storage guide treats jewellery and cloth as the same problem.
- Friction. Pieces rubbing against each other in a pouch wear the plating at exactly the contact points.
The ten-second habit that does most of the work
Perfume first, jewellery last. Jewellery off first, before you wash your face.
Then wipe each piece with a dry, soft cloth before it goes away. A cotton handkerchief works. You are removing sweat and oil while it is still on the surface rather than after it has had a night to react.
That single habit will roughly double the working life of a plated finish. Everything below is for when it has already dulled.
How to clean gold-plated jewellery safely
The instinct is to scrub. Do not. Plating is measured in microns and polish removes it.
- Mix a few drops of mild soap into lukewarm water. Not hot.
- Dip a soft cloth or a very soft brush, never the jewellery itself if it has fabric, thread, stone settings or mirror work.
- Wipe in one direction, gently, following the shape of the piece.
- Wipe again with a cloth dampened in plain water to lift the soap.
- Dry completely with a dry cloth, then leave it out in the air for an hour before storing. Trapped moisture is what causes the next round of tarnish.
What to never use on plated jewellery
- Toothpaste. It is an abrasive. It will visibly brighten the piece and remove plating while doing it.
- Silver polish and metal cleaner. Formulated to strip oxidation, which on plated pieces means stripping the plating.
- Baking soda, vinegar and lemon. All fine for solid silver, all destructive here.
- Ultrasonic cleaners. They loosen stone settings and lift adhesive.
- Alcohol wipes and sanitiser. The fastest way to dull a finish.
Fabric, thread and kundan earrings need a different approach
A lot of handcrafted Indian jewellery is not solid metal at all. Fabric-covered earrings, thread work, ghungroo, mirror work and kundan settings all combine materials with different tolerances, and water is the common enemy.
For pieces like our Kundan Fabric Earrings or the Leher Earrings in lehariya fabric, never submerge them. Spot clean the metal parts only, with a barely damp cloth, and keep water away from the fabric and the setting adhesive.
Mirror work pieces such as the Navy Tassel Mirror Work Earrings should be dusted with a dry brush rather than wiped, since wiping can catch a mirror edge. If a mirror or a retaining stitch does work loose, it can be re-secured rather than written off, which we cover in our repair guide. For tassels, comb them straight with your fingers before storing and never fold them.
Kundan settings hold stones with lac and foil behind the stone. Water gets behind the foil and the stone goes cloudy permanently. Our piece on the craft behind kundan earrings explains why the construction is this delicate.
Storage is half the answer
Air and contact are the two problems, so solve both.
- One pair per pouch or per compartment. Pieces should not touch each other.
- Small zip-lock bags with the air pressed out work better than any decorative box for plated metal.
- Add a silica gel sachet to the box. Keep the ones that come in shoe boxes and packaging.
- Store away from the bathroom. Steam is the reason bathroom-cabinet jewellery ages fastest.
- Never store jewellery in the same box as anything rubber. Rubber releases sulphur compounds that tarnish metal.
Fabric and thread pieces prefer breathable storage over zip-lock, so keep them in a cloth pouch with the silica sachet in the drawer nearby rather than sealed against them. If your cupboard is small and everything competes for the same shelf, our guide to organising ethnic wear in a small cupboard covers where jewellery should sit relative to the damp wall.
Travelling with plated and fabric jewellery
Two rules cover most of it. Keep plated pieces in a small zip bag with a silica sachet, since a humid hold or a hotel bathroom will do a month of tarnishing in a weekend. And never put fabric or thread-work earrings loose in a pouch, because they crush and do not recover. Our guide to packing ethnic wear without creasing has the full method, including the button trick that stops earrings tangling.
When tarnish is not fixable
If the finish has gone patchy in a way that shows base metal, cleaning will not bring it back. Plating cannot be restored at home. A jeweller can re-plate solid metal pieces, though on light fashion jewellery the cost often exceeds the value of the piece.
The realistic response is to treat plated jewellery the way you treat a good cotton shirt. It has a life, that life is measured in wears rather than years, and how you store it decides which end of the range you get.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clean gold-plated jewellery at home?
Wipe gently with a soft cloth dipped in lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, rinse the cloth and wipe again, then dry fully and air it before storing. Do not soak, scrub or use polish.
Does gold-plated jewellery turn skin green?
It can, once the plating wears through and the base metal reacts with sweat. It is not harmful. A clear nail-polish coat on the inner surface is a common temporary fix, though it needs reapplying.
How long does gold plating last?
Anywhere from several months to several years, depending on plating thickness, how often the piece is worn and how it is stored. Occasion pieces stored well outlast daily-wear pieces by a wide margin.
Can you wear gold-plated earrings every day?
You can, but expect the finish to wear at the contact points. For daily wear, choose sturdier pieces such as Ghungroo Stud Earrings and rotate between two or three pairs rather than wearing one pair constantly.
Can you wear gold-plated jewellery in the shower?
No. Soap residue builds under settings and hot water accelerates plating loss. This applies to swimming pools especially, since chlorine is severe on plated finishes.
Related reading
If you are working out what to buy rather than how to keep it, our guide to judging handmade jewellery online covers craft, quality and price, and fabric earrings versus metal compares the two on comfort, care and longevity. For the rest of the house, caring for handcrafted home pieces covers ceramic, marble and gold-tone cutlery.
