Why is my jewellery turning my skin green?

+ How can I stop it?

All jewellery, even Solid Gold and Silver, can at times leave a green tinge on the skin. This is caused by a harmless chemical reaction between Copper and things like individual body oils, perfumes, lotions, moisture, soap or sweat.

Solid Gold and 925 Sterling Silver are both alloys, meaning they are made up of more than one metal.

Copper is present in all Solid Gold alloys aside from 24k (this is pure gold and is much too soft to be used for jewellery making), as well as 925 Sterling Silver. We exclusively use 14k Gold, exact alloy composition details can be found here.

Copper provides both strength and colour when used for jewellery, which is why jewellers choose to add it into their alloys. This material can, however, react with certain substances to leave behind a green tinge on the skin.

While this reaction is not ideal visually, it poses no risk to your health and is not generally an indication of quality (in minor cases).

With all that said, is there a way to prevent it from happening?

Fortunately, yes. There are multiple steps you can take to prevent the Copper present in your piece from turning your skin green.

We recommend the following:

• Keep your piece dry.
  - Take care to remove any moisture from between the piece and your skin after showering, swimming, washing hands or exercising.

• Avoid contact with perfumes, scented lotions and alcohol-based substances.
  - Chemicals within these products can exacerbate the Copper reaction leaving that pesky green mark behind.

• Invest in a higher karat.
  - The higher the karat, the more gold, thus, less of other materials present.
  - While we work exclusively with 14k, we may be able to arrange a custom higher karat. Touch base with us here to find out more.