Does tarnish mean my silver is fake?

No — the opposite. Tarnishing is evidence that the surface is genuinely silver, because silver is what reacts with sulphur that way. A piece that never tarnishes at all is more likely to be rhodium-plated or not silver than it is to be unusually pure.

Can I stop silver tarnishing completely?

Not completely, but you can slow it a great deal. Store pieces dry, wrapped in acid-free tissue, away from rubber bands and open air. Keep them clear of camphor and incense residue. Rhodium plating resists tarnish for a few years before it wears and needs reapplying.

Is black silver worth anything?

The same as clean silver. Tarnish is a few atoms thick and removes nothing — the metal weight is unchanged, and so is the value. Never accept a lower price for a piece because it has gone black, and never scour it yourself before selling or valuing it.

Silver care · 2 September 2026 · 5 min read

Why Silver Turns Black — and Why It Is Not Ruined

Tarnish is a surface reaction, not decay. Here is what causes it, what makes it faster, and what actually removes it.

Short answer

Why Silver Turns Black — and Why It Is Not Ruined

Silver turns black because it reacts with sulphur compounds in the air to form silver sulphide — a dark film on the surface called tarnish. It is a surface reaction, not corrosion: the metal underneath is completely unaffected and polishing removes it entirely. Humidity, camphor smoke, incense residue, rubber and some foods all speed it up.

What it is: Silver sulphide, a surface film
Damage to metal: None
Speeds it up: Humidity, camphor, incense, rubber
Removes it: Polishing — fully

Why Silver Turns Black — and Why It Is Not Ruined

A piece that has gone black in a cupboard looks ruined, and people arrive at the workshop braced for bad news. There almost never is any. Tarnish is a film on the surface, it is measured in atoms, and underneath it the silver is exactly as it was.

The actual reaction

Silver reacts with sulphur-bearing gases in the air — hydrogen sulphide above all — to form silver sulphide. That compound is black, and it sits on the surface. It is not rust: iron rusts right through, which is why a rusted object weakens and a tarnished one does not.

What makes it faster

Humidity — coastal and monsoon air tarnishes silver far faster than dry air.
Camphor and incense smoke — both leave sulphur-bearing residue, which is why shrine silver darkens faster than stored silver.
Rubber bands and some papers — they off-gas sulphur. Never store silver with either.
Skin contact — sweat varies between people, which is why one person's chain blackens and another's does not.
Eggs, onion and mustard — all sulphur-rich, which is why a silver thali used for food tarnishes in patches.

What removes it, and what destroys the piece

Polishing removes tarnish completely. What should never touch it is an abrasive — toothpaste, scouring powder, a metal brush, or the household trick of baking soda on foil. They do take the black off, and they take the polish and the detail of the chasing with it, permanently.

A piece with deep hand-chasing is the worst case: the tarnish sits in the recesses where a cloth cannot reach, so scrubbing hard enough to clear them flattens the raised surfaces first. That is the job a professional polish is for, and ours carries a written two-year shine guarantee.

Questions about this

Does tarnish mean my silver is fake?: No — the opposite. Tarnishing is evidence that the surface is genuinely silver, because silver is what reacts with sulphur that way. A piece that never tarnishes at all is more likely to be rhodium-plated or not silver than it is to be unusually pure.
Can I stop silver tarnishing completely?: Not completely, but you can slow it a great deal. Store pieces dry, wrapped in acid-free tissue, away from rubber bands and open air. Keep them clear of camphor and incense residue. Rhodium plating resists tarnish for a few years before it wears and needs reapplying.
Is black silver worth anything?: The same as clean silver. Tarnish is a few atoms thick and removes nothing — the metal weight is unchanged, and so is the value. Never accept a lower price for a piece because it has gone black, and never scour it yourself before selling or valuing it.

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