Tarnish-free jewellery FAQs, answered:
Let’s hear it from an expert: “Tarnish is a dull grey, sometimes even black, finish that can develop over time on your jewellery,” says Monica Vinader. “This can appear with prolonged wear of certain pieces, whilst others seem to lose the shine you bought them for almost straight away. The unfavourable colour is the result of sulphur in the air reacting with your jewellery.”
What is tarnish-free jewellery made of?
There’s such a thing as PVD – Physical Vapour Deposition – which is a coating process, often used on highly resistant, durable stainless steel, and is supposedly 10 times stronger than other methods. Jewellery brands like D.Louise and Hey Harper use it on all of their pieces and claim it’s totally ‘life-resistant’.
It’s different to the technique used on gold- or silver-plated jewellery, but, as with those, you can still sweat, shower, and spend your summer at the beach wearing PVD pieces without having to worry.
Plated jewellery is still tarnish-resistant, but it won’t stay that way forever. While you absolutely can wear a gold-plated necklace in the shower more than a handful of times without it going brassy, eventually it will start to dull.
Which jewellery does not tarnish?
“All sterling silver will tarnish; however, rhodium plating helps slow down the tarnishing rate,” says Ruth Bewsey, co-founder and creative director of Daisy. “This, however, adds a darker colour to the silver, which we at Daisy like to avoid. We love our bright silver colour, so you have to just look after it a bit more.”
How to look after tarnish-free jewellery:
All jewellery brands offer different advice on how to look after your waterproof jewellery. However, Ruth recommends the following: “Keep silver pieces out of water with chemicals — i.e. don’t shower or bathe in your silver jewellery. If you want to keep your jewellery perfect, take it off regularly and give it a clean. I find a silver polishing cloth works the best.”
She continues: “Don’t store your jewellery in a tangled mess – give the pieces space to ‘breathe’. Our jewellery cases are great for that.” So, next time you think about chucking your necklaces, rings and bracelets in a heap on the side, store them in a chic jewellery box instead.
Meet the experts:
How I test the best tarnish-free jewellery:
Being a commerce writer, putting supposed fashion and beauty must-haves is par for the course. For this round-up, I reached out to various jewellery brands to request samples that I could put through their paces. This included wearing them for work, while showering and washing up — even to sleep and swim in the local lido.
After wearing each piece multiple times over the course of a few weeks, I reviewed each against the following criteria:
| Functionality | Did the tarnish-free jewellery go on easily, and did it stay in place?? Was it of good quality and aesthetic? Did I have any issues in terms of twisting or discomfort? |
| Design | Was the jewellery high quality? Did it wear well? Did it tarnish or discolour at all during testing? |
| Price point | Would I be willing to spend that much on a single piece of jewellery again? Or would it be within my budget when shopping for a gift? |
| Delivery | How quickly did the jewellery arrive, and what were/are the associated costs? |
Where I haven’t yet had the chance to personally review a brand myself, I asked my colleagues for their recommendations and scoured countless customer reviews for points of note.
Why you can trust me:
A bit of context: I’ve been reviewing functional fashion essentials for years — be that underwear, like cotton underwear, sports bras, and period pants, as well as shapewear, activewear, and high-performing jewellery for almost three years. That’s one year at Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health, followed by 20 months at Glamour. During that time, I’ve seen countless trends and advancements — including a boom in our hard-wearing jewellery options.
How do I know that? Because the other half of my job is to craft gift guides as part of the Glamour Gift Shop. That means I have to keep up to speed on the latest viral beauty and new-in fashion, before deciding which would be well received by your best friend, sister or mum.
Personally, though, I’m also rarely seen without stacks of rings and oversized gold hoops decorating my ears. Essentially, I don’t feel dressed unless I’m adorned with layers of charm bracelets and chain necklaces. And, because I simply can’t remove it all every night, I prioritise hard-wearing, tarnish-free jewellery brands when shopping. Enter: the water-resistant jewellery brands I’ve come to trust in recent years.