LemonTrades
TL;DR
- Sometimes. Sterling is 92.5% silver and usually 7.5% copper, and the copper can react with sweat, lotions and acids to leave a green mark.
- More often, sterling leaves a dark gray or black mark, from tarnish. Both are harmless and wash off.
- If a piece turns your skin green quickly and often, it may be plated base metal, not sterling.
- LemonTrades follows the silver price for you, with alerts on sharp moves and the likely cause.
A green ring around your finger doesn’t always mean your silver is fake. Here’s what’s happening.
Why sterling can turn your skin green
Pure silver is too soft for jewelry, so sterling adds copper. When copper meets moisture, salt and acids from sweat, it forms copper salts, which are green. They rub off onto your skin. Silver itself reacts with sulfur, making black silver sulfide, which is why tarnish is dark and why some marks look gray instead of green.
What makes it more likely
- Sweat, heat and humid weather.
- Lotions, sunscreen, perfume and hand sanitizer.
- Swimming pools and the sea.
- Wearing a ring all day and night.
- Your own body chemistry: some people never get marks, others always do.
How to stop it
- Take jewelry off to shower, swim, exercise and wash dishes.
- Put on lotion and perfume first, and let them dry.
- Clean pieces regularly with a silver polishing cloth.
- Paint the inside of a ring with clear nail polish; it wears off and needs redoing.
- Choose rhodium-plated sterling, which adds a hard, non-reacting layer.
- Store pieces in a dry bag or box with an anti-tarnish strip.
Is it real?
Real sterling is stamped 925, .925, Sterling or Ster. If a piece turns green within hours, doesn’t have a stamp, or sticks to a magnet, it’s likely plated brass, copper or steel. See what 925 silver is and is silver magnetic.
Getting the mark off
Soap and water usually removes it; rubbing alcohol works for stubborn marks. It isn’t harmful, though people with copper or nickel allergies may get a rash and should choose nickel-free pieces. Silver doesn’t rust, but it does tarnish: see does silver rust.
Sources
Education, not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
