Earring post turning color

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Yodabest

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Jan 1, 2016
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#1
I bought sweet onyx earrings at the boutique in December. I recently noticed the posts are changing color, almost looks like they are tarnishing. I brought them to the boutique and spoke to the manager. She said she would get back to me, though hasn’t yet.

I know it’s something with my ph or something that’s making them turn color. I have to assume they aren’t actually tarnishing. Does anyone have experience with this OR with VCA changing the post from yg to wg or platinum?

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#2
PC1984 said:
I bought sweet onyx earrings at the boutique in December. I recently noticed the posts are changing color, almost looks like they are tarnishing. I brought them to the boutique and spoke to the manager. She said she would get back to me, though hasn’t yet.

I know it’s something with my ph or something that’s making them turn color. I have to assume they aren’t actually tarnishing. Does anyone have experience with this OR with VCA changing the post from yg to wg or platinum?

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Yes, this can happen, just use a gold polishing cloth on them and the color will come off.
 
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#4
nicole0612 said:
Yes, this can happen, just use a gold polishing cloth on them and the color will come off.
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Rockysmom said:
Yes it’s tarnish. I just polished a gold necklace I haven’t worn in years and black stuff came off. Looks brand new after using the polishing cloth
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May I ask which gold polishing cloths you ladies use? I’ve been looking to get one but have no knowledge on which ones are good for at home use. Are they safe to use for all 3 metals of gold including rhodium plated WG?
 
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#6
tenshix said:
May I ask which gold polishing cloths you ladies use? I’ve been looking to get one but have no knowledge on which ones are good for at home use. Are they safe to use for all 3 metals of gold including rhodium plated WG?
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I use these, they were the highest rated on Amazon and I have been happy with them. I have used them on all metals, other than silver (oddly enough).

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#7
This is shocking. I didn’t know 18k gold can be tarnished. None of my non-luxury 18k earrings have tarnish after close to a decade.

Or are these not made with 18k gold? I know 14k gold will get tarnish after some time.
 
#8
kura said:
This is shocking. I didn’t know 18k gold can be tarnished. None of my non-luxury 18k earrings have tarnish after close to a decade.

Or are these not made with 18k gold? I know 14k gold will get tarnish after some time.
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I’m not certain what karat it is, but they were only purchased in December 2021 and worn daily ever since. I’ve had this issue with Mikimoto studs as well, but thought it was a fluke.
 
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#10
PC1984 said:
I’m not certain what karat it is, but they were only purchased in December 2021 and worn daily ever since. I’ve had this issue with Mikimoto studs as well, but thought it was a fluke.
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I believe VCA uses 18k. Since you've used it daily I think it could just be a reaction to your skin PH which is different for everyone. Since a few members here say it can be wiped/cleaned off with polishing cloth I think it's not a big deal if it's not causing you ear infections or anything like that. Keep us updated! Would love to know if the polishing cloths worked for you. Otherwise I think the boutique should be able to clean it as well.
 
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#11
PC1984 said:
I’m not certain what karat it is, but they were only purchased in December 2021 and worn daily ever since. I’ve had this issue with Mikimoto studs as well, but thought it was a fluke.
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Oh no. That’s a bit too fast to face this kind of issues.
tenshix said:
I believe VCA uses 18k. Since you've used it daily I think it could just be a reaction to your skin PH which is different for everyone. Since a few members here say it can be wiped/cleaned off with polishing cloth I think it's not a big deal if it's not causing you ear infections or anything like that. Keep us updated! Would love to know if the polishing cloths worked for you. Otherwise I think the boutique should be able to clean it as well.
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Actually the connectors part of such ear studs may not need to be 18k. I learned this from shopping for gold and it is very common not to use full 18k gold for connectors. It needs to be hard and 18k gold might be a bit too soft for the connectors. This is also why it is recommended to buy ear hoops for newborn babies as those will be guaranteed full 18k.
 
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#12
kura said:
Oh no. That’s a bit too fast to face this kind of issues.

Actually the connectors part of such ear studs may not need to be 18k. I learned this from shopping for gold and it is very common not to use full 18k gold for connectors. It needs to be hard and 18k gold might be a bit too soft for the connectors. This is also why it is recommended to buy ear hoops for newborn babies as those will be guaranteed full 18k.
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Hmm this is interesting, I've never seen any of my branded jewelry be labeled and stamped as anything other than 18k (if it's gold) and to me 18k feels sturdy enough as an earring post but not recommended to sleep in as it can bend or warp. Perhaps other VCA veterans can chime in.
 
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#13
tenshix said:
Hmm this is interesting, I've never seen any of my branded jewelry be labeled and stamped as anything other than 18k (if it's gold) and to me 18k feels sturdy enough as an earring post but not recommended to sleep in as it can bend or warp. Perhaps other VCA veterans can chime in.
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I only know the connectors for non-luxury gold jewellery is usually not made of 18k gold. I am not sure if it is the same for any luxury earrings as I do not own any of them.
 
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