Tiffany tarnishing

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#106
WOW that is AWFUL!!! I cannot believe it! I have to think they skipped a step here or something, like maybe there's a coating they put on it that they forgot??? That's insane!

Call customer service and tell them you want to mail it back for an exchange/refund. They'll help you. :)

On a side note, oxygen really does affect silver - I have a necklace with a charm similar in my jewelry box - for some reason half was in a little "baggie" bag, half out - and you can draw a line exactly where the baggie'd half was - it looked like NEW, the other half was black! Crazy!
 
#107
I wear mostly sterling silver, and also collect sterling household stuff, spoons, candlesticks, etc., many vintage or antique as well as new. I've noticed that different pieces can tarnish at far different speeds than others, who never seem to tarnish. Tarnishing is caused by many external influences. It's really a reaction to sulphur in the environment. Even wearing and storing silver near eggs/coming into contact with eggs and onions, for example, can hasten the tarnishing. I also believe that the quality of the silver and the amount of base metal in it may not be the purity stated (I think that not all sterling is exactly the purity stated, i.e., .925 may not be exactly 92.5 % pure silver; there may be either a miniscule amount more or less in the piece.) That also may be why some pieces tarnish much faster, even though "living" in exactly the same circumstances as another piece. This may be why your bracelet is not tarnished, and the necklace is--Tiffany's may have gotten the silver from different manufacturers. Also, some sterling nowadays is laquered with some form of anti-tarnish stuff.

As someone else said, perhaps the skin around your neck and chest is having a reaction. Forgive me saying this, but has it been very hot when you were wearing the necklace, and you could've been sweating more than normal? I don't exactly pour off buckets of sweat myself, but I have noticed that, when it's hot, some heavy sterling pendants irritate my chest and neck, as if they are rubbing on it, and cause a slight rash, so perhaps this could also cause a chemical reaction with your silver? I know that, if I wear non-silver/gold chains, I get a contact dermatitis rash around my neck; or a ring will blacken my finger, yet I can wear the same type of stuff as a bracelet with no itching or rash, etc., so I think chest/neck skin is different.

I would not attempt to clean it yourself, especially with that blue heart pendant being what it is. It may damage that; and, also, being Tiffany's, they should provide good customer service, and replace, or at least professionally clean the necklace for you. No silver, if cared for properly, should tarnnish that fast; in fact, I've NEVER seen silver, even cheap stuff, tarnish that soon!

Let us know what happened!
 
#109
Ratnapur said:
I wear mostly sterling silver, and also collect sterling household stuff, spoons, candlesticks, etc., many vintage or antique as well as new. I've noticed that different pieces can tarnish at far different speeds than others, who never seem to tarnish. Tarnishing is caused by many external influences. It's really a reaction to sulphur in the environment. Even wearing and storing silver near eggs/coming into contact with eggs and onions, for example, can hasten the tarnishing. I also believe that the quality of the silver and the amount of base metal in it may not be the purity stated (I think that not all sterling is exactly the purity stated, i.e., .925 may not be exactly 92.5 % pure silver; there may be either a miniscule amount more or less in the piece.) That also may be why some pieces tarnish much faster, even though "living" in exactly the same circumstances as another piece. This may be why your bracelet is not tarnished, and the necklace is--Tiffany's may have gotten the silver from different manufacturers. Also, some sterling nowadays is laquered with some form of anti-tarnish stuff.

As someone else said, perhaps the skin around your neck and chest is having a reaction. Forgive me saying this, but has it been very hot when you were wearing the necklace, and you could've been sweating more than normal? I don't exactly pour off buckets of sweat myself, but I have noticed that, when it's hot, some heavy sterling pendants irritate my chest and neck, as if they are rubbing on it, and cause a slight rash, so perhaps this could also cause a chemical reaction with your silver? I know that, if I wear non-silver/gold chains, I get a contact dermatitis rash around my neck; or a ring will blacken my finger, yet I can wear the same type of stuff as a bracelet with no itching or rash, etc., so I think chest/neck skin is different.

I would not attempt to clean it yourself, especially with that blue heart pendant being what it is. It may damage that; and, also, being Tiffany's, they should provide good customer service, and replace, or at least professionally clean the necklace for you. No silver, if cared for properly, should tarnnish that fast; in fact, I've NEVER seen silver, even cheap stuff, tarnish that soon!

Let us know what happened!
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Worth repeating!

Also, what about sunblock, perfume etc that may have come in contact with your necklace?

I'd still make the trip back (or mail it back) and get a replacement.
 
#110
OMG! I've never had that happen with my tiffany & co pieces. If the nearest store is too far I'd at least call and tell them, I'm sure t&co has a warranty for their products. You may be able to send it via mail for a new one.
 
#111
I have had several Tiffany pieces for years and I have never experienced anything like that at all. Were you in a hot tub or maybe a swimming pool that had loads of chlorine in it? That's the only thing I can think of that would harm silver. I've even had some silver pieces from Mexico that I wore in a pool and nothing ever that close happened to my stuff. Hope you can work something out with Tiffany. I'd be contacting CS in a big hurry.
 
#113
Sweat will absolutely do that to a necklace, and much much faster than just about anything except for sulfur. It may also be why your bracelet is pristine; you don't sweat as much around your wrists. I've also found that chains or anything with small nooks and crannies turns black faster. I had a necklace with a thin chain like yours, and it turned black in two wearings during the hot summer. I'm sure Tiffany's can polish the tarnish off to look brand new, but unless you wear it over a shirt or only in the winter, I bet it happens again. You may want to see if Tiffany's recommends dipping the chain in a liquid jewelry cleaner after each use; the heart tag could probably just be rubbed with a polishing cloth to keep it shiny. OR exchange it for a bracelet or earrings that is less high maintenance. Good luck!
 
#114
nchid2700 said:
Well, the closest Tiffany is like 3.5 hours away from me :( Does anyone know if I called them, and explained my issue and sent it back, if they would refund me? I was just going to resell it, but I honestly don't know of anyone who would even WANT a necklace in this condition...
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This is definitely a task for customer services.
What I don't understand though is why wanted to sell a necklace after only 2 weeks? Did you want to sell it immediately, before it turned black?

When I saw the necklace on the photos I could not believe you bought it at Tiffany's.

Good luck!!
 
#115
Hmm..my sister-in-law has a tiffany silver picaso heart necklace.. she's been wearing it for 10+ years and it still looks brand new. she just uses those silver jewelry liquid cleaners you could get at RiteAid. you should definitely call customer service.


amateurjeweler said:
Tiffany offers free rhodium plating on sterling items? Is this true? What about ruthenium? I'd love to turn a couple of pieces gunmetal.
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lol. rhodium plating - that's only for white gold indeed. I just wanted to bring a point that tiffany's customer service when it comes to jewelry servicing is great. ;)

Definitely let us know how it goes nchid! good luck.
 
#116
eye candy said:
Hmm..my sister-in-law has a tiffany silver picaso heart necklace.. she's been wearing it for 10+ years and it still looks brand new. she just uses those silver jewelry liquid cleaners you could get at RiteAid. you should definitely call customer service.



lol. rhodium plating - that's only for white gold indeed. I just wanted to bring a point that tiffany's customer service when it comes to jewelry servicing is great. ;)

Definitely let us know how it goes nchid! good luck.
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I have had silver pieces rhodium plated, it's great for preventing tarnishing, just re-dip the piece once a year to ensure it stays coated.
 
#119
I don't wear silver, but I know with me, if I wear anything other than 18k yellow gold around my neck, it leaves me with green rings around my neck. Something to do with the area and the chemicals reacting. I don't have an issue with rings or bracelets, just necklaces.

But yeah, you'd expect a lot more from Tiffany, especially with it being so new!
 
#120
Ratnapur said:
I wear mostly sterling silver, and also collect sterling household stuff, spoons, candlesticks, etc., many vintage or antique as well as new. I've noticed that different pieces can tarnish at far different speeds than others, who never seem to tarnish. Tarnishing is caused by many external influences. It's really a reaction to sulphur in the environment. Even wearing and storing silver near eggs/coming into contact with eggs and onions, for example, can hasten the tarnishing. I also believe that the quality of the silver and the amount of base metal in it may not be the purity stated (I think that not all sterling is exactly the purity stated, i.e., .925 may not be exactly 92.5 % pure silver; there may be either a miniscule amount more or less in the piece.) That also may be why some pieces tarnish much faster, even though "living" in exactly the same circumstances as another piece. This may be why your bracelet is not tarnished, and the necklace is--Tiffany's may have gotten the silver from different manufacturers. Also, some sterling nowadays is laquered with some form of anti-tarnish stuff.

As someone else said, perhaps the skin around your neck and chest is having a reaction. Forgive me saying this, but has it been very hot when you were wearing the necklace, and you could've been sweating more than normal? I don't exactly pour off buckets of sweat myself, but I have noticed that, when it's hot, some heavy sterling pendants irritate my chest and neck, as if they are rubbing on it, and cause a slight rash, so perhaps this could also cause a chemical reaction with your silver? I know that, if I wear non-silver/gold chains, I get a contact dermatitis rash around my neck; or a ring will blacken my finger, yet I can wear the same type of stuff as a bracelet with no itching or rash, etc., so I think chest/neck skin is different.

I would not attempt to clean it yourself, especially with that blue heart pendant being what it is. It may damage that; and, also, being Tiffany's, they should provide good customer service, and replace, or at least professionally clean the necklace for you. No silver, if cared for properly, should tarnnish that fast; in fact, I've NEVER seen silver, even cheap stuff, tarnish that soon!

Let us know what happened!
Click to expand...

Thank you for this information... I find this very helpful for myself.
I actually have purposely tarnished silver for the antiqued/blackened look with a hardboiled egg on purpose... Never stays tranishedlike that for long though, at least not for me!
 
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