I know, I know — your necklace is your necklace, and the last thing you want to do is take it off. But if your brand new pendant has suddenly gone black or dull round the edges, I promise this heatwave is the culprit.

We are having the kind of summer that silver simply does not cope well with. Heat, humidity, and sweat are a trifecta of tarnish-triggers, and the science behind it is straightforward: silver reacts with the sulphur compounds in sweat and with moisture in the air. The resulting layer on the surface is silver sulphide — that dull, darkening coating you're seeing. It's a completely natural chemical reaction, not a sign that anything has gone wrong with your piece.

If you've just received a brand new piece and it seems to have tarnished embarrassingly quickly, please don't worry. Newer silver hasn't yet developed any surface familiarity with the world. It's at its most reactive, so in hot, humid, sweaty conditions it tarnishes faster than a piece you've been wearing for years. It doesn't mean something is wrong — it means the metal is doing exactly what silver does.

Watch: why you should take your jewellery off in a heatwave

Why I don't rhodium plate

You may have noticed that some silver jewellery from bigger brands seems impervious to tarnish. Chances are it's either super cheap stainless steel or it's silver that's been rhodium plated — coated in a thin layer of rhodium, a platinum-group metal that sits inert on the surface and doesn't react with anything. It does work brilliantly, but there are two reasons I don't offer it at Scarlett.

The first is cost. Rhodium plating adds a significant amount to the price of each piece, and for a small independent business where I engrave everything myself, absorbing or passing on that cost simply isn't realistic. The second reason is that rhodium is genuinely toxic in its processing — it's one of the more hazardous materials used in jewellery manufacture, and as a small maker I have no interest in using that in my workshop on a daily basis.

So yes — my silver will tarnish if you wear it in the shower, the sea, the gym, or through a heatwave. That's real silver behaving as real silver should. What I give you instead is a piece you can easily bring back to life.

How to get it shiny again

A good polishing cloth is genuinely all you need. No pastes, no dips, no special equipment — just a gentle buff with the right cloth and your silver comes back to life. The one I recommend and stock is the Town Talk silver polishing cloth, which has two layers: one to clean, one to buff to a shine. It'll last you years.

My practical advice for this summer: pop your jewellery in a small dish before bed on hot nights, definitely take it off before exercise, and give it a little polish when you notice any dullness creeping in. That's the whole routine.

Recommended

Town Talk Silver Polishing Cloth

The original, recommended by professional jewellers worldwide. Two layers — one to clean, one to shine. A jewellery box essential.

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