Does gold tarnish?

First, it’s important to understand a bit about gold. Pure gold is 24 karat and generally isn’t used on its own to make jewelry because it is much too soft. Gold is mixed with other metals to form an alloy of metals. The higher the karat, the more gold it contains.

14 karat gold and 18 karat gold are good choices for jewelry.

So, will it tarnish, and what makes that happen? Tarnish shows up as a slight discoloration on the surface of the gold. Tarnish is the result of the mixture of moisture with oxygen and sulphur compounds. Your own personal body chemistry plays a big part in whether your gold nose jewelry will tarnish. Just being in the warm, moist environment of your nose makes it more likely that it will get a small amount of tarnish and need to be cleaned from time to time. The chemical makeup of your body, as well as what your jewelry is exposed to (chemicals, chlorine, hairsprays, etc) will determine the rate of tarnish (if it occurs at all), and how often cleaning needs to be done.

To clean your gold jewelry, most often a soak in mild dish soap and warm water, a soft cloth, and a clean rinse and dry will keep it nice. If that’s unsuccessful, you can purchase a gold jewelry dip cleaner from most department stores, jewelry counters, or online retailers.