Short answer: moissanite does not tarnish, cloud or lose its sparkle. Sterling silver can darken over time, but it is a surface film that comes off in minutes. A bowl of warm water with a drop of dish soap and a soft toothbrush handles almost everything. The things that do real damage are silver dip, toothpaste, chlorine and sleeping in your rings. Here is what to do, what to skip, and how to keep rings, earrings and pendants looking new.
Does sterling silver moissanite jewelry tarnish?
Two different materials, two different answers.
Moissanite: no. It is silicon carbide, 9.25 on the Mohs hardness scale, second only to diamond. It does not react with air, sweat or water, so it cannot tarnish, and it does not get cloudy with age the way some cubic zirconia does. When a moissanite stone looks dull, it is a film of skin oil, lotion or soap sitting on the surface. Wash it off and the fire comes back.
Sterling silver: slowly, yes, and it is fixable. 925 sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metal, mostly copper. The copper and the silver react with sulfur in the air and in sweat and form a thin dark layer called tarnish. It is only on the surface, it does not eat into the metal, and it polishes off. Humidity, salt air, hot tubs, rubber, wool and some cosmetics speed it up. Wearing the piece slows it down, because skin and clothing keep polishing it.
Our silver has an extra layer. Every sterling silver and gold bonded piece at Olivia Star is rhodium-plated. Rhodium is a bright, hard metal from the platinum family that does not tarnish. It is why our silver looks white rather than warm gray, and why it stays bright far longer than bare silver. The layer is thin and will slowly wear with friction, rings first, earrings and pendants much later. When it wears, the silver underneath can start to darken. That is normal: a polishing cloth brings the shine back, and any local jeweler can re-plate a well-loved ring.
The five-minute wash that handles 90% of it
This works for moissanite, cubic zirconia and plain silver, and it is safe for rhodium if you keep the brush soft.
- Fill a bowl with warm, not hot, water and add one drop of mild dish soap. Use a bowl, never the sink: a ring that slips goes down the drain.
- Soak for five minutes. This loosens lotion, sunscreen and the gray film that collects under a stone.
- Brush gently with a soft toothbrush, especially the back of the setting, where light enters the stone. Most of the dullness lives there, not on the top.
- Rinse in clean water and pat dry with a lint-free cloth. Let earrings and pendants air-dry for a few minutes before they go back in the box.
How often? Wipe pieces with a soft cloth after each wear. Wash a daily ring every two to four weeks, earrings and pendants every month or two. Studs collect more than you expect behind the post.
What never to use
- Silver dip and liquid silver cleaners. They work by dissolving the surface. On rhodium-plated silver they strip the plating, on stones they can etch or loosen glue, and on enamel they leave it chalky. Keep them for grandmother's teapot.
- Toothpaste and baking soda. Both are abrasive. They put fine scratches into rhodium, enamel, cat's eye and shell pearl, and they dull polished surfaces instead of cleaning them.
- The foil and baking soda trick. It pulls tarnish off bare silver by a chemical reaction, which also attacks plating and any dyed or glued stone. Our pieces are plated, so skip it.
- Bleach, chlorine and ammonia. Bleach pits silver. Chlorine is why pool rings go dull in one summer. Ammonia is fine for a diamond in solid gold, but not for plated silver.
- Ultrasonic cleaners. The moissanite would be fine. The problem is everything around it: vibration loosens prongs over time and wears thin plating faster. If you own one, use it only on plain silver chains, and hand-wash anything with a stone or plating.
- Paper towels. Wood fiber scratches. Use microfiber or a cotton cloth.
Polishing cloth: when and how
A polishing cloth is for color, not for dirt. Wash first, then polish. Use it when the silver looks gray or yellowish, rub lightly along the shape, and stop when it looks right. Cloths with a built-in cleaner are fine on plain sterling silver and on rhodium if you go lightly. Keep them off enamel, off gold plating, and off soft cabochon stones, where they can dull the surface. Store the cloth in a zip bag and never wash it: the compound inside is what does the work.
Pieces that need a lighter touch
Cabochon and natural stones. Black onyx, cat's eye, goldstone, shell pearl, turquoise and the colored stones in our cabochon rings and pendants are set without prongs, often with a small amount of adhesive under the stone. Do not soak them. Wipe with a cloth dampened in soapy water, rinse quickly under a tap and dry right away. Pearl and turquoise also dislike perfume and hairspray, so those go on first and the jewelry goes on last.
Enamel. Enamel is glass fused to metal. It does not fade and it shrugs off water, but it can chip if a ring hits a door frame or a countertop edge, and abrasives scratch its gloss. Soap, water, a soft cloth and a little care with doors are all our enamel rings and earrings ask for.
Gold plated and gold bonded. Our 14K gold plated rings are silver under a gold finish, and our gold bonded pieces have solid 14K gold on part of the silver. The gold does not tarnish. The rule is simple: never put silver dip or a polishing cloth on the gold, because both remove metal. Soapy water and a damp cloth only. Our guide to gold bonded, plated and filled explains how long each one lasts.
When to take it off
Most damage to silver jewelry happens in six places, and none of them is a jewelry box.
- The shower. Water does nothing, but shampoo, conditioner and soap film dull stones and collect behind them.
- The pool, the hot tub and the ocean. Chlorine and salt attack silver and plating faster than anything in daily life.
- The gym. Sweat is salty and slightly acidic, and weights scratch and bend bands.
- Bed. Prongs catch on sheets and hair, and stones work loose over hundreds of nights. Studs are the exception: they are fine to sleep in if the backs are secure.
- Cleaning and gardening. Bleach, oven cleaner and soil under a setting.
- Getting ready. Lotion, sunscreen, perfume, hairspray and makeup: all of them first, jewelry last.
A simple habit covers all six: the ring comes off and goes into the same dish by the sink every time, and the dish is where you look for it in the morning.
How to store silver so it stays bright
- Dry and closed. Tarnish needs air and humidity. The box each piece ships in, a lined jewelry box with a lid, or a small zip bag all work. Not the bathroom shelf.
- One piece per pocket. Moissanite scratches silver, and chains tangle. Keep pieces in separate pouches or compartments.
- An anti-tarnish strip in the box absorbs sulfur for about six months and costs a few dollars. In Florida humidity it is worth it.
- Pieces you do not wear tarnish faster than pieces you do. Rotate, or seal what you are not wearing in a zip bag with the air pressed out.
- Travel in a pouch, not loose in a toiletry bag with creams and sprays.
Earrings, pendants and chains: the small things
- Studs: clean the post and the back as carefully as the stone. Push friction backs on until they stop; if a back has gone loose, squeeze its loops gently inward.
- Hoops and huggies: open and close the hinge with your fingers, not by pulling the ring apart, and do not sleep in them.
- Chains: wash them in the same soapy bowl, lay them flat to dry, and always close the clasp before storing so they do not knot.
- Pendants: the bail (the loop the chain runs through) wears first. If it starts to thin after years, a jeweler can replace it for little.
Questions we get
Do moissanite rings tarnish?
The stone never does. The silver band can darken slowly with time, and a wash and a polishing cloth bring it back. Our bands are rhodium-plated, which keeps them bright far longer than bare silver.
How do I clean a moissanite ring at home?
Five minutes in warm water with a drop of dish soap, a soft toothbrush behind the stone, rinse, pat dry. That is the whole method. Do it every few weeks for a daily ring.
How do I clean tarnished sterling silver that has gemstones in it?
Wash it first in soapy water. Then use a silver polishing cloth on the metal only, working around the stones rather than over them. Do not dip it: silver dip attacks stones and glue.
Can I use an ultrasonic cleaner on moissanite?
The stone can take it. The setting is the question: vibration loosens prongs over time and wears plating. We recommend hand washing for everything we sell.
Can I shower or swim in sterling silver?
A quick shower now and then does no harm. Daily showers dull stones with soap film, and pools and the ocean are hard on silver and plating. Take it off for both.
Why did my silver ring leave a gray or black mark on my finger?
Usually it is the metal itself rubbing against skin together with makeup, lotion or powder: tiny particles of silver smudge dark. It washes off and is not an allergy. Our silver and plating are nickel-free. A green mark, which is rare, comes from copper in the alloy reacting with acidic skin or lotion and also washes off.
What happens when the rhodium wears off?
The silver underneath shows through, slightly warmer in tone, and may darken a little faster. Polish it, or have a jeweler re-plate it. This takes years on earrings and pendants and one to a few years on a ring worn every day, depending on how much it rubs.
Does moissanite get cloudy?
No. Unlike some cubic zirconia, it does not change with age. A cloudy look is always a surface film, and it washes off.
If something does go wrong
Every Olivia Star piece comes with a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects, such as a stone that falls out of a setting or a clasp that fails. Unworn pieces can be returned free within 30 days, and US shipping is free on every order. If a ring you have worn for years needs a new rhodium finish or a tightened prong, any local jeweler can do it for a small fee. Details are on our shipping and returns page.
Moissanite rings · Handmade silver rings · Stud earrings · Moissanite vs diamond
