Chlorine and Jewelry

A lot of people don't know that they should keep their jewelry away from chlorine. If not, the jewelry could succumb to “stress-corrosion cracking.”

Whether it's cleaning products, the pool or hot tub, take off your jewelry and put it away somewhere safe. The chlorine weakens joints, prongs and areas where the jewelry has been repaired.

Gold: chlorine reacts with and ultimately dissolves the copper and nickel that's in the gold alloy

Sterling silver: chlorine can discolor it when the chlorine reacts with the copper in the alloy. It can also cause pitting, which weakens the jewelry.

Platinum: is less likely to be affected by chlorine, but any solder securing prongs might be a white-gold solder and be susceptible to a chemical reaction in chlorine. Also, clasps or components that make up the clasp might not be entirely made of platinum.

Didn't know there was anything but gold in your gold? Check out this blog post on alloys.

There are lots of jewelry care articles online, but they rarely mention staying away from chlorine or other harsh chemicals. It’s sad and frustrating when someone comes in to resize a recently inherited ring and I cut into it only to find the metal is brittle and porous! Show your jewelry some love.