Chlorine and Gold

Even though the first day of spring was last month, it is beginning to feel a whole lot like summer for everyone in Arizona! And when the weather begins to heat up, we all try to do one thing: cool down by taking a dip in the pool.

And while you might be running towards the pool at any moment, you might want to take a minute to take off all of your jewelry. Even if you are at an event or a party with friends and family and you are trying to look your absolute best, those few hours are not worth ruining some of your favorite accessories.

Wondering what some of that pool water can do to your jewelry? Here are just some of the facts to read about…

Beware of chlorine and other chemicals in the pool!

Even if you are not a science or chemistry whiz, you probably already know that chlorine has no chemical effect on gold. However, this is only true when they are in their basic, elemental and pure forms. Unless you are confident in knowing that you are wearing 100% pure gold, then you should never have your jewelry in or around a chlorinated pool.

Why? The price of gold has drastically risen over the last few years, which has had the effect of more and more companies producing hybrid versions of the metal. In effect, the vast majority of people own gold that is only 14 karats, which means that the piece is roughly 55-60% real gold in total. And because it is not made up of all gold, each element and mineral will have a different reaction with the chlorine. This is where discoloration and damage come into play. Depending on what other elements are in your piece of jewelry in addition to gold can also cause the piece to weaken, possibly loosen diamonds and eventually break.

So next time you want to cool off; be sure to remove all of your beautiful pieces!