Why do Cartier watches tarnish or darken?

I'm sure many of you reading this article have the same question, but this is a question we often receive from our customers.

"I recently looked at my Cartier watch and noticed that it has turned black. What should I do?"

And that's it.

So, in this article, we will explain the reasons why watches discolor.

Why does my Cartier watch tarnish or turn black?

First of all, not all Cartier watches tarnish.

Most wristwatches today are made from stainless steel, and cases made from this material will not tarnish.

So, which materials are prone to discoloration? They are 18K and 925 sterling silver.

If the case material itself or the surface plating is made of these materials, they will be subject to discoloration.

For example, this is a model called Must de Tank, which is made of 925/1000 pure silver as a base material and is then gold-plated on top, a process called vermeil.

All parts are discoloured and have turned black as if burnt.

If that happens, you won't be able to use it even if you want to.

Why does it change color?

The reason why gold and silver turn black has to do with substances in the air.

There are various factors that cause blackening, but they can be broadly divided into oxygen and sulfur.

First, let me explain oxygen.

1. Reaction with oxygen: Pure silver reacts with oxygen to form silver oxide.

This oxide appears on the surface of the silver as an oxide film, which can change the color of normal silver, causing it to turn black.

② Reaction with sulfides: It can react with sulfur or hydrogen sulfide to form black silver sulfide.

This can cause your silverware to darken.

In fact, sulfur is produced in very small amounts by humans, and although it may not have any effect if you expose it to it once or twice, if you wear it repeatedly, it will remain in the watch and cause discoloration.

How to prevent discolouration

That is why the watch case discolors.

Therefore, once you know the cause, the solution is simple: by wiping it lightly after use, you can delay discoloration as much as possible.

We recommend wiping the item with this chamois leather after use, as this will remove fingerprints and sebum to some extent.

Here's the Amazon product page.

Chamois leather available here

How to remove discoloration

However, in reality, if everyone wipes the floor, the problem of blackening won't occur.

Most people forget to wipe it, which is why it gets blackened.

Now, I will explain how to polish it if it becomes blackened.

The first thing you need to be careful about is to avoid making the mistake of thinking that any polishing agent will do, and using an abrasive that should not be used on watches.

For example, the well-known abrasive "Pical" has such a strong abrasive power that it will cause the case to shrink, or if it is plated, the plating will peel off.

※Picard

Also, when researching watch polishing, "Sun-A Pearl" comes up, but this also appears to polish plastic, so like Pical, it is too harsh abrasive.

So which is the best way to polish it? It's called "Lucky Wood."

Our company also handles French and British cutlery, and we have the knowledge and skills to clean such old silver tableware.

Among the various products we have polished, the one that restores the silver-like beauty and shine is " Lucky Wood Silver Cleaner .

Our company has a long history of polishing antique silver from France and England.

Cartier is a French jewelry brand with over 100 years of history, and like these long-established silver brands, it has a history of finding value in sterling silver.

This is an abrasive that is probably unknown if you are only looking at the watch industry, but it is produced by a brand that has the technology and knowledge in abrasive materials and how to produce a shine after polishing.It can also be used on watch cases, so it is a product that we can definitely recommend.

Precautions when polishing

Now let's see what happens after using this lucky wood.

By polishing in this way, even Cartier watches can be restored to such beautiful condition that it is hard to believe they are the same watch.

However, what you need to be careful about here is polishing these without any experience.

Our company has a long history of polishing antique silver and knows the ins and outs of the process, but if an amateur tries to do this suddenly, they may fail because they don't know how much pressure or amount of polish to use, and the polish may get into the watch.

The important thing is not to damage the watch, but to know that it can be polished to make it look nice, and where can you take it to have it polished?

I think it's important to know that.

We can also polish Cartier watches (around 8,500 yen), so please feel free to contact us.