Showering With a Gold Chain: What Water Does and Does Not Do

Gold is one of the least reactive metals there is. Water alone does nothing to it, which is why gold coins come out of shipwrecks still yellow. A solid 10K or 14K chain will not rust, corrode or change color because it got wet. Our chains are 10K solid gold, meaning 41.7 percent pure gold with the rest made of alloy metals that add hardness.

So the short answer is that showering will not ruin a solid chain. The longer answer is that the shower is where most of the dulling and wear happens, and the reasons have nothing to do with water itself.

Soap, shampoo, conditioner and body wash all leave residue. On skin it rinses off. Between the links of a chain it builds up layer by layer, until a bright chain looks flat and slightly brown. Conditioner is the worst offender because it is designed to stay behind.

None of this is permanent on plain gold. A 15-minute soak in warm soapy water and a soft brush reverse it, as shown in how to clean a gold chain.

Take iced chains, tennis pieces and diamond pendants off before you shower. Diamonds attract oil, and soap residue fills the open space behind each stone, turning a bright piece cloudy fast. Constant wetting and drying also stresses the small prongs and beads that hold pavé stones, and a slippery bathroom floor plus a drain is the worst place for a loose stone to fall out.

A piece like the Round Lab Diamond Necklace 9.18 ct ($5,300) should be on a dresser, not under the shower head. If an iced piece already looks dull, follow how to clean iced out jewelry.

Hollow chains are solid gold on the outside but empty inside. Water can get into the links through tiny seams and sit there, and the thin walls dent if the chain is crushed or caught. Our hollow Cubans, the Hollow Cuban Chain 6mm (16.55 g, from $2,090) and the Hollow Cuban Chain 8.5mm (43.25 g, from $4,870), are made for daily wear, but they do best taken off for the shower and dried flat when they do get wet.

Clasps are the other weak spot. A lobster or box clasp works by a small spring or a tongue under tension. Soap and hot water gum up the spring, and a sticky clasp is one that does not fully close. Check yours with the tests in chain clasp types, and compare designs in lobster vs box clasp.

Gold plated, gold filled and vermeil pieces have only a thin gold layer over brass, copper or silver. Water, soap and friction wear that layer away, and once the base metal shows through it can tarnish and turn skin green. Never shower in plated jewelry. The FTC's Jewelry Guides require plated items to be described as plated, so a seller calling a chain "gold" without a karat mark or a plating disclosure is a red flag.

Chlorine is the one exposure on this list that does real chemical harm to gold alloys over time, so the pool and the hot tub are the clearest no. Miami beach days get their own rules in jewelry at the beach and pool.

• Put the chain on last, after lotion, cologne and hair product.
• Take it off for the shower, the pool, the ocean and the gym.
• If you do shower in a plain gold chain, rinse it with clean water at the end and dry it fully.
• Wipe it with a dry microfiber cloth each night.
• Clean it properly every two to four weeks.
• Store it flat with the clasp closed so it does not tangle; see how to untangle a chain if it does.

For chains that see heavy daily wear, solid construction beats hollow. See all solid styles and their listed gram weights in the chain collection.