It's likely the copper content in the gold mixture that's causing the tarnish. Try a small amount of copper cleaner or even silver cleaner applied with a soft rag and then washed off and buffed. The chain is probably much stronger than it looks and barring the fact that it's pulled apart intentionally...it'll probably be strong enough to clean and wear.

Try toothpaste.

I agree with Patriciae. I'd take it to a jeweler for a professional evaluation/cleaning.

I believe it's possible for toothpaste to scratch a gold peice of jewelry so be careful using it on rings & such. Have you tried jewelry cleaner. Works really well on my rings etc.

Just to add, I realize you are asking about a necklace but you could try the jewelry cleaner on that as well as rings. I agree that a Jewelry Store would be able to suggest the best option.

Sit it in ammonia for five minutes. Shake it. Strain it and dry it off. That doesn't work, go to a jeweler.

I've been researching jewelry for the past six months, and I belong to a Facebook group of jewelry sellers. Still, I've never heard of 16k gold, and never heard of gold tarnishing. As my dad used to say, you learn something new every day.

I bought Weiman Silver Wipes to clean silver jewelry, and they work very well. Gold tarnish might be quite different, however. I Googled the issue and found this:

To remove surface tarnishing of your gold jewelry, you can add a few drops of mild, non-phosphate dishwashing liquid to warm water and wipe the tarnished part with the mixture using your fingers or a cotton swab. Do not use toothpaste or baking soda as they are too abrasive.

Ok Alisande, I got my magnifying glass out and looked at the box the necklace was in. You're right, it says 14 Kt. Gold Overlay, 16" neck chain. Also Cellini on the inside top.

I used the copper cleaner that Winter suggested and it did a pretty good job. However the chain is so fine it wants to tangle very easily.

I'm thinking this necklace is very old. My sister is 86 and she said her now deceased husband gave it to her. Probably many years ago.

Would you know anything about its worth?

Jkayd, the best way I know to determine value (other than consulting with a jeweler) is to search eBay for "comps"--similar pieces that have sold. You could try various words in the search field and see what comes up. Start with overlay, for example, and then try plated. To complicate matters, Cellini is apparently the name of a style of spiral beading, so you're likely to come up with lots of that. If so, I would eliminate a couple of terms by putting -spiral and -beaded in the search field. You could do the same thing with Googling, and then click on Images. Perhaps you'll find something similar. Good luck!

Cellini was a maker of costume jewelry in the 70s, may still be in business (I don't know). You could check eBay and Etsy for examples of that brand and prices for their pieces. Typically gold plated/overlay/ filled/ vermeil has not had a lot of value.

The 70s is probably in the timeline he could have bought it. I didn't think it was worth much, just interested.

Even high end jewelry stores sold/sell vermeil jewelry (silver with a gold plating). A clue can be that the piece will feel *heavier* than gold.

16K gold should not tarnish. What I suspect you have is a chain made of a base metal with a gold wash or plating. The gold has worn trough and the tarnish is from the base metal. However, if the chain is marked 16K gold, it should be a solid gold alloy and the tarnish is not base metal, but from another source. Take to a jeweler. He may have a metal cleaner.

I know of one way that the appearance of gold can be ruined, but I can't imagine how that could have happened to your piece. Mercury and gold are soluble in each other. If some liquid mercury got on the gold, it went into solution in the gold forming a gold-mercury alloy and can not be cleaned off - its now part of the alloy. It dulls the appearance and color.

I don't see the value in this piece being in its intrinsic value what ever that is but in its sentimental value so I still say take it to a jeweler who can make it look as good as it can and it isn't expensive to have a piece cleaned.

Alisande....factoid: A solid gold piece of jewelry, marked 14k will test @ 16K unless it's marked 14k P. The few spaces then the p....p=plumb. Plumb means exact, 14k no more. If it's 14kP, no space, the p=plated. I've been collecting, as a hobby, for a very long time.

And you know a very lot more than I, Nicole! LOL I haven't paid much attention to gold jewelry because most of mine was stolen a long time ago. But I do read a lot of posts in the FB group. No one has mentioned the P yet, but I know many of the members test for gold and test gemstones as well. Thanks for the info!