Please do not be confused... this necklace is silver.  It might arrived tarnished, it might tarnish while you own it or shortly after you buy it or any other time for that matter.  It is silver, and silver will tarnish.  However, with that being said... it comes with a cloth to use to wipe away the tarnish (which works, I had to do it myself). Just a short time after the wearer has the necklace, the silver gets used to their body chemistry and keeps itself clean.  Sounds crazy, I know, but this is the way silver works.  It comes with a little card in the necklace box explaining everything.  I have had mine for quite a while now and only had to polish the entire necklace on that first day.  The front of the cross, which doesn't touch my skin in order to keep itself clean, needs polishing every now and then... but hardly, and it's a cinch!  It never leaves marks on my skin.  It doesn't now and hasn't since the beginning.  Supposedly, it can on some people when it is new and figuring out the chemistry, but that will stop as quickly as it started.  It is a beautiful necklace.  I get compliments all the time.  You won't be disappointed.