Materials and maintenance

I mainly use sterling silver, brass and bronze with touches of gold, gold-plated brass and gold-plated silver. All the jewelry is nickel-free and all parts that go through the ear are either sterling silver or have a surface of 585 gold.

Take good care of your jewelry by following the advice below, and you will enjoy it for a long time to come!

Jewelry maintenance

Removing tarnish/discoloration from silver

NB! This treatment must not be used on jewellery that has been oxidised intentionally as it will destroy the oxide layer. It should also not be used on brass/bronze jewellery. Please also note that silver jewellery with a very shiny finish (mirror finish) may have a more matt surface with this treatment.

Shiny sterling silver jewelry that has started to yellow (tarnish) can be made shiny again in the following way:

  1. Place aluminum foil in the bottom of a heatproof bowl and fill with 2 dl boiling water.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 tablespoon of salt and stir gently (don't burn yourself!)
  3. Place the jewelry in the solution, making sure it is in contact with the aluminum foil. Leave it until it is shiny and nice again, typically 5-20 minutes depending on the amount of oxide on the surface.
  4. Remove the jewelry with plastic tweezers and rinse well in clean water - it is important to remove all the salt! Dry with a soft cloth to avoid stains.

If the tarnish has progressed further (gray/black color) the best solution is to sand it away with silver paste or other abrasive intended for silver. If the jewelry has a brushed finish, you can also sand away the discoloration with very fine steel wool or a brass brush.

Removing oxidation/discoloration from brass and bronze

Jewelry pieces made of pure brass/bronze can be polished with polishes intended for these metals.

If the surface is brushed, you can also use very fine steel wool (0000) to sand away the oxidation.

The following products should not be used on brass/bronze!

  • Cola
  • Citric acid (from bag or squeezed lemon)
  • Squeezed lemon mixed with salt
  • Ketchup
  • Concentrated lye
  • Ammonia

Materials

Sterling silver

Sterling silver, also called 925 silver, is made up of at least 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals (usually copper). All of my silver jewelry is solid sterling silver (not silver plated).

If physically possible, jewelry/parts made of sterling silver should be stamped with the fineness grade 925.

Silver will tarnish (oxidize) when exposed to air. The silver atoms react with sulfur in the air and form a thin layer of silver sulfide on the surface, which is initially yellowish and then turns dark gray/black. This is normal and not a defect in the jewelry. See below for tips on slowing down the process.

Oxidized silver

Sterling silver (see above) can be intentionally oxidized to give a dark gray/black finish. This finish is not permanent and the color will wear off/fade over time. Oxidized jewelry can in some cases stain the skin.

See tips under “Delaying tarnishing/oxidation/discoloration” below to keep your jewelry looking good for as long as possible.

If you have purchased an oxidized silver piece of jewelry from me that is starting to lose its color, you can contact me to have it re-oxidized for an additional fee.

585 gold

I occasionally use 585 gold for small accents in my jewelry. 585 gold consists of at least 58.5% pure gold and the rest other metals (copper, silver, zinc, etc.).

If physically possible, jewelry/parts made of 585 gold should be stamped with the fineness of 585, which indicates that it is solid 585 gold (not gold-plated).

Pure gold does not oxidize, but as 585 gold contains other metals, it will oxidize and darken in color over time.

Gilded silver and gold-plated brass

Gold plated silver is sterling silver with a thin layer of gold applied using an electrochemical method. The gold plated chains in my store are sterling silver with a 5 my (5/1000 meter) thick layer of 585 gold.

Since the main component of these chains is 925 silver, they are stamped with the fineness “925”.

I also use gold-plated brass, so-called 14/20 gold-filled or 14K 1/20 GF. In contrast to gilding, this is a relatively thick layer (1/20, or 5%, of the total weight) of gold that is mechanically bonded to a core of brass. This makes the gold coating last much longer than with gilding . The number 14 indicates that the fineness of the gold is 14 karat (14 K = 58.3% pure gold).

In Norway, it is not permitted to stamp this type of material with a fineness rating.

Pure gold does not oxidize, but since 585 and 14K gold contain other metals, it will oxidize and darken in color over time.

Brass and bronze

Brass is an alloy of mainly copper and zinc, but can also contain other metals. I use a type of brass called “jewelers brass” which contains 85% copper and 15% zinc. This has a very similar color to 585 gold.

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is warmer in color than brass.

Brass and bronze are base metals and should not be marked with a fineness stamp.

Both metals will oxidize/discolor in contact with air, moisture and chemicals.