[Jewelry making - Article 00078] - Re: [Orchid] Copper oxidation

[Lisa Orlando]

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Hi Fran,

    I did the same thing when I started, and also found that I really
    liked copper. It's not a good color for me to wear myself, so I gave
    it away and, eventually, sold it. I never coated it with anything
    and, while it would darken some, nobody ever complained. 

    I have a vague memory of once trying to clean a piece that was going
    into an art auction and having it turn gray, which I assume is
    because I used a silver polishing cloth, so I never did that again. I
    know that, on some people, it turns green, but that never happened
    with any of my friends, or the customers I kept in contact with,
    although I did warn people about the possibility. In my experience,
    women who like copper jewelry are so excited to find someone who's
    making it that they aren't worried about oxidation. 

    One tip--if you want to make earrings, try using anodized niobium
    earwires. I always "cheated" and bought the ready-made blues, greens,
    and purples from Reactive Metals--they look lovely with copper. Rio
    also sells (or used to, I don't have a current catalog) a strange
    brown color which is almost a match for darkened copper. Unlike Joan
    Dulla, an Orchidian whose work you must see,
    http://www.joandulla.com/Crochet%20work%201.html I found manipulating
    niobium wire to be an unpleasant experience, and I didn't want to get
    into anodizing. 

    Since I really wanted to play with color. I eventually used Artistic
    Wire http://www.artisticwire.com/ in some pieces and I didn't have
    problems with it--maybe theirs is better quality than what you've
    used, or maybe I was lucky. Their "Non Tarnish Brass" looked really
    pretty in fine crochet and people assumed it was gold until I told
    them. 

    As for working with fine silver, in my experience, it's like working
    with butter (if you buy what is sold as dead soft, anneal it anyway,
    and you'll really see what I mean). So, after copper, it will feel
    really easy. 

Lisa Orlando
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