Handcrafted Jewelry News from a Maine Jewelry Store

We get lots of questions in the store about hypo allergenic jewelry. Many women have had allergic reactions to the earrings, necklaces or bracelets they wear and aren’t sure what’s safe and what isn’t.

Pure silver and gold are very soft metals. The metalsmith must make them stronger in order to form pieces that will hold their shape. So, other metals must be added, like zinc, copper, brass or nickel. Of these, nickel is the culprit for most jewelry allergies. This is why those sterling silver or 14k gold earrings could be causing you a problem.

As a silver substitute, look for surgical steel (although I’m told that even surgical steel may contain as little as .05% nickel, which, depending upon the severity of your allergy, may or may not bother you).

Niobium is also safe, giving you lots of color choices.

And the higher karat value in gold, the better off you’ll be.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Jewelry Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.