Pros and Cons of using base metals in jewelry?

[Former_Member]

With the price of Gold and Silver being high I am exploring the idea of using base metals in some of my jewelry to keep an affordable price point. So what are the pros and cons of using base metals such as copper, nickle silver and brass? Do you use it? how do your customers react when told what your product is made of?

[Former_Member]

I am not what you'd call a serious jewelry maker, it's a hobby and I'm mainly trying to reproduce older styles, so what I say may be very unlike what others will say.
I use copper and brass wire, I also use copper and brass components like ear wires. I think you wouldn't want to make ear wires from brass because it oxidizes green, but there are some very fine, American made brass ear wires that have been finished so they are completely stable. Trinity Brass is a good company and so is Vintaj. I mostly use Trinity Brass. Personally, I have very fussy ears, inclined to flare up if the wire isn't perfect, and they give me no trouble at all.
I think copper wire is better to work with for ear wires, but I could be wrong. Maybe someone else can comment on that.
There's nothing like sterling silver, or course, but copper is very nice wire to work with. Brass is harder and it takes some getting used to. I hope that's helpful.

[Former_Member]

Oh, I should have said that a lot of people are allergic to nickle, so that would be a problem if you wanted to use it. I don't know if it can be sealed. I avoid it. When I stated off I was wholesaling and one of the shop owners specifically asked me to stay nickle free.

[Former_Member]

I like working with brass, of which I really love the look and the price:). Antiqued brass is pretty popular right now. Vintaj products are beautiful, but more than I want to pay. I'll have to check out Trinity Brass.
I recently asked a question about earring posts, and was told that titanium and niobium are great options for ears, surpassing surgical steel.

[Former_Member]

I found this wire because it popped up in my activity feed, I have the shop in my favourites. I don't know anything about this wire, but it's copper based, and lead and nickle free, It says permanent colour, but I think you'd have to ask about what would happen if you file it.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56359192/artistic-wire-20-gauge-leadnickel-safe?ga_search_query=artistic...

[BlackMoonBizarre]

I've used all of the artistic wires, in just about every finish, they're easy to work with and affordable. The problem I had was with the silver toned artistic wire, it had this really fine skin type material that kept peeling off, I would def not want to re-sell a piece I made with that. It may have been a different brand, because not ALL of the non tarnish silver "base metals" I worked with did that.

[Former_Member]

Monique, that's really important information. Thanks. Was the skin there to prevent the wire from tarnishing, or was it the silver finish?
I learned the hard way about finished wire. Nothing like filing a piece to finish it and having the wire turn another colour.

[BlackMoonBizarre]

im not sure what the skin was, probably to prevent tarnish. I think it was a different brand than "artistic" now that I think about it, I've worked with about every color of artistic and the silver is the only one that I bought from more than once place, so maybe it was an off brand. It was a long time ago, I just know that none of the other colors of wire ever peeled that way-

[Joyfulcrow]

A good friend and longtime jeweler had this to say about it years ago, and it has proven useful.
Consider the amount of work you are putting into the piece and match the materials to what you need to get out of the item. Folks get nervous paying for twenty hours of labor on a major pircr without that piece being the bulk of a precious metal. Not a universal rule, especially if your designs are established. But silver suffices nicely these days as a precious metal -- which it truly is. Use it for your more major works.

[designbygam]

Those coated non-tarnish wires has copper core. When you cut the wire it reveals the core. I prefer Sterling silver, brass and copper. I love raw brass. Oxidized brass has a beautiful warm tone color.

[FallenAngelBrass]

Niobium is perfect for sensitive ears and it comes in many colors now so that you can match it to the metals of the earring drop.

[janeeroberti]

I like to use solid base -- instead of plated-- metals in sheet and wire copper, brass, aluminum, nickel silver - from sources that print what is the content of their metals. That way I know that I can etch, solder, saw, and know what is in the dust and fumes I am making. I've been buying plated chains, but quality is really variable. I continue to use solid sterling silver and gold fill in many of my clasps, chains, and all my earwires, to avoid allergy and plating-wearing-off issues.

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

Have you thought about using Gold or Silver filled? It's like a little more expensive than plated, but the outer layer is much thicker so it doesn't wear off and from what i've heard it can take the abuse.

I've heard a lot of good things about filled, the only reason I've never used it myself, Barney (or their friend) said it much nicer than I could ever try to, with the amount of time and work I put into my pieces it wouldn't be worth it to not use solid silver for me or my buyer...