Our Metals
Having sensitivities to metals, resulting in a swift, painful reaction, we understand the desire to have jewelry made with metals that are safe for sensitive ears.
As of right now, we use three different French hooks for our earrings: niobium, sterling silver, and raw titanium.
Here’s a breakdown of what they are, and why we use them.
Niobium is not a mixture of different metals, but is its own element. A wide variety of colors can be obtained by dipping the niobium in an electrically charged bath producing an effect that will not be scratched off as a lot of other finishes can be.
My own ears react within minutes to a lot of metals (though I think nickel is most likely the culprit considering it is present in very small amounts even in metals claiming to be nickel free) and yet I have even slept for a few days in a row wearing earrings with niobium French hooks and had not a sign of irritation! From my own experience and that of several of my friends with metal allergies, niobium is truly a safe metal to use for those that usually react to ear wires.
Sterling silver is the “standard” type of silver used in the United States. It is an allow of 92.5% pure silver plus copper and other trace metals, and often times the metal will be stamped with “.925 silver”.
Silver by itself is rarely used for jewelry because it is too soft to hold up to every day wear and tear, and so is commonly mixed with other metals.
I used to think that I was allergic to silver, though after doing careful research for our jewelry business, I learned that not all sterling silver is created, or rather, alloyed equally.
Our sterling silver French hooks and wire come from a highly reputable company and are made using only pure silver, and pure copper.
I have worn these often and have yet to experience the slightest hint of an allergic reaction from them. Hello again, silver!!
Titanium is another element that is commonly used for hypoallergenic applications, such as medically , or used in jewelry. Our French hooks are a raw titanium, and do not contain nickel or cobalt.
The silver colored metal wire we use, if not stated as sterling silver, is either a “nickel-free iron core” (which does contain some nickel but in small enough amounts that the manufacturers deem it okay to claim as nickel-free) which is used in our earrings, and some of our necklace components, but never the French hooks which are in contact with the skin for extended periods of time. In the future, we are looking at being able to use sterling silver exclusively for 100% of our earring and necklace collections (we’ll announce that as it happens). The other silver colored wire we use is a tinned copper, such in the case of our rings and wire-wrapped pieces.
The copper wire we use is either 100% copper, which is brighter, or an antiqued copper-plated brass (brass is an alloy of copper and zinc).
The beautiful filigree bead caps we use are a silver-plated brass, an antiqued copper-plated brass, 100% brass, or stainless steel.
The charms we use are a lead-free pewter, or steel.
We try to state in each item description what it is made with, and have created this page to give more of an in-depth understanding.