The care and “feeding” of handcrafted custom jewelry

COMMON EXAMPLES OF BASE METAL ARE: brass, copper, gunmetal, nickel silver, niobium (hypo allergenic), pewter, stainless steel and titanium.The most common complaint found with metal is tarnish. What is tarnish??? Tarnish is simply a discoloration due to air climate and other contamination. SILVER especially should be stored in a zip lock bag or any container somewhere other than the bathroom. To protect silver from perfumes and lotions, make it the last thing you put on in the morning and the first thing you take off in the evening.Rinse thoroughly and lay on a soft cloth to air dry.METALS:There are so many different types of findings and chain available today it is definitely confusing. The basics are: PRECIOUS METALS ARE: 14 karat gold, gold or silver plate, gold or silver filled, vermeil, gold or silver finished, sterling silver, fine silver, platinum and rhodium. Everything else is referred to as base metal.