Bring New Life to Your Sterling Silver Charms

Oxidizing your sterling silver charms, chains, and beads helps you make stand out designs. Oxidized silver has a dark, almost black finish and contrasts beautifully to many gemstones and to Vermeil style gold plate components. Many women love the look of mixed metals, like blackened silver chain combined with gold and silver chains. It’s sophistication with an edge! Oxidizing your silver components is easy, a lot of fun, and (fair warning) can be addictive. Here are a few facts and pointers to get you started. When exposed to air all sterling silver will oxidize, achieving a beautiful aged patina. Oxidation is a natural process that occurs on the surface of silver caused by exposure to oxygen and pollutants in the air, like sulfur. If you’d like to speed up the oxidation of your silver, here are a few suggestions to get you going. I always recommend using a dry concentrate of Liver of Sulfur because it’s easier to work with than the liquid form. An 8oz container from Rio Grande is inexpensive and will last you a very long time! Read and follow the instructions carefully. Though not toxic, make sure to work in a well ventilated area - Liver of Sulfur is very stinky, like rotten eggs! I like to get as much done at one time as possible, so I’ll start filling up a bag with items I want to oxidize. Once the bag gets full enough, I’ll oxidize a big batch. Try experimenting with the heat and concentration of the solution to achieve slightly different finishes. Also, try experimenting with the final surface by selectively polishing off certain areas, or rough up the texture with a scotch bright pad. Check out our Black Satin Collection for styles we carry with a lustrous oxidized finish.
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