Pendant Metal?

[rmgreen]

I assume gold and SS will not discolor the skin and do not tarnish. Other than these metals are there others which make good pendants that do not discolor the skin or tarnish?

Are there any semi-permanent coatings to pendant metals that do tarnish and/or discolor the skin that eliminate these problems?

Roger

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Titanium works great, no discolour the skin, do not tarnish and non-allergic reactions.

arnaud

 

[Roger B]

Sterling silver will discolour especially when worn in a humid environment this can happen quickly - I guess it all depends on the wearer but I wore one of those zodiac ingots for a February day in Sydney and both the sterling chain and the fine silver ingot went dark. Haven't worn a necklace since. Bear in mind that silver will tarnish (I won't use the term "oxidize" for the puritans out there), just look at the old tea services that darken when just left alone without being cleaned.

If you want a metal that will retain its colour try platinum - a tad pricey but what the heck!

 

[Beathard]

Titanium is nice and with a little current can be a rainbow of colors.

 

[monk]

one can use clear lacquer to coat the metal. eventually, though, it will scratch and otherwise degrade till it has to be stripped and re-coated. i've made some copper bracelets in the past. the people preferred to let the copper patinize. i'd glue to the inside, high quality suede leather. none have been returned with any problems

 

[Willem Parel]

On youtube is a lot to watch

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZ1LzW5ujs

But in the tips archive here on the forum just as well.

 

[peteb]

Argentium sterling silver is what I have been using. It has anti-tarnish qualities if heat treated to around 500 degrees for a short time. The reviews in various web sites are positive.

 

[Beathard]

Best anodizing video I've seen: http://youtu.be/bKIbp-pFB5k

 

[golden forge]

Most silver alloys will tarnish to some extent, some of the "low tarnish" recipes will tarnish less than others, but there still might be some.
As for gold not tarnishing, 24k-22k is great, but I have had costumers who could tarnish 18k yellow gold, and defiantly anything of a lower gold content. A lot can affect the alloys, from a persons diet causing their sweat to tarnish the metal, to chemicals that they may come into contact with, such as cleaning solutions or solvents.
So for non-tarnish metals, high karat golds, most metals in the Platinum family, some stainless steels, and as already mentioned titanium, are your best bet, at lest from what I have experienced.
I am sure that with the volume of knowledge found on the Cafe that there are a few more metals folks know of to choose from.

Dave.

 

[rmgreen]

Thank all of you for the super information. I too was very intrigued with the information about titanium and DC current coloration.

Roger