earwires

                                                          

Earwires are that part of a pierced earring that goes through the hole in your earlobe and is thus the most important functional part of the earring. It is also a part that causes a lot of concern for many people who are metal sensitive. Some of you may even have given up wearing earrings because of this concern.

For my earrings I use almost exclusively earwires made out of niobium – a rare and extraordinary metal that is not known to react with the human skin. It is safer to wear than earwires made out of sterling silver and 14kt or 18kt gold. If you have trouble wearing sterling silver or 14kt and 18kt gold earwires you may give niobium a try and see the difference.

I chose niobium not only because of its hypo-allergenic properties but also because I love its natural gray color, which I prefer to the shine of sterling silver. Plus niobium can be anodized (by passing electricity through it) into various colors – copper tone, golden, purple, blue and so on – giving me a wide choice of earwire colors. Rare and often at least as expensive as sterling silver yet not regarded as “precious” metal, niobium occupies an unusual position in the world of jewelry metals. Named after the Greek goddess 'Niobe' and extensively used in the aircraft industry, this versatile metal allows all of us to wear our earrings with peace of mind.

If you are curious about niobium and would like to know more, check out these websites 

www.reactivemetals.com

www.rick-hamilton.com

www.tanb.org

www.rembar.com

www.hollyyashi.com

www.kahiko.com

For a few of my earrings, I use earwires made out of black silver, which is 99% fine silver that has been totally oxidized and high polished to a metallic black sheen (with blue undertones) by the artisans of the Karen Hill Tribe of northern Thailand. If you can wear sterling silver (which is 92% silver) you will have no problem wearing fine silver (99% pure) because pure silver and pure gold (24kt) are, like niobium, hypo-allergenic.

Occasionally due to aesthetic reasons I do use earwires made of pure brass. If you are not metal sensitive brass will pose no problem. If, however, you are metal sensitive but you love a pair of my earrings featuring brass earwires write to me and I will work with you to change the earwires. I will do my best to make that pair of earrings compatible to you without changing the aesthetics of the design.

If you have any questions about earwires feel absolutely free to contact me right away.

Thanks and enjoy browsing.