Understanding the terminology of plating finishes will save you time and money. The picture above shows you examples of some of the colors we offer.

1. Oxidized Copper or Copper OX items have been plated to a muted rich copper and then oxidized to appear old.

2. Oxidized Sterling Silver or Silver OX items have been plated to sterling silver and then oxidized to make them look old.

3. Oxidized Brass or Brass OX items have been plated to a smooth brass finish over raw brass and then oxidized to appear old.

Professionally plated items have a tough lacquer protective finish applied to them so that your work of art will stay just the way it is for years to come.

I don't recommend trying to solder or alter the finishes with chemicals of any kind. I do recommend using a hand held punch tool like the one made by Roper Whitney Co (No 5 Jr Hand Punch) if you need to add holes to the stampings. The 1.5mm bit is sold separately but there are several which come with it.

Our products are in compliance with California's Lead-Containing Jewelry Law. Please note that the lead of concern is the type used in painting of or adding weight to cast costume jewelry. There is no lead in our jewelry grade brass nor is there any used in the plating process of the items you buy here. All our items are also nickel free unless otherwise noted in the ad.

Most of the items we offer are representative of the Victorian or Renaissance eras and perfect for vintage style jewelry, so a bright shiny finish would not be appropriate. That is why you will only find rich antique finishes on the component parts we offer. The antique finish greatly enhances the details of these pieces but it also allows you to manipulate them with little or no plating "pop" when you do.

 
Willie Zuniga often shares such good information with me that I ask her to allow me to use it here on the site. One of her recent very informative emails addressed the brass stampings knock-off market. Since I have had no occasion to test these inferior products, I'm glad that she takes the time to share this information with us.

Have you ever had a potential customer concerned over the possibility of a jewel falling out of a filigree-wrapped design.  If so they might have purchased something from another seller and had this happen.  A little research pin-points the problem ... the seller was using those cheaply plated thin white metal or steel replicas coming from abroad.

As a new designer you should be educated about this.  Both Etsy and eBay have a flood of sellers with filigrees and stampings that look the same as their brass counterparts, but they're plated steel or white metal. They are very thin and very inferior products. 

They are usually priced really low, one-third or fourth the cost of the brass components made in the United States. With the superior plating applied here in the US, plated steel makes an excellent and very strong chain.  It does not make pliable filigrees and stampings because it's so much harder than brass. The products must be stamped from super-thin sheets of steel, which makes them fragile and brittle. Without a superior plating, they will rust within a few months.  

Many inexperienced designers are lured by the low prices, and are using these products, right along with the beautiful glass jewels and stones we love.  They may create a beautifully finished product to begin with, but they will have a very unhappy customer in a short time. If the steel doesn't break because it's been manipulated, it will definitely rust through the thin plating, sometimes in less than a year. Improperly plated items such as tiny steel components like jump rings, spacers and bead caps will rust through and ruin a lovely creation.

Willie offers her jewelry as "heirloom quality," and feels that her customers should expect that it will last a lifetime and more.  She writes, "With brass, I can make that promise. I do occasionally use other metals, but only when purchased from a reputable supplier who knows the value of a superior plating process."
 

Visit either of our store web sites
www.AccessoriesSusan.com or
www.VintageJewelrySupplies.com