Caring For Your Copper Jewelry
Unlike gold, copper isn’t really a “set and forget” type of material. Since I use bare copper in all of my copper pieces, there’s a bit of maintenance and care involved in making sure that your piece continues to look great for years to come. Don’t worry though, I’ve got your back on this one, so let’s take a closer look!
The Big Points
If you’re pressed for time, here’s the shortlist:
- Copper is a “live” metal, meaning that it’s reactive to oxygen, moisture, and basically… everything. So it’s going to change over time. Humid, hot climates will change it faster.
- Regular polishing with a micro abrasive jewelry polishing cloth (ie: Sunshine Cloths) will keep the high points shining bright.
- Treating a piece with Renaissance Wax will minimize the amount of polishing required, as will keeping the piece in an airtight plastic bag when not being worn.
- Rings will turn your skin green. Bracelets will probably turn your skin green. Pendants may turn your skin green. This is a cosmetic issue, you can wash it off with soap and water. It’s not toxic.
- If your piece forms verdigris (green/blue “rust”) due to exposure to salt and moisture, like wearing it while sweating, you may need to vinegar dip the piece to
remove it.
Those are the basic things to keep in mind if you purchase any piece of copper jewelry that consists of bare metal.
What I Use and How I Treat My Jewelry
Any recommendations I make for these copper pieces comes from a long time of working with the metal, but I feel it’s also important to lay out exactly how I treat pieces before shipping.
All copper pieces that leave my shop are 99.9% bare copper. I don’t use coated copper for any reason, 14k rose gold fill is a much better choice for relatively affordable bright copper colored pieces.
My reasoning is simple: coatings wear off, and cheaper ones can even come apart while the metal is being worked. This generally leads to a spotty patina as the jewelry wears over time, and I want your piece to look like it does.
This does mean the patina isn’t “permanent” in the sense that it will require maintenance over time. It should, however, arrest the formation of verdigris in the majority of cases.
After a piece of jewelry made with copper is finished, I do the following:
- Treat the metal with liver of sulfur to oxidize the metal, this is what creates the contrast in light and dark you’ll see in any woven or spiraled pieces I create. They are then soaked in water to remove residual LoS.
- Polish the piece using a Sunshine Cloth, bringing the high points to a gloss post-oxidation. Deeper points may remain quite dark.
- Using a paper towel or rag, I then coat the piece in a light layer of Renaissance Wax before applying a final polish.
- The piece is given an inventory number and placed in a small bag with most of the air “squished” out before being placed with the rest of my inventory.
In most cases, I’ll also send a small piece of a Sunshine Cloth along with the piece that should serve for the first three to four polishes at least. In the event that I don’t have any on hand at time of shipping, I’ll make sure to send you a message linking you where to buy one.
I recommend popping onto Amazon and buying a full sized one regardless, they’re essential for keeping copper and sterling silver jewelry at their best.
Basic Maintenance Instructions
The Renaissance Wax coating I apply to my copper pieces should keep them looking the same for quite some time, especially with proper storage. Copper is very reactive, however, and it’s going to change eventually.
In my experience with untreated, bare copper it generally needs a shine every few days when worn regularly. Renaissance Wax should prolong this to a few months or more, depending on how much you handle the piece and your local climate.
Polishing is easy: just take the cloth and run it over the piece. Be careful about snagging on protrusions and weaves, but generally this will just take a small bit of the cloth off that can be removed with tweezers. I advise against using chemical agents for polishing in most circumstances unless you accidentally have a piece form verdigris.
Treating with Renaissance Wax is also easy, and a small container of the stuff will last for years even with a big collection of copper jewelry.
Just take a small bit of cloth rag or paper towel, rub it in the wax, and then rub it over your piece. Make sure to smooth out any clumps, the idea is to get a smooth, even layer over the surface of the piece. A toothpick can be used to quickly remove and clumps that come off deeper in multi-layered pieces.
Afterward, go over it with your polishing cloth. There will generally be a slight color change from the original piece but it will keep things protected for longer.
Rings and bracelets will need more frequent treatment with a protective coating than pendants due to how often they’ll contact other surfaces.
Removing Verdigris
While I occasionally intentionally induce verdigris for a piece, it’s generally not the greatest thing that can happen to a piece of jewelry.
Verdigris is a different form of oxidation of copper. It’s generally blue or green in color depending on the exact salt that forms on the surface of the metal. In some cases it can be aggressively corrosive, but it’s pretty rare unless the piece has been intentionally exposed to certain acids.
Most often, you’ll see it form when a piece is in a humid environment and gets salt from your sweat on it.
It can be removed fairly easily with a polishing cloth, but if it gets deeper into the piece where you’re not able to effectively clean it with the cloth you may need to try something different.
In this case, dipping your piece of jewelry into a white vinegar bath is the easiest, least toxic way to remove it. You can also use brass cleaners like Brasso and a rag. Re-oxidation can be applied, and I have instructions on my site, but if you’re not confident using chemicals I’ll happily re-oxidize and polish your piece if you’ll cover shipping.
How My Pieces Are Tested for Physical Integrity
I’m pretty rigorous in my testing methods. I won’t sell anything that I wouldn’t personally wear and trust, and that means it’s generally going to be thrown around a bit.
My testing has a few stages:
- The piece is beaten with a mallet until work-hardened as much as possible. Some protrusions may still be able to catch and deform slightly but generally everything will be impossible to move on accident.
- The piece is spiked, hard, onto a soft surface and checked for any deformation.
- The piece is then tossed in an arc, landing on a hardwood surface and again examined for deformation.
Provided that it survives these tests, I consider it ready for final treatment, polishing, and listing.
That said, copper is still a soft metal and any intentional prying, pulling or otherwise attempting to damage the piece will result in failure of its physical integrity. This is doubly true for wire-wrapped pieces, so it’s important to not mess with it too much trying to make adjustments.
In general, I only make copper pendants and bracelets. Rings bring forth too many complaints about green skin (which isn’t toxic, just a chemical reaction with minute amounts of copper and the salt in your sweat) but I can be contacted for custom rings made with copper if that’s what you’re looking for.
The Takeaway
Copper is a great material, but it does require periodic maintenance in order to look its best. As long as you store it properly, occasionally give it a polish, and possibly treat it with Renaissance Wax on occasion your jewelry should last for generations without any issue.