Metal Allergies and You

"Slipstream" earrings with nonallergenic niobium hooks - available at youvegotmaille.net

Metal "allergies" are common.  I get a lot of customers who say "I can only wear sterling/14k gold/whatever."  Usually, they are talking about earrings, because people react far more often to earring metals than other types of jewelry.  Apparently this is because there is no air flow inside the hole where an earring post/hook goes.  However, there are people who react to things you wouldn't think about, like the back of a watch, or the back of the snap on their jeans.

Allergic contact dermatitis can occur to all sorts of substances, but nickel in costume jewelry is a pretty common one.  If you're not sure what you're reacting to, you can have a dermatologist test you to find out what the exact culprits are, but for most people, it's enough to just avoid cheap jewelry, or make sure you know what is in your jewelry.   Contact dermatitis can cause symptoms including itching, rash, redness, irritation, blisters and eczema.

The problem is that "surgical steel" comes in several grades and some of them contain nickel, so whether it says "hypoallergenic" or not, you may or may not be safe.  Sterling silver, also an alloy, can also contain small amounts of nickel, so unless it says nickel-free silver, if you have severe reactions, avoid it.   Even white gold can contain nickel unless labeled "palladium white gold."

Best answer?  Niobium and titanium.  Both of these are elemental metals (Nb & Ti on the periodic chart).  While gold and silver are also elements, both are too soft for most jewelry applications, and definitely too soft for earring posts or wires, so they are mixed with other metals to create an alloy.  That's where your nickel sneaks in, especially in cheaper jewelry but sometimes even in more expensive jewelry.

Niobium and titanium are much stronger and they make fantastic hooks and posts.  Personally, I didn't realize I had any metal sensitivity at all until I wore niobium and realized how much more comfortable they were for me.  Be aware that items marked titanium CAN be an alloy, so you are safer with niobium, which is almost always a pure metal.

Niobium bracelet options available at youvegotmaille.net, or contact for custom designs

Even better, they both can be anodized in a rainbow of colors.  I use niobium in shades of copper and bronze (they contain no acutal copper or bronze) for earrings made of copper; most "copper" ear wires are also cheap alloys. 

Here's a little more about my favorite metal, niobium.

• Anodizes in iridescent colors I can't quite capture on film; my supplier even has a  rainbow ring where each ring has multiple iridescent colors on it, creating an "oil slick" effect when woven into chainmaille patterns.
• It's commonly used in body jewelry and also in pacemaker parts, since very few people react to it.
• It's nearly as strong as steel but half the weight, so it's very comfortable to wear in an ear or elsewhere.
• Anodized niobium is easy care and doesn't tarnish, although the finish can scratch if you're rough on it.

It's awesome stuff!  If you've got severe metal sensitivities please make sure to let me know when ordering jewelry; I do use steel clasps, sterling accents and head pins to hold beads that are made from other metals, but if you react I'll make sure all of it is nonallergenic.

 

Most of my niobium earrings are made with hooks, and chainmaille designs, so they tend to be dangly.  If you're a post kind of girl (or guy), I recommend that you drop by Wear Earrings Again; Maggie has lots of designs, and starter earrings, that are made of high-grade titanium and pure niobium, which she also guarantees.

Finally, I guarantee my work.  If you have a reaction to a pair of earrings with niobium hooks I will gladly refund your money.  If you have a pair of earrings that I made with surgical steel hooks, I will upgrade them to niobium for you for $3 plus shipping.  Just send an email.  My plan this year is to shift to all-niobium hooks, so all of my earring customers can experience the comfort and ease of wear and care.

What is Niobium?

Electric Rainbow Earrings at You've Got Maille

This weekend I sold a pair of these earrings online and a pair at the Renaissance faire. Last night, as I worked on an argentium and niobium choker, I decided I needed to talk about niobium.

It's my favorite metal. It's cooperative to work with (it won't break your hands like steel or titanium and it closes seamlessly without an argument). It anodizes in glimmering colors no photo I seem to be able to take does justice. Unanodized, it's a grey-silver color with just a touch of a glimmer that gives no hint of the iridescent rainbow it can become.

This is a relatively "new" metal, having been discovered in 1801. It's used in alloy with titanium and steel for lots of technology applications, including the space program.

The glory of niobium is the color. When it takes color, it takes it in a subtle range. I get a packet of multicolor rings and for some projects sort them into colors, and often there's no clear division - for example the bronze has purple highlights and the violet has gorgeous blue. As a result, you can get a beautiful gradient effect when weaving it into chainmaille.

The other tremendous benefit is that the stuff is as hypoallergenic as you can get. While a few people react to niobium, it's extremely rare. As a result it's used extensively in body piercings. So if you've got sensitive ears and you haven't tried niobium hooks, try them. A search on Etsy should turn up several. Niobum and titanium alloys, unlike surgical steel, should be free of nickel (which causes most metal reactions).

As I said, a search on Etsy should turn up quite a bit of niobium, but if you're a jewelry maker you're probably wondering where to get this great stuff. The suppliers I know of include The Ring Lord, Blue Buddha Boutique, and Spiderchain, although I cannot attest to their niobium because I haven't bought it from anyone. I bought first from someone on eBay but since the rings were "snipped" niobium wire, they had rough edges that weren't colored.

Every bit of niobium I buy now comes from C&T Designs, and I'll tell you why. One, customer service is the best. Secondly, Curt takes great care in winding, cutting and anodizing his wire, so you end up with very few "trash" rings (unlike TRL; I haven't bought the niobum but sometimes I'm disgusted with how many aluminum rings I have to throw away). The ends are carefully anodized and the color is gorgeous. Third, as far as I know, C&T is the only place you can get "rainbow" niobium rings, where each ring has 2-3 colors on it, and this makes for some beautiful stuff, and even prettier ear hooks. And finally, he does custom rings and custom anodizing so pretty much, if you can imagine it and he can manage it, he's up for it. Prices are really reasonable, too.

Niobium Ear Wire Selection from C&T Designs (rainbow bottom center)

I really love the mostly circular shape, they hang very nicely.

People seem to like "cheap" earrings so I'm still using surgical steel wires. If I had my choice, though, I'd go to all niobium and to eliminate reactions, although sometimes they don't look right on silver earrings. Also, if anyone knows of a good supplier of niobium or titanium posts with loops, I'd love to hear about it. I've found a few here and there but no reliable supplier.