You could also replace the silver band with one made from niobium- it can be
heated to produce a black oxide on the surface, which is quite durable.

Rick Hamilton
"Peter W.. Rowe," wrote in message
...
On Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:38:03 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry horatioB
wrote:

I am oxidizing a silver ring so that it looks black. The problem is
the oxidization wears off after time especially since it is a ring. I
am using liver of sulphur to oxidize the silver. Does anyone know of
a different process or some sort of seal that would keep the
oxidization on the ring longer. I have heard of using clean nail
polish but it makes the pieces shiny which i would like to avoid.

Thank you,
hb

The nail polish sorta works, but it's not all that nice a solution. Kind
of
denies the nature of the material...

Oxidized surfaces on silver have traditionally been used because silver
does
this on it's own, naturally, so doing it intentionally not only gives the
artist
some control over the look, but makes the piece look older, sometimes a
desired
impression (thus the term "antiquing" is sometimes used for this too.)

Normally, the black is applied to recessed or more protected areas, and
lightly
buffed off of high spots, resulting in a finish that closely mimics what
time
will do, and the way time will maintain the finish in use.

If you want an overall black, even on high spots, you're then battling the
nature of wear and tear, but there are some things you can do that will
slow
this down.

Plain blackened surfaces, straight from the liver of sulphur, are a dull
black,
in which the sulphide (we call it oxidizing, but it's actually a sulphide
that's
formed) is a somewhat loose and porous surface film. This surface wears
off
somewhat more quickly than it could if compacted. If, after blackening,
you use
a soft brass or nickle silver scratch brush, wet with soap or similar
lubricant,
the wire brush burnishes the sulphide down into the surface some,
compacting it.
the result is no longer a totally dull black surface, but it becomes a
sort of
blue/black or gunmetal color, with a low sheen to it. Very pretty, at
least in
my opinion, and it's somewhat more durable than the original black
surface.
Getting the best finish can take two or more applications like this.
patina,
scratch brush, patina again, scratch brush again, till the color gets the
depth
you want. Key is that the brush, used gently and lubricated, isn't
abrasive the
way it would be if used dry. You can get hand brushes called "platers"
brushes
that are an especially fine guage of brass wire in the brush, so it's a
very
soft and gentle brush. Works great for this.

The other thing you can do is in how you texture or define the original
surface.
High spots wear off before low spots, and if your surface is deeply
textured or
carved, most of it can be essentially, low spots, so the black will wear
off the
overall surface more slowly. Hammer textures or carved, engraved, roll
printed,
or other textures will all function this way. Even subtle textures like a
sand
blast or bead blast surface will have their blackened color wear down more
slowly than a smooth polished surface would do. And the texture of some
of
these, like the sand blast, also will give you a much deeper color, since
the
texture greatly increases the overall surface area.

Hope that helps.

Peter