Jewelry for people with severe alergies

I'm looking for something for my wife for our 25th anniversary. She doesn't
wear her gold wedding ring anymore because she is allergic to everything on
the planet, or so it seems, and not surprisingly she developed a skin
reaction to the ring. If it's possible to speculate, what material tends to
illicit the fewest allergic reactions among the general public? Of course,
one person's allergies aren't necessarily the same as someone else's, so
maybe this is an impossible question. Heavens, I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.



Any ideas appreciated.



Please reply to the group rather than email.



Thanks

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 22:20:41 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Tom Dempster"
m wrote:

I'm looking for something for my wife for our 25th anniversary. She doesn't
wear her gold wedding ring anymore because she is allergic to everything on
the planet, or so it seems, and not surprisingly she developed a skin
reaction to the ring. If it's possible to speculate, what material tends to
illicit the fewest allergic reactions among the general public? Of course,
one person's allergies aren't necessarily the same as someone else's, so
maybe this is an impossible question. Heavens, I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.



Any ideas appreciated.



Please reply to the group rather than email.



Thanks



While there is no metal to which nobody ever has a reaction, some are a lot
less likely to cause trouble than others.

Of the usual precious metal alloys, it's most common for allergies to be not to
the actual precious metal, ie gold, silver, platinum, but rather to the alloying
metals, especially copper, or even more, the nickel in many white golds. It's
useful to note that if your wife's ring is a white gold, then her reaction to it
is not uncommon. A fairly significant percentage of people are quite sensative
to nickel based white golds as commonly used in the U.S. But in any case,
purer qualities of gold, ie higher karats, may be better. In gold alloys, a 22K
gold might well work, especially if it's an alloy with little copper, butmore
silver, although this is softer than the alloys incorporating copper. Or, how
about just pure 24K gold. It's quite soft, too much so for many designs,but
not all. Designs made to take into account the softness of pure gold can be
quite durable. Simple heavy wedding bands in pure gold are wonderfully
beautiful and long wearing, and few people have any reaction to them.

Even more commonly associated with a freedom from allergic reactions, is
platinum. In addition to platinum being even less chemically reactive than gold
(which is already not very reactive), it's usually used in an almost pure state
(90 to 95 percent pure), and is often alloyed with other metals that are also in
the platinum group, especially iridium, which is considered equally
hypoallergenic. It's common, for example, for surgical implants to be faced
with platinum. Pacemakers, for example, are sometimes made with a platinun
covered exterior, for just this reason.

You also have options in less valuable materials that many people find tobe
hypoallergenic. Titanium or niobium are both highly reactive chemically,
especially with oxygen. What this means, though, is that they both bond
extremely tightly with oxygen, and the resulting titanium or niobium oxides are
very hard and stable, and the metals, in normal use, are always covered by an
almost impervious surface film of these oxides. The oxide layers can be
enhanced by heat or voltage to exhibit beautiful interference colors too.Both
of these materials are also commonly used in surgical implants, because of the
rarity of allergic reactions to these metals, and both are quite reasonably
priced. Not all types of jewelry can be made from these, however, since neither
one can be soldered in the normal manner. But modern equipment allows them to
be welded and cast quite well, if you've got a jeweler sufficiently acquainted
with the specific needs of these metals.

And the classic hypoallergenic metal is still surgical qualities of stainless
steel. Inexpensive and long wearing, it can also be made into quite attractive
jewelry.

In recent years we've also seen some exotic materials used in wedding bands. I'm
thinking of tungsten carbide. A dark grey metallic material, more like a
ceramic actually, who's hardness usually suggests it's most common use, cutting
tools. But that same hardness means that those few firms that can machine it
into a wedding band, have produced one that you'd have to work very hard to
scratch or ding up. And i'll bet that it's pretty good in the allergy
department too.

I'm sure there will be others in the group with yet more suggestions. These are
just the ones that first occur to me.

Peter Rowe

Tom Dempster wrote:
I'm looking for something for my wife for our 25th anniversary. She doesn't
wear her gold wedding ring anymore because she is allergic to everything on
the planet, or so it seems, and not surprisingly she developed a skin
reaction to the ring. If it's possible to speculate, what material tends to
illicit the fewest allergic reactions among the general public? Of course,
one person's allergies aren't necessarily the same as someone else's, so
maybe this is an impossible question. Heavens, I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.



Any ideas appreciated.


Stainless Steel (300 series)

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Another option for you might be Argentium Sterling (AS). There's been
no official tests on it yet, at least none that I've heard or, but
there is good circumstancial evidence for believing that AS is
considerably better that regular sterling in this regard and perhaps as
good as some of the so called "hypoallergenic" metals.

If you're interested in this aspect of AS I offer this link to a blog I
write on the subject of working with AS as a jewelry maker: the post is
entitled "Is Argentium Sterling hypoallergenic?" and the URL is
http://www.touchmetal.com/blog/2005/...llergenic.html

Cheers,
Trevor F.

Tom Dempster wrote:
I'm looking for something for my wife for our 25th anniversary. She doesn't
wear her gold wedding ring anymore because she is allergic to everything on
the planet, or so it seems, and not surprisingly she developed a skin
reaction to the ring. If it's possible to speculate, what material tends to
illicit the fewest allergic reactions among the general public? Of course,
one person's allergies aren't necessarily the same as someone else's, so
maybe this is an impossible question. Heavens, I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.



Any ideas appreciated.


Stainless Steel (300 series)

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

"Tom Dempster" m wrotein
message ...
I'm looking for something for my wife for our 25th anniversary. She doesn't
wear her gold wedding ring anymore because she is allergic to everything on
the planet, or so it seems, and not surprisingly she developed a skin
reaction to the ring. If it's possible to speculate, what material tends to
illicit the fewest allergic reactions among the general public? Of course,
one person's allergies aren't necessarily the same as someone else's, so
maybe this is an impossible question. Heavens, I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.

-- Have you considered a simple yet elegant pearl necklace? It doesen't have
to be a 50k strand, prices can range and there are nice pieces very
reasonably priced. You can find one with a clasp smaller than the pearls,so
that the clasp doesen't even come into contact with skin, or you can get a
long strand without clasp that's just slided overhead on the neckline.
Actually, those longer styles aren't even intended for "post teenage women",
but for more serious ladies, although it's a matter of taste. There are also
other forms of gemstone bead jewellery which can be quite elegant, even
luxorious, while maintaining freedom from allergy risks. Good luck! --

Abrasha wrote:
...
Stainless Steel (300 series)

and then Abrasha wrote:
...
Stainless Steel (300 series)

I think he's trying to tell us something.

m4816k wrote:
I can't even buy her flowers,
which cause all manner of asthma distress.

-- Have you considered a simple yet elegant pearl necklace?

I suppose finished pearls do not commonly cause allergies, but I've had
the most lamentable afternoon after drilling one without a face mask.
It wasn't an asthma reaction, but my sinuses went so completely haywire
I had to stop working. I'd be very sure that the jewelers didn't leave
any powder on the necklace.

On Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:38:27 -0800, in rec.crafts.jewelry
wrote:

Abrasha wrote:
...
Stainless Steel (300 series)

and then Abrasha wrote:
...
Stainless Steel (300 series)

I think he's trying to tell us something.



Well, yes he is. But true to his usual fine and concise form, he only said it
the needed number of times. Once.

The double posting of the message was not Abrasha's doing, but mine, by mistake.

Peter Rowe
moderator, rec.crafts.jewelry

mbstevens wrote:
m4816k wrote:
I can't even buy her flowers,

which cause all manner of asthma distress.

-- Have you considered a simple yet elegant pearl necklace?


I suppose finished pearls do not commonly cause allergies, but I've had
the most lamentable afternoon after drilling one without a face mask.
It wasn't an asthma reaction, but my sinuses went so completely haywire
I had to stop working. I'd be very sure that the jewelers didn't leave
any powder on the necklace.

Hmmm...
I thought the right way to drill pearls or any mother of pearl shell
work was best done wet
Ie under running water,
mainly so that one didnt heat up the work and risk splitting it.
also the smell of any grinding
or sanding of shell isnt a pleasant one.
Wet reduces this.
Many years ago I worked lots of mother of pearl shell from the raw
state, using the shell hinge area as well. that was up to 1/2in thick
and a great medium for interesting designs.
.. Removing the outside dark layer by wet grinding was always a pain.Tho
id cut out shapes from the shell on a band saw dry. that smelled bad,
and wore out the blade much faster than cutting metal.
Polishing the shell was also hard work. Well worth the effort.