An oxidising eggsperience

This week Opulent Ethics have done their first bit of oxidising using good old eggs and this got us thinking what other jewellery techniques are there that can be done in a greener way?

The colour left behind when oxidising with eggs rather than liver of sulphur or oxidisation chemicals is gunmetal grey rather than black but we love the finished look. And the technique is so simple you can do it in your kitchen with no need for additional tools. All you need is an airtight, sealable bag, some eggs and the jewellery you wish to oxidise.

There are numerous recipes around with each one stating how to get the perfect outcome but we chose to follow this simple one from “I Dream I Can Fly Away”:

• Finish your jewellery as required. A polished surface will still shine through after oxidisation.
• Boil your eggs for 10 – 15 minutes (the number of eggs is dependant on the size of your piece. We used 2 eggs for a 30mm piece).
• Ensure your piece is dry and place it in the sealable bag. If the metal is wet the oxidisation process will not work as well. Multiple pieces should be placed apart so they do not touch as this affects the oxidisation process also.
• When the eggs have boiled, remove them from the water, dry them and place them straight into the bag.
• Seal the bag with a little air in it.
• Smash the eggs and yolks to release the sulphur.
• Turn the piece of jewellery every 5 minutes for the first 30 minutes to ensure the sulphur reaches all parts of the piece.
• Leave for 2 hours or longer if you wish the oxidisation to be darker. 
• Remove and finish as required.

From this...

To this!

We found that there is only a slight difference in colour between the pieces being left for 2 hours or being left overnight. It is hard to stop the pieces from getting wet in the bag as there is condensation from the hot eggs. In the future Opulent Ethics may try and suspend the piece so that it touches none of the sides of the bag, making it easier for the sulphur to reach all surfaces and to stop any of the condensation from reaching the piece. Also, in future, if we were oxidising multiple pieces at once we would place them in separate bags as the colour change was less in bags with more than one piece.

The other very simple way that anyone can green their jewellery is by changing their pickle. Normal chemical pickle is very corrosive (you may have noticed holes appearing in all your clothes after a day in the workshop) and should not be disposed of down the sink. There are, however, alternatives! Ute Decker has a pickle fact sheet on her website showing the recipe for either citric acid or iodized salt and vinegar pickle. The beauty of both these pickle solutions is that you can make them from easily purchased ingredients, they can be disposed of in a normal way and they are less corrosive to your skin and clothes.

There are further mentions on Ute’s website on how to be more green in your workshop. Other great tips can be found in Art Jewellery Magazine and on The Daily Jewel, a blog by Christine Dhein on all things green in jewellery.

That’s all for now….