Silver Hills Gems will be changing to nickel free and lead free findings during 2011.
What does this process involve? All findings are made from either copper or zink alloys. We need to change the way that the findings are plated. Most metal articles are plated after manufacturing. Zinc plating is both durable and easy. You just pop the article in the plating solution and before your eyes the item turn to a bright silver colour. It is like magic.
Plating with zinc free solutions is a bit more complicated. Zinc will plate any metal but not all metals can be plated by the same zinc free plating. The process demand more time and is more expensive. Some plating needs 3-4 different coatings to get the same shiny result.
The discomfort is that nothing can be bought off the shelve. All the findings have to be ordered and I will have to buy larger minimum quantities to get them to make and plate them in nickel free. I now need you to write to me on the basic items you need that we will need to stock.
I plan to start off with headpins, jumprings, clasps, chain, earhooks, wire guardians and such items.
We can't change an item that is already plated by nickel to a nickel free item. So we have to sell out our current range.
Why would we like to change to nickel free? It is already a requirement in all of Europe and the UK. If they require it we want to find out why and follow suite.
Is nickel dangerous? Not really. It gives an alergic reaction to some people. Small amounts of metal can build up in your body over time but studies are not conclusive enough to give a total ban on nickel. Remember that we are behind on some things and it usually takes around 3 years and then our goverment follow suite.
See what one of my customers wrote this week.
Wow, Nickel free findings would be GREAT?!!! I have been making beaded jewellery for 7 years, I only use nickel findings as I have searced high and low for Nickel Free findings and so far havent been able to find a supplier locally. I would definately buy all my nickel free from you. I have had offers to sell my jewellery abroad but due to my findings not being nickel free I was turned down. Nickel free is much better quality too (found some clasps only from a supplier) and looks much better too. I commonly use toggle clasps, split rings, wire guardians, eye pins, head pins etc.
Let me add some links here to usefull articles to read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroless_nickel_plating
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0xFlIQ9MhQ Nickel plating video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plating A general article on plating.
Hear what Ted Mooney had to say on this subject.
I have seen in print that 40 percent of adult women under 30 are sensitive to nickel, and that 30 percent of women 30 to 40 years old are sensitive, etc.
Once you have the allergy you have it for life, so it is imperative that this not be read as an indication that sensitivity goes down with age, but rather that exposure has gone up among younger women (probably primarily due to piercings).
Whether the survey numbers are exactly accurate, though, isn't the salient point. The point is that the numbers are skyrocketing, the allergy is acquired, and is strongly proportional to exposure. It is not impossible that virtually all of us would acquire the allergy if we wore nickel plated piercings for years. It is urgent that we do everything we reasonably can to get nickel out of jewelry as rapidly as possible.
http://www.tanury.com/tech5.htm Another interesting article on the challenges facing anyone going nickel free.
What materials can be used to plate nickel free jewwellery. Copper, tin alloy or rhodium or 925 silver. Each plating method has it's own challenges.
It is also important to buy from a reputable source because some people might say that their items are nickel free just to corner the market. We use a nickel testing kit to make sure that all the items are truly nickel free. Also make sure that the coatings are plated to the right thickness. You do not want the plating to come off after cleaning it the just a few times. We use a plating company that has years of experience when it comes to plating in nickel free plating.
Buy from Silver Hills Gems with confidence.
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