Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Lots of people ask how to oxidize or antique sterling silver. Many people use Liver of Sulfur or SilverBalck. One method that is "green" is using eggs. The sulfer in the egg yolks creates a chemical reaction with the silver and causes it to darken.

There are a lot of variations of this method. Here's mine:

1. Boil some eggs. The more jewelry, the more eggs you need.


2.Put hot unpeeled eggs in a heavy duty ziploc bag and zip shut. (The eggs have to be hot for this to work.)


3. Squish the eggs really well. The yolk of the egg is where all the sulfury goodness is, so you'll want the yolk well squished. (It's also really cathartic.)


This can be really messy and disgusting. So you should try to do this without children around because they'll want to have all the fun.






4. Place your jewelry in the bag with the egg.



If you don't want the mess, you can put a paper towel on top of the egg and lay the jewelry on top of the paper towel. Then leave your jewelry in the bag overnight.

I find that if I put the jewelry directly in the eggs, it's a lot quicker. The jewelry will be oxidized within about an hour.

Here you see that the jewelry is getting darker:

Unlike the other methods, you can achieve a golden brown color using eggs. I prefer it darker, so I'm leaving the jewelry in the egg for longer. Maybe another 20 minutes or so. Maybe longer.

If you want your silver darker and the egg has cooled, you can reheat the egg in a microwave for a few seconds. But becareful not to leave it in too long - the silver will heat up and melt the baggie!

After reheating, wait some more.


5. Do some handstands while you're waiting.




6 When your jewelry has oxidized as dark as you want it, remove it from the bag.


(At this point, it's probably a good idea to clean it before sending the jewelry to your buyer or photographing it for sale. )


7. Scrub the jewelry well with a little soap.


You can either leave it as is, or you can rub it with steel wool to highlight the textures.

Here's the same ring, before and after oxidizing:



Some variations on this method:

  • Use a tupperware container or a glass jar instead of a ziplock.
  • Hang a string or wire across the top of the tupperware so you can suspend your jewelry and not get egg all over it. Or make a little stand for your jewelry to sit on.
  • Peel a warm egg and place it whole with your jewelry in a airtight container. Leave overnight or longer. (Supposedly works better with old eggs.)


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21 Comments:

  1. Giftbearer said...
    Very interesting Tutorial!
    The Stewart Stuff said...
    I just love the photos! Especially of your daughter...that is sooo funny! Thanks for sharing a 'green' way to do it!
    -10oneworld on etsy
    Contrariwise said...
    My daughter just loves helping me with my blog. She thinks it's so much fun.

    And so do I.
    ARTISANNE DESIGN said...
    Wow, that's amazing! :0)
    High Desert Diva said...
    Very cool! I always assumed the only way it could be done was with chemicals...this is much better.

    Love the photos of your daughter!
    rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...
    Very, very cool! Not sure if I'll ever have a need for this technique - but if I do - I have you to thanks for this honorable GREEN method!
    Hey Harriet said...
    Wow! That is so cool! Thanks for sharing this wonderfully 'green' technique. A great post! Both informative & entertaining!
    Kristen said...
    that is so cool!!! My kids would love to help with that - thanks for sharing ;)
    earth and sun folk said...
    wow...crazy! great tute..and funny too :)
    My Inspired Reality said...
    Wonderful tutorial and loved the photos of your daughter - what a beautiful smile:):)
    Anonymous said...
    Yes, the handstand is a very important part of the process!
    Unknown said...
    great post - your blog makes me happy!
    FishBulb500 said...
    That is very cool! I've always wondered how this is done.

    I had to LOL when I saw your scrub brush; is it a potato with eyeballs and feet? It looks exactly like mine, which IS a potato with eyeballs and feet!
    Contrariwise said...
    Dina Cuomo,
    I think that's the nicest thing anyone ever has said about my blog! Thanks for making me smile.
    Contrariwise said...
    fishbulb500,
    lol. Yes. It's our "potato brush". It was so funny that we HAD to get it. (Although its been used so much that the eyeballs are now gone.)
    Kim Caro said...
    wow! cool...is it smelly after? lol
    Anonymous said...
    This is fantastic! I'm going to have to give this a shot on a bracelet I made. I thought I wanted it sterling, now I'm leaning towards oxidizing it.
    Margaret said...
    I did not realize that this is so quick and easy!!!
    Gillian said...
    Well I never!
    who'd have thought eggs could do that!

    love the fun photo's :)
    Roman said...
    Don't forget the important part of step six: sending it to a jewelry buyer.
    d. vrai said...
    Great tutorial, but a much more important question... where'd you get that pot?? It's awesome!

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