Anyone ever heard of an allergy to copper?
- Thread starter NWpurselover
- Start date
I can only wear 24k gold and platinum for earrings. Anything less than 24k, my ears get swollen. However for short periods of time, I can wear bracelets, watches and necklaces in other metals like silver and copper.
This thread is kinda old but I figured I'd post here to offer my knowledge on the subject:
I'm a jeweller, and in my location a fairly well-known jewellery salesperson. There's LOTS of information out there but some can be a bit misleading so I hope I can clarify a bit:
I'm allergic to copper. I don't use it myself but there is copper in silver and gold, and other people in my workshop use copper. For me, the reaction isn't immediately apparent with wearing copper but when the metal is being sawed, annealed (heated up to make it soft) or filed. Breathing in the particles makes my skin break out in itchy rashes all over my body and prolonged exposure wrecks my immune system (before I realised I had this allergy I was getting sick all the time).
This is a common allergy for people who are exposed to a lot of copper (such as metalsmiths - oh yay) . It is very normal for skin to turn green or dark after wearing copper - this is not an allergy or an irritation but the way the copper is reacting to the acidity levels of your skin, which is why some people can wear something for days before funny skin colours happen and others only a few minutes.
In regards to the original post, this copper bracelet may have other alloys - such as nickel - in it for strength and/or colour. Nickel is the worst metal in the world to have as an alloy because an estimated 30% of the population has a negative effect to it (from memory; this figure may not be precise). Most commercial, cheap jewellery like that from chain jewellers has got nickel added into it. Lots of jewellery is also silver or gold plated over nickel plating, so be careful of that too! In Australia this is considered ill practice and comes mainly from Asian suppliers.
In terms of a copper allergy, the best metal to wear is probably white gold or platinum (or you cango for your titaniums, stainless steels, etc). I was making a 9ct yellow gold ring today and I'm irritated all over from it!
However, unless you are very certain that it's definitely copper you're allergic to, you may need to consider that it could be something added to the copper. With any allergy like this, it is best to talk to a manufacturing jeweller who makes their own ingots from scratch and asking them what their alloys are (the good ones will use just gold, silver and copper for yellow gold and only gold and platinum (sometimes silver) for white gold, but cut-cost jewellers will most likely have a lot of bizarre alloys).
I hope this helps anyone trying to establish if they have a copper allergy!
I'm a jeweller, and in my location a fairly well-known jewellery salesperson. There's LOTS of information out there but some can be a bit misleading so I hope I can clarify a bit:
I'm allergic to copper. I don't use it myself but there is copper in silver and gold, and other people in my workshop use copper. For me, the reaction isn't immediately apparent with wearing copper but when the metal is being sawed, annealed (heated up to make it soft) or filed. Breathing in the particles makes my skin break out in itchy rashes all over my body and prolonged exposure wrecks my immune system (before I realised I had this allergy I was getting sick all the time).
This is a common allergy for people who are exposed to a lot of copper (such as metalsmiths - oh yay) . It is very normal for skin to turn green or dark after wearing copper - this is not an allergy or an irritation but the way the copper is reacting to the acidity levels of your skin, which is why some people can wear something for days before funny skin colours happen and others only a few minutes.
In regards to the original post, this copper bracelet may have other alloys - such as nickel - in it for strength and/or colour. Nickel is the worst metal in the world to have as an alloy because an estimated 30% of the population has a negative effect to it (from memory; this figure may not be precise). Most commercial, cheap jewellery like that from chain jewellers has got nickel added into it. Lots of jewellery is also silver or gold plated over nickel plating, so be careful of that too! In Australia this is considered ill practice and comes mainly from Asian suppliers.
In terms of a copper allergy, the best metal to wear is probably white gold or platinum (or you cango for your titaniums, stainless steels, etc). I was making a 9ct yellow gold ring today and I'm irritated all over from it!
However, unless you are very certain that it's definitely copper you're allergic to, you may need to consider that it could be something added to the copper. With any allergy like this, it is best to talk to a manufacturing jeweller who makes their own ingots from scratch and asking them what their alloys are (the good ones will use just gold, silver and copper for yellow gold and only gold and platinum (sometimes silver) for white gold, but cut-cost jewellers will most likely have a lot of bizarre alloys).
I hope this helps anyone trying to establish if they have a copper allergy!