Sometimes it's not the whole piece of jewelry but the solder used to attach parts. My mother has pretty bad metal allergies and what pieces gives her problems can be pretty unpredictable. You often can't tell if the high karat gold jewelry was put together with low karat solder or in once instance she found silver solder on gold.
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I have done a search for Ame and nothing's showing up. Would you be so kind and pop a link here to one of their posts? Thank you in advance.
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I live in the UK and whilst reading about EU regulations it mentions that they have prohibited nickel in jewellery. I don't know how true this is as most jewellery is imported.
18k yellow gold wouldn't contain nickel, but does 18k white gold contain nickel?
Once I know the metals to avoid I can start to build a meaningful jewellery collection.
Hmm, not sure if white gold would contain nickel. I should think not. Maybe someone else will chime in...
White gold in the US almost always contains nickel. That's what is added into the gold to make it white. The pieces are then coated in rhodium to make it whiter. Many people won't react until the coating wears off, which it will at varying rates depending on chemistry, but it can be redipped for low cost.
Another trick is to coat the jewelry with a layer of clear nail polish. At least for rings on the inside so you don't have a noticeable gloss on the surface.
If you want to try searching again, use AME as the member name, search this forum only and use the keywords: kwait, Nordstrom, platinum, earrings. The thread is about how she purchased some platinum diamond studs from Nordstrom and when they arrived they had gold backs. Which is a big no no because as I mentioned earlier she is allergic to gold.
Yep, I did buy some Kwiat studs that were platinum, and all but the backs WERE platinum. But when they showed up, the backs were gold, and I couldn't do anything with them without a platinum backing. I recently ended up returning them because even with the platinum backings I had issues and never ended up wearing them. I had a set of platinum studs done elsewhere and so far have had no issues.
Personally, I am VIOLENTLY allergic to gold, doesn't matter how it's alloyed. It cannot touch me or my skin literally starts to boil. People can absolutely be allergic to gold, platinum, or any metal at all. And they can also develop over time, where you never were and bam one day you are. Plating doesn't always work (as suggested above) but for some people it can be a temporary fix. Nickel is also a problem for me.
Base metal and nickel based things can be very big issues for metal allergies. I am wary of most stainless because in the US there's no rules about how much Nickel can be used, and in other countries there are.
As for the question about nickel in wg: yes in the US that is the main alloy to make it "white." Nickel WG is usually pale yellow and requires the rhodium plating to be white, and that plating will wear off over time. Palladium (in the plat family) is the best alloy for gold if you want it to literally be white and not really need plating. It gives it a more "Gray" tone, but it doesn't require plating. For many people this is the ideal mix for white gold, but it won't help me a lot.
Personally, I am VIOLENTLY allergic to gold, doesn't matter how it's alloyed. It cannot touch me or my skin literally starts to boil. People can absolutely be allergic to gold, platinum, or any metal at all. And they can also develop over time, where you never were and bam one day you are. Plating doesn't always work (as suggested above) but for some people it can be a temporary fix. Nickel is also a problem for me.
Base metal and nickel based things can be very big issues for metal allergies. I am wary of most stainless because in the US there's no rules about how much Nickel can be used, and in other countries there are.
As for the question about nickel in wg: yes in the US that is the main alloy to make it "white." Nickel WG is usually pale yellow and requires the rhodium plating to be white, and that plating will wear off over time. Palladium (in the plat family) is the best alloy for gold if you want it to literally be white and not really need plating. It gives it a more "Gray" tone, but it doesn't require plating. For many people this is the ideal mix for white gold, but it won't help me a lot.
Thank you.
Thank you for a very informative post. We do have more regulations here for jewellery compared to the US. I am lucky my skin didn't boil. I am just left with pigmentation marks from the piece that caused it. I will have to save hard to get my sentimental pieces reset into a nickel free metal.
Metals like pure gold and titanium are completely inert to the human body and allergies only occur in extreme circumstances (like when people are allergic to water or the sun or their own body fluids or organs, it's more about their immune system responding to harmless things aggressively than known allergens in the material).
But 100% pure metal is hypothetical; the refining process can't purify to molecular perfection, and 24k gold is only 99.9% pure. Severe allergies can absolutely be triggered in the low ppm (parts per million) impurities found in a "pure" metal. Nickel allergies tend to be the worst, and most present in white gold or refined iron used in stainless steel.
But keep in mind those responding to low ppm base metals will have grief handling metal flatware, doorknobs, coins, zippers, clothing buttons, etc. I know someone with this and it's a serious chronic struggle for her. FYI she wears high quality titanium body jewelry and a plastic tongue barbell with no ill effects.
So really OP there are many possibilities. But because the rash is only on the nape of your neck and not in the shape of the entire piece circling your neck, my best guesses are that something is poking you (loose wire from a lobster clasp is common), that solder from a different metal is present near the clasp, or that the clasp is a different material or alloy from the rest of the chain.
Or it could be unrelated. Maybe sit with the part that was against the nape of your neck between a chair and your bare thigh while you watch a movie and see what happens? If you react to spot testing you can narrow the culprit down. If not, you've averted a red herring but should visit a doctor if it doesn't go away.
I am one of these rare birds. I am allergic to friggin EVERYTHING. A few foods, damn near every freaking plant/tree/whatever, many chemicals, silicones give me reactions, castor oil, lanolin, metals "pure or seemingly pure", etc. It's a delight, lemme tell you. My allergist probably loves me. My dermatologist sure "enjoys" those calls.
Interesting, I have similar colouring and similar types of allergies. Right now mostly I avoid metals but do wear a pilots watch w/ a leather band. These watches are antimagnetic and traditionally do not affect flight deck equipment. It's taken a long lifetime to find a reliable watch I can wear and this is a major breakthrough.
As far as metals are concerned its a case of personal trial and error. A really good quality medical grade stainless steel or titanium should work. I now have masses of titanium surgical clips, tested by my allergist prior, and they have been non-reactive for almost 6 years now. But I did loose all my platinum, still keeping it it may come back.
You will need to find a jeweller or company who will work with you and allow returns as you test and work through the various materials.
Allergies are personal and can develop over time. A lot of my jewelley has ended up with my sisters but sometimes I can go back to a piece after a few years.
You never know what will work until you do a test. I have a lot of vintage pieces bought really cheaply at flea markets over the years on the chance it will work and sometimes it does. It's a fun hobby anyway and they make great gifts. Just realized I also wear French hair barettes with big metal clips. You might look at French base metal jewellery. Think the EU has higher metal content regulations.
Good luck! Try and look at it as a very personal journey of discovery rather than a frustrating process.
As far as metals are concerned its a case of personal trial and error. A really good quality medical grade stainless steel or titanium should work. I now have masses of titanium surgical clips, tested by my allergist prior, and they have been non-reactive for almost 6 years now. But I did loose all my platinum, still keeping it it may come back.
You will need to find a jeweller or company who will work with you and allow returns as you test and work through the various materials.
Allergies are personal and can develop over time. A lot of my jewelley has ended up with my sisters but sometimes I can go back to a piece after a few years.
You never know what will work until you do a test. I have a lot of vintage pieces bought really cheaply at flea markets over the years on the chance it will work and sometimes it does. It's a fun hobby anyway and they make great gifts. Just realized I also wear French hair barettes with big metal clips. You might look at French base metal jewellery. Think the EU has higher metal content regulations.
Good luck! Try and look at it as a very personal journey of discovery rather than a frustrating process.