Why Stainless Steel?

What Color is Stainless Steel?

Stainless Steel is a beautiful durable metal with the look of antique silver, or platinum, you won't find the the white silver in stainless that you do in bright sterling.   Our stainless has a medium gray patina applied so you can see all the beautiful detail on the charms, and findings like vintage sterling of the 1930-1950's.  

Loving Stainless Steel Jewelry since 2002?
When it comes to the best quality of stainless to use, 316L has all the others beat for shine and beauty and is the highest quality of stainless steel used in jewelry.  When I fell in love with stainless steel almost 20 years ago I wanted a metal that was beautiful, affordable, durable, and would never tarnish unlike Sterling Silver than can contain nickel and other fillers to work harden the metal as it is to soft to create in pure silver.  Stainless is durable enough thus it contains no fillers so you won't have an allergic reaction on top of that it is a sustainable and recyclable, great for our planet.  Stainless is the main metal in all our jewelry.  Our chains, clasps, jump rings and all components are 316L stainless steel.  Over 35% of our charms are now in stainless steel.

Does Stainless Steel Rust, Tarnish or Change Color?
Stainless Steel is a hard metal that resists scratches and tarnishing thanks to an invisible layer of chromium that prevents oxidation. It also is not plated, this is a pure silver color, so it will never change color. This makes Stainless the perfect metal for durable, long-lasting jewelry.

How do you Clean Stainless Steel Jewelry?
Here's a quick video on how to clean stainless jewelry.

Does Stainless Steel Jewelry Last?
Since our 316L stainless is never plated or painted, with minimal upkeep your jewelry will last for years. As many of our customers have our jewelry for 20 years or more.  Plus you will find our pieces being resold as vintage through estate sales and other venues. Just look for the Blackberry Designs Jewelry Logo Tag for an authentic piece.
  
Is Stainless Steel Jewelry Safe and Hypoallergenic?
Generally the fillers in jewelry and not the metal itself is what causes the allergenic reactions in jewelry.  Our 316 stainless does not contain allergic fillers like nickel, brass, or copper so is a low allergen metal. 

Will Stainless Steel Turn my Wrist Green?
For the same reason stainless steel is a hypoallergenic metal it will not oxidize and turn your wrist, neck, or finger green.  Generally the green is caused by the acids in your body reacting with copper, brass or nickel.  None of these metals exist in our jewelry.

Stainless Steel is Sustainable!

Stainless was a perfect marriage for my one of a kind designs and line of jewelry as it was a green product.  It is 100% recyclable, is not coated with any toxic material and does not produce toxic run-off.  During production, stainless steel already uses 70% recycled metal as its primary raw material.

Even if stainless steel is not recycled and it does find its way to a landfill or disposal site, it will have no detrimental effect to the soil or groundwater and is the preferred material for green building throughout the world. Its impact on the environment is minimal when compared to other jewelry materials as it continues to be re-used and recycled.

Why are you a Made to Order Company?
My pieces are all currently made to order using sustainable production practices so there is no overproduction, surplus waste or excess inventory.  

3 Reasons our Bracelets are not created in Sterling Silver?
While sterling silver is a lovely metal and used throughout fine jewelry there are several reasons we limit our use of sterling silver to only some of our settings where we cannot source them in stainless steel.  

The main reason is the fillers sterling silver contains in order to work harden the metal, pure silver is to soft and cannot be fabricated.  Metals used to harden pure silver like, copper, nickel, brass can cause allergens to your skin.

The second reason we limit the use of sterling silver is due to the constant cleaning from the tarnishing when it interacts with oxygen.  Customers don't like having to clean their silver all the time and were not wearing their jewelry frequently. 

The final reason we limit sterling silver is the cost.  When looking at the weight of our charms, chains, clasps and findings, pricing out a designer charm bracelet in sterling would increase the cost over 10 times.  When I developed this line in 2002 I wanted something that was a beautiful, durable, antique silver looking with a moderate price point and sterling does not provide this.  

Once you fall in love with stainless steel you will never look back to sterling again.

"We are conditioned to think "Good Jewelry" is done in precious metals.  Many think anything else is lesser quality.  Thank you for educating us to the quality and value of Stainless Steel and creating such beautiful pieces of jewelry to prove it."  ~Rusty, customer

~Dea