How To Care For Your Copper & Brass Jewelry

Copper and Brass love to be worn! Brass and Copper are wonderful metals to wear. If you wear your jewelry regularly, it's harder for it to tarnish. Having worn and worked with brass and copper all my professional career, I prefer it.

There are a few things you can do to keep your brass clean and aligned with your body, without getting tarnish on your skin! Because of its ability to balance itself with natural patina over time, sometimes brass and copper leave small green or blue marks on our skin. These marks are normal and will go away when you wash your hands. These marks are not toxic to us or our skin. It probably means your brass or copper got moist or wet which made it oxidize to protect the surface! It happens! This is copper's super power to protect itself. 

When wearing brass and copper jewelry it's important to keep your jewelry dry and clean. When washing your hands or taking showers with your brass or copper jewelry, just dry it off real well when you're finished. (This is almost a reminder to keep your hands clean, which is essential right now.) If you wear your jewelry all the time, even in the shower, which I do, You naturally polish your metal and it has an organic shine from being a part of your wardrobe! 

If you do have brass or copper jewelry that is tarnished, it's pretty simple to clean it! Wash your brass or copper pieces with a dish towel or a wash cloth and dish soap. You can let it soak for 10 mins or so if you want, depending on how tarnished your jewels are. You can even a use an old tooth brush with the soap to scrub off tarnish, grime, or dirt. There are also polishing cloths available for jewelry that will help with tarnish. 

When not wearing your brass or copper jewelry make sure it is dry before you store it. I'd also recommend putting your brass or copper jewelry in a bag, box, or case, to prevent unwanted tarnish. The truth is that copper and brass will tarnish over time, just remember to give it a good wash like described above! It's important to wash and cleanse your crystals too. Cleaning is a good time to reflect and set new intentions. I know cleaning can be associated with a mess of negativity but we can make positive associations with cleaning to improve our life and perspective!

When purchasing brass or copper make sure it's nickel free. It is also common to find copper that is plated. There is also aluminum sold as copper or brass. Be careful what you buy! I get my brass and copper wire from Rio Grande. If you want to know more about where I source my metals from, please contact me directly. Some of my brass chains are up-cycled and most likely coated/plated copper. It can be hard to tell what you're purchasing when it comes to base metals. I am not sure why. Genuine copper is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks to your 'copper', it's probably not copper. 

Fun fact about Copper: when it's alloyed with zinc, you make Brass. Copper is in Sterling Silver. Copper is also responsible for many of the blue and green colors we see in stones such as Malachite, Azurite, and Turquoise. How cool is that? Michigan is also a place where copper is mined! You can find Michigan copper at some crystal shops around the state.