by Janine Gerade.
Has this ever happened to your jewelry wire?
I wear this bracelet all the time as a tester.
Kept it on through the shower to make sure my mom bracelets are strong enough.
One problem, I can’t remember the beading wire brand I used for this, but I use Zamba pro 49 strand a lot.
I was told that Zamba pro won’t rust (from a online bead store’s online chat).
I am restringing it with Zamba pro again so I know for sure.
Have any of you had this problem?
Janine Gerade
Janine’s Jewelry Design
I use Beadalon 49 and been in business for 8 years. This is a first; I’ve never seen rusted beading wire! The beading wire I use is coated. I have restrung pieces for myself and customers that are staples and worn every day, as crystals and other sharp edged beads can rub and fray the coating and wire, increasing the risk of breakage. Still, I’ve never seen rust. What type of metal beads are you using? For additional security, I always use wire guards or bullion wire on the ends. I would contact the manufacturer, maybe sending the a snip of the rusted beading wire. Rust shouldn’t happen like that! I look forward to reading other’s experiences. Good luck.
Hi Janine,
I would recommend looking for stainless steel wire which you will see by the big name brands such as Beadalon, Accu-Flex and Soft Flex. These may cost a little bit more but is definately worth the extra money!
~Val
From an Engineering perspective it looks like galvanic corrosion. I agree with Danielle, check your dissimilar metals in the construction. google galvanic chart and you will be able to see what metals get along with others and which don’t. At least, that is my 2bits. At this point, you may need to fabricate a similar structure and test in rigorously in tough environments to see if you can replicate. maybe from the same strand of wire, if you have some, and from a couple of known sources. Scientific method style.
Happy beading and good luck. Please post your results of your continued experiment. I, for one, would be interested to know the cause of your conundrum.
thanks
For my pendants I use some purchased neckwires made with coated stainless steel beading wire. I’ve had 2 occasions in the past 4 years that the neckwires have been returned due to similar discoloration/rust. After trying to figure it out the only conclusion I’ve come to is that both customers a) wore sunscreen daily and b) used perfume. Perhaps the chemicals are breaking down the coating and affecting the wire?? Perhaps my two returns had a nick in the coating which allowed water or chemicals in? Wish I had the answer but at least you know it’s happened to someone else too!
I have had this problem before with cheap stringing material. It was only a small amount of rust near the ends of the finished piece. You should contact the manufacturer of the material and tell them about it. Hopefully they have more insight. Also this type of thing can happen if you have hard water or live near the ocean as heavy minerals are very hard on jewelry. I had jewelry in a store by the ocean and when I checked in on my things after a few months I was horrified to see many of my items had badly rusted or tarnished and had to be taken apart!
Thanks for the info especially the scientific stuff! I love it! I checked out galvanic corrosion on Wikipedia and got lost a bit with the technical terminology. I am coming under the conclusion that although I mostly buy sterling silver, I have been ripped off in the past with some vendors and was sold silver plated pieces thinking it was sterling that may have reacted with the stainless steel coated wire. I also have been confused with the different types of silvers out there too (maybe another interesting topic to discuss in the future) I wear perfume on my wrist sometimes and they could have caused it too.
I wish I could remember the company that made the wire but I have made so many pieces over the years and buy wire when I need it.
Getting back into jewelry after a long time I found the wires do age and discolor a bit.Even worse they can become brittle. I have a turquoise squash blossom necklace from N.Mexico that will now have to be restrung although I never wore it and kept it tucked in a padded pouch. It just snapped. I am using the wire that is plastic coated now which should slow this problem down.
I had the very same problem with Beadalon 49 rusting and breaking on several bracelets! and I called the manufacturer, they took no responsibility and said they had never seen that before, I sent some pictures of the damage too. Now I am looking for a really good flexible stringing wire, I will spend a little more if anyone has suggestions would be glad to hear. thanks!!!
Kris, I have always had good results with Acculon beading wire. Even the pieces I made over 20 years ago using Acculon are still going strong and in their original condition and quality – after more than 2 decades of wearing!