Nickel Allergy

We use mostly brass in our jewelry. Brass is an alloy consisting of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Brass is most commonly made of 67% copper and 33% zinc but by varying the percentage of them you get brass with different colors. If you increase the copper content, the brass turns out more red and if you lower it below 50%, you get white brass. You do not, as a rule, add nickel to brass but it is sometimes used as a finish when you want a shiny silvery color on your end product.

Our suppliers have assured us that the parts in our jewelry do not contain nickel. There is a possible exception, known to us, to this. The barrette bases in our hair barrettes are sold labeled "Complies with Nickel Content Regulations". Obejcts plated in gun metal (se the page About Our Jewelry) may contain nickel so avoid that color if you are sensitive to nickel.

If you want to read more about nickel and nickel allery, you can go to Socialstyrelsens meddelandeblad om nickelallergi.
(Sorry, this text is in Swedish only.)

If you are unsure if you can wear brass in your ears and you don't want to experiment, you can always order earwire made of surgical steel, niobium, titanium, sterling silver or 18K gold instead. We have earwire made of all of those metals, but gold, in stock but earwire made of gold will have to be ordered for you. Earwire made of gold will of course make your earrings more expensive. How much more expensive must be determined when you place your order since precious metals fluctuate a lot in price. We will not charge anything for making the exchange of earwires.

Note: The metals red gold (only in 18K and 24K), niobium (a pure, unblended, metal) and titanium (an alloy usually consisting of aluminium and vanadium) are metals deemed suitably safe to be inplanted into the human body; they are so called hypoallergenic metals.

Addition 23rd of March 2006.
We can now offer earwire made of niobium as a hypoallergenic alternative to brass and steel. Please read more about our niobium earwire here.