Brief intro and patina safety question

Jewelry Discussion
1

Good morning everyone,

I am new to the list, and thought I would briefly introduce myself
before diving right in with a question.

My name is Cynthia Reynolds and I am an artist living in Norway. I am
self taught and work in a variety of media. Researching new
techniques and experimenting with new materials is something that
never bores me :wink: You can find me at http://www.mindesign.no or
follow my blog to keep up with the latest ‘goings on’ in my studio at
http://cynthiareynolds.wordpress.com

and now for my question:

While visiting a friend in Holland last week (6 trains, 2 ferries
plus subways, taxis and buses to get home thanks to the volcano :slight_smile: a
friend of mine was given a ring as birthday present. The ring was
made by a neighbour of hers and was quite simple in design having
been made of silver wire looped three times around. The focal point
of the ring was the patina. It was a somewhat powdery green patina
covering the entire piece (both inside and out), my friend was told
that when it wore off, she could have it reapplied as often as she
wanted. They were all speaking dutch, so I had a hard time
understanding, but I heard that she used ‘chlorine’ for the patina. I
am assuming she meant ‘cupric chloride’. I was hesitant to question
the safety of wearing such a piece, as to not put the woman on the
spot, so I thought I would do a little research. How safe is it to
wear patinated metals in direct contact with your skin? Is there a
website where I might find about the safety of different
patinas, (not just in creation process, but in the end-user safety.)

Any would be greatly appreciated,

Best regards from Norway,
Cynthia Reynolds
MinDesign.no

2 
The focal point of the ring was the patina. It was a somewhat
powdery green patina covering the entire piece (both inside and
out), my friend was told that when it wore off, she could have it
reapplied as often as she wanted. They were all speaking dutch, so
I had a hard time understanding, but I heard that she used
'chlorine' for the  patina.

I don’t think that chlorine will color silver although it can dull
the surface. I’m surprised that someone more of a chemist than I am
has not answered but I am way behind on reading posts.

marilyn

3

I have used clorox to patinate silver but it turned it black, not
green.

Jerry in Kodiak