Wire tarnishing inside wire-wrapped gemstone?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Would love some advice. I make wire-wrapped jewelry with 14K
Gold-Filled and Argentium wire and have been having a problem with
the wire tarnishing inside the drilled gemstone thus bring more
attention to the drill hole. Does anyone know a remedy or prevention
for that? I’m getting the feeling that the material used to drill the
gemstone is trapped inside in trace amounts but just enough to aid in
the tarnishing. Help! Thanks, Judith Bright

2

You need to try and seal the wire in the hole with say superglue. Try
this and see if it prevents the oxydation. It might just be damp in
between the wire and the stone. It sould run in by capillary
action.

3

Now, understand that I don’t know for sure, but I bet I am right.
The sides of the hole in the gemstone are rough. It abrades the wire
into a powder that looks black because it is divided so finely. In
other words, tarnish is not really your problem. One solution would
be to polish the hole in the gemstone. I doubt that this would be
worth your time. Another solution would be to line the hole with a
clear material. I suggest plastic. I don’t know where to find it, but
a tiny plastic tube might do the trick. Finally, make your own tube.
In other words, paint the part of the wire that goes in the stone
with epoxy. Then you will have a barrier between the wire and the
rough sides of the hole. This would prevent the abrasion.

4

thanks. i think i’ll try to paint with glue. i think that will work.
thanks and kind regards!

judith

5

Calvin makes a lot of sense. My first thought was also to coat all
the wire with a protective clear lacquer spray (prior to making the
piece) but I’m not sure that would be sufficient to prevent future
problems as unless you “un-rough” the inside of the stone hole,
you’d still be getting that abrasion…which might eventually
wear off the thin lacquer coat on the wire.

Lisa Van Herik
www.wovenwirestudio.com