About Our Wire

Each unique piece of jewelry begins with a coil of Argentium Sterling Silver, 14Kt. Gold Filled or Copper wire and one of Nature's Gems; a Lucky Stone, Shell or piece of authentic Beach Glass as a natural centerpiece. Alison creates each piece by bending, swirling, and curling wire around the centerpiece using her hands and simple pliers. Only the highest quality materials are selected including any beads, findings and components, additionally, Alison collects each and every centerpiece while walking the shores of Lake Erie, they are not purchased from an outside source.

Facts About 14Kt. Gold Filled Wire
Pure gold is 24Kt. and is so soft that it is impossible to utilize in wire wrap jewelry. Using 14Kt. Gold Filled wire allows customers to enjoy all the beauty and quality of pieces made entirely of precious metals at a more affordable price. 14/20 wire or 1/20 Gold Filled wire (also known as rolled gold wire) is created by taking a sheet of 14Kt. Gold and bonding it through extreme heat and pressure to a core of semi-precious metal (brass). This is a very sophisticated process and only a few mills in the world do it.

The end result of the Gold Filled Process is a 14Kt. tube which is strong, durable, and resistant to tarnish because of its 14Kt. Gold covering. The quantity of gold must be at least 1/20th by weight of the total product. This is commonly marked as 14/20, which means receptively 1/20th by weight as 14Kt. Gold Filled.

14Kt. Gold Filled wire should not mistaken for GOLD PLATED wire. Gold-plated metal has a very thin layer of gold on the surface of a base metal, usually applied by the process of electroplating. There is a very big difference! There is 100 times more gold in 14Kt. Gold Filled (rolled gold) than in gold plate.

Beware of the difference! A 14Kt. Gold Filled material carries over a 10% cost increase over 12Kt. material. Many wire wrappers use 12Kt. Gold Filled wire. Lucky Stone Jewelry uses only the finest quality 14Kt. Gold Filled wire.

14Kt. Gold Filled Jewelry is considered a lifetime piece of jewelry. It will not corrode, turn, or wear off. There are many collections from the early 1900's that look as beautiful today as the day they were created!

Facts About Argentium Sterling Silver Wire
Imagine enjoying beautiful, gleaming silver jewelry that rarely needs polishing. When you buy pieces sculpted from Argentium Sterling Silver that is exactly what you get. Made with a touch of germanium that severely inhibits tarnish, Argentium silver is never less than 93% silver, just like traditional sterling, and should be stamped "AS 930" or "sterling." The presence of germanium, however, changes everything. In it's natural state, silver (Ag) is permeable to oxygen. This property is unaffected when silver is alloyed with copper to create sterling. Tarnish forms on standard sterling when copper and silver form sulfides. Generally, this happens due to contact with moisture (even humid air). The presence of germanium on the surface of Argentium Silver interferes with the sulfide formation by preventing oxygen from passing through the surface of the silver, severely inhibiting the formation of tarnish. Argentium Silver facilitates fabrication tasks with better ductility (stretching potential) and malleability (shaping potential) than are possible with standard sterling. Sterling silver is an alloyed metal with a fineness of 925 parts per 1000 (92.5%) silver and 75 parts per thousand (7.5%) other metal, usually copper. This alloy increases the strength of the metal but still allows it to be quite malleable and ductile for bending, swirling, and curling.

Cleaning and Caring for Your Wire Jewelry
Care for your wire sculpted jewelry the way you would any other piece of fine jewelry. I recommend using a soft toothbrush with liquid dishwashing soap and water. A silver polishing cloth is also helpful for removing tarnish on standard sterling silver pieces. Keep your wire sculpted pieces separate from your other jewelry to protect against nicks and scratches and reduce the chance of the wire being pulled by getting tangled with another piece of jewelry. It is best to keep Sterling Silver in a small sealed plastic bag or box with cotton in it, this will cut down on tarnishing, as air cannot get to it as easily. Enjoy your jewelry!

Alison Perry Graff
Designer