Top Most Popular Questions about Stainless Steel Jewellery

By Angela Bethea | October 12, 2012

Forget gold and silver, stainless steel is one of the most popular materials available for jewellery. Why? Unlike precious metals, stainless steel is durable and remains attractive, even after years of use. Stainless steel is unique in its self-healing qualities: due to an oxide layer on the surface of the metal, it auto-repairs when it’s scratched. The white metal looks fantastic, but is also reasonably priced, so even when money is tight, you can still afford a new statement piece of jewellery.

What is Stainless Steel?
Stainless steel is a metallic alloy containing at least 11% of chromium – a robust component that lends stainless steel its durability. It is called ‘stainless’ steel for a reason, thanks to chromium’s high corrosion resistance and was first created by metallurgist, Harry Brearley, who was trying to create the greatest metal possible for weaponry.

As he combined a variety of components with steel, he realised that steel combined with chromium was the only sample that did not rust, during his experiments. Brearley christened this new metal ‘rustless steel,’ but that name was a little lacklustre and so ‘stainless steel’ was born.

Why is Stainless Steel Cheap?
Metals go up in price due to their rarity – that’s why gold and silver are so pricey. Stainless steel is in abundance, making it sometimes cheaper than other contemporary metals, such as titanium and cobalt chrome.

How the Properties of Stainless Steel Affect You
If you want to resize a stainless steel ring, you may be out of luck, as the hardiness of the metal makes it so difficult to manipulate. However, it is relatively cheap to replace a ring that is the wrong size and easy too as you can just purchase fashion jewellery online. Stainless steel can still be removed in an emergency by a jeweller’s saw. Some people suffer with skin that is sensitive to certain metals; fortunately, stainless steel jewellery is hypoallergenic. It’s unlikely to be magnetic too, if your jewellery is high grade quality.

Is Stainless Steel Eco-Friendly?
Stainless steels is a great eco-friendly alternative to other metals like gold as it is readily available and doesn’t require heavy mining to obtain. When you’re done with it, stainless steel is 100% recyclable and more than half of the products manufactured today are made from recycled stainless steel.

Will Stainless Steel Rust?
Usually, if you have a high grade quality piece of stainless steel jewellery, you don’t have to worry about oxidisation. Lower grade stainless steels, such as 304, could potentially rust under very particular conditions, but it is unlikely.

What is Stainless Steel Used For?
There are so many applications for stainless steel. Here are some examples of how versatile this metal is:

Domestic equipment, from saucepans to washing machine drums

Street furniture

Handrails

Exhaust systems

Ship containers

Pressure vessels

Subsea pipelines

Surgical instruments

MRI scanners

Catering equipment

Water treatment

Springs

Fasteners

Wire

As well as, of course, stunning jewellery. For more information on jewellery visit Pearl and Butler’s site here – www.pearlandbutler.com