Adventures in Oxidizing

I think it is important as a jewelry designer to learn new techniques. So, I decided that I wanted to try out oxidizing jewelry. I used the egg method, which in my opinion is easier then using liver of sulfur, but takes longer. Some people let their jewelry sit overnight, some wait a couple of hours.

Here's what I did:

Materials:
-2 eggs
-deep container (plastic or glass)
-string
-aluminum foil


Step 1:
Boil eggs

Step 2:
Get your container and tape string on either side



Step 3:
When the eggs are hard. Take the shells off and place the eggs in the container, use a fork to crush them. Take your jewelry and place them on the string. The cross pattern worked better for my pieces, because my earrings are big. If you have smaller pieces use more string across the opening.

*This is without the egg, I was trying it out.


Step 4:
Cover the container with aluminum foil, make sure you don't knock your pieces into the egg.


Step 5:
All you do now is wait. You can let it sit overnight, it's up to you.

After 2 hours...



I didn't want them that dark, so I buffed them a bit. Here's the finished product..

I hope that helped you. Remember this was my first time doing it, so...