Friday, July 31, 2009

Earring Solution for Metal Allergies - Niobium

For some people, even upgrading to 14K gold does not alleviate their skin sensitivities or allergies to metal, especially nickel. Even in more pure forms, gold and silver are often still alloyed with small amounts of nickel. In the past, someone with severe metal allergies had to purchase expensive titanium or platinum earrings in order to be able to wear them. Today there are also coatings available on the market to buffer your skin from the offending metal. This is not a permanent solution however. For a less expensive, permanent solution try niobium ear wires.

Niobium is so affordable, it isn’t just for people with skin sensitivities. Niobium is a silver gray colored metal. However, it can be anodized with differing thicknesses of niobium to produce an array of exciting colors.

There are many craft wires available that match or compliment the anodized colors of niobium. Some very fun earring combinations are possible when you are not constrained to just silver, gold or copper ear wires. I have just designed my first pair of outrageously colored, fun earrings. (Update: These earrings have been sold, however if you are inspired by the colors of niobium ear wires in the photos and would like for me to design a pair of custom earrings for you, please contact me and let me know what your color preferences are and I’d be happy to design something for you.) You can see my currently listed niobium ear wire earrings in my shop, EDCCollective. (Most earrings in both of my shops can be changed to niobium earrings. Contact me for details.)

Add some color to your ears and be kind to them as well.

1 comment:

  1. What a great post! I have a problem with earrings bothering me sometimes, so it's great to know there's something new to try!

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