Posted 7 years ago
Steptoe1
(1665 items)
Hello I found this ring which at the time was totally black and in a box of junk old bits saw the stones sparkling, cleaned it a lot and underneath is this lovely warm gold looking metal,not attracted to a magnet I don't think I can clean in between the gaps and have not put this in any liquid as I don't want it to lose any stones.
Not Art Deco - a modern copy made, perhaps, of copper. Copper is non-magnetic.
I must say that I have not come across many items with such black tarnish that's not antique, I have had this ring for about 4 years and it has not tarnished in that time so common sense tells me it must have taken many many years to get that black tarnish that you can still see. And copper is a red colour.
As I said before, some designers used to apply a chemical antique finish to bright brass/metal to get a special effect...
That's why it is hard to remove and your cleaned piece didn't tarnish in 4 years...
http://blog.rings-things.com/2011/03/31/how-to-use-heat-to-patina-brass-charms-and-filigrees/