Hey Rich,

I didn't realize firescale could have that reaction on skin. I'm not sure if that's the problem though. I used argentium silver, and for some reason I thought argentium had no firescale.

I've been metalsmithing for less than 2 years. And I'm trying to sound professional (like I know what I'm talking about) while talking online with the customer with the green finger.

So, if he sends it back and I bright dip it you think that will resolve the problem?

Thanks,
David

David,

You didn't initially say that you used Argentium, a proprietary alloy of silver that contains germanium in addition to copper. It is entirely possible that your client is sensitive to the germanium in the alloy, and not to the copper. There has only been one study done on the cutaneous absorption of germanium, as far as I know, but that study indicated that rats do absorb inorganic germanium ions through the skin, with potential health consequences. In searching around a bit, I found no studies on Argentium with respect to skin sensitivity, unfortunately.

Given the lack of accurate information on skin sensitivity to Argentium, I'd probably opt to line that ring with gold, or fine silver. Gold will wear much better, of course, as fine silver is soft and susceptible to both abrasion and bending. To determine whether or not your customer is sensitive to the germanium, the copper, or the silver itself would take some skin tests that would be time-consuming and require the auspices of a dermatologist to perform properly. Gold is generally considered to be fundamentally inert as far as dermal sensitivities go, provided that you stick with alloys higher than 14k, so I'd just line the band with a piece of 28-32 gauge 18k gold and be done with it. Plating would accomplish the same thing, but would have poor wear characteristics on a person who works with his hands.

Bright dipping will not remove the germanium from the surface, I don't think. So that avenue is out, unless someone who is more familiar with Argentium than I am can advise otherwise. I am still using sterling perfectly happily and don't plan to change, so I'm not a font of information on Argentium.

All of the above is predicated on the assumption (dangerous, I know) that your customer is only sensitive on the skin that is under the band, in the area where perspiration is trapped against the skin with little chance to evaporate. If, on the other hand, the customer is also showing sensitivity on the sides of the adjacent fingers, then altering the inside of the band won't be sufficient to correct the entire issue, will it? You would have to change the outside of the band, too. In that case, it might be necessary to make the man's band from white gold or platinum, provided he isn't sensitive to the alloys in white gold (nickel, etc) or platinum. Damned unlikely that he's sensitive to platinum, except that he might suffer sticker shock at the price.

Rich

David,

Fine silver is remarkably soft when fully annealed, so you should have no problems. Make a band that will just slip inside the ring and then swage it out into the concavity of the band. To do that, I'd probably make a small snarling iron with a ball end that about matches the curvature of the ring's concavity and use that to force the fine silver band into place, followed up by a thorough burnishing with a small ball burnisher. When it feels like the fine silver is fully mated to the ring, you can solder it in place with some "easy" solder and be done. You may not need to solder it at all.

I hope this solves the customer's issue.

Rich