I like the shiny. I like it a lot. But sometimes the shiny just isn’t the right look for a piece of jewelry. So I decided to antique a few pieces.
I started by boiling a couple of eggs for about 15-20 minuntes.
woohoo! boiling eggs! how exciting!
Then I laid out all the pieces of jewelry I wanted to antique flat in an airtight bag with the eggs. I proceeded to crush the eggs until the yolks were exposed. I wanted to get a picture of all this action, but the best I could do was this:
the steam defies me!
The steam did not cooperate with the picture taking.
Backtracking to the night before when I had tried this method with only one egg cut in half and a mayonaisse jar. The results weren’t so spectacular.
this don't look so good.
The jar didn’t work well because I couldn’t turn the jewelry and because I had so many pieces of jewelry I really did need more then one egg.
After about 35-40 minutes of obsessively checking on the pieces and turning them so they were evenly oxidized, I decided that I had achieved a decent patina.
oxidized jewelry
They still need to be polished in my little toy tumbler, but I like the way they look. I’m so glad I can achieve this particular effect without using any type of toxic chemicals. It’s good to be green! :)
Just for giggles, I’ll throw in a before and after shot of one of the pieces.
before
after
In other news, I have picked up the needles again! Yes! It’s true! Progress has been slow, but at least it’s there. So maybe there will be actual knitting to report on the knitting blog soon. Wouldn’t that be something? :-o
Happy Friday everyone! Have a smashing weekend. :-)
November 21st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
You do cook! *L*
How cool! I never would have thought to use eggs for that.
Happy Friday!
November 21st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Was it a trick of the camera or the stinky egg action that made the stone change between the before and after shots?
And also, now I want egg salad!
November 21st, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Fascinating! And a cool effect! : )
November 21st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Wow, antiquing with eggs! I never would have guessed. But then, with me being allergic, eggs are taboo in my house anyway.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Wow, very cool. Eggs, eh. Who would’a known. Well, some people, obviously. :-) Is it the sulphur, and does it work on every metal? And if that’s the effect they have, do I still want to eat them? Hmm.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
i love antiquing that way too – i always get too impatient though – but i like how you can control how dark you want to go….i love the lingering garden – guess cause i’m partial to the antique look with pearls….have a nice weekend~ debbie
November 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Opal, that’s, that’s, that’s eggstroidinary!
Those pieces are totally exquisite.
And yes, boiling eggs can be exciting. Last year we had a deviled egg party and boiled an ostrich egg…for several hours. Then we had to use a Dremel to cut it open. Served 12.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I am more fascinated by this than anyone should be. This is so cool!
November 21st, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Very cool! I had no idea you could do that.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:03 am
Fascinating! First time I’ve heard of doing this. That antique look is amazing! Don’t know if I want to eat eggs from now on though.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 am
Very cool process. Who knew eggs could be so versatile? You make me want to try new things.
November 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 am
That is truly amazing! And the effect on your pretty jewelry is quite impressive.
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:27 am
Very cool – I had no idea you could use eggs for that. Lovelyl pieces! Glad you are knitting again though…
November 22nd, 2008 at 4:40 am
Much better than using nasty ol’ chemicals. The oxidized pieces are lovely and the patina really lets the stones be the star of the show!
Great job!
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:11 am
Experiments can be a lot of fun – great that yours worked out so well! I can just imagine what your kitchen smelled like though, between the sulfur in the eggs and the tarnish of the oxidized silver… Rubber will do the trick too. For example, never put a rubber band around anything silver – it will make a mark you’ll never be able to clean off.
“Yay” for the resumed knitting – but only if it’s what you want to do. I bet most of us here don’t care whether you knit, make jewelry or fry eggs – so long as you’re sharing the adveture :)
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 am
How cool! What in the eggs makes them oxidize?
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am
Love the antiquiness, especially that it required to industrial chemicals to achieve! And of course the Wonder Twins reference. (I am shocked no one else referred to it – is no one else of a certain generation? Form of…. water!!! Heh.)
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 am
Coolio – neat effect. But….was it stinky???
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Interesting…didn’t realize hardboiled eggs would do that?
(((hugs)))
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
oooooh, that is *so* pretty!!! and the eggs do that?? that’s so bizarre!
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I like the before and the after!
November 24th, 2008 at 7:54 am
The jewelry looks great! My friend Chris uses eggs like that too. It’s so amazing that it works!
Hehe, I remain silent on the socks. You know what I’m thinking. ;)
November 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
That’s pretty cool how that works! Great job!
November 25th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Wow! That’s pretty awesome (but what does the egg do? I may be a little dense today.)!!
November 25th, 2008 at 5:58 am
How interesting! Egg yokes for oxidizing … never thought of that …
November 28th, 2008 at 11:26 am
That was a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing! :)
November 30th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Funny what a little sulfur in the form of hydrogen sulfide will do! Me love science in action :)
Knit or do not knit. Whenever you’re comfortable. I want kitty updates! :o)
June 14th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Well, ya learn sumpthin new everyday! That’s so cool!