We all love to buy and wear jewelry. But the precious metals that are used to make these jewelry are not always conducive to producing finely crafted jewelry, because they are not malleable or ductile enough. Also, some precious metals might not be as resistant as required to scratches and bumps. This is why nickel is a metal that is commonly added as an alloy while making jewelry from precious metals.
The above advantages of using nickel also come with a major disadvantage. Many wearers of jewelry which has nickel added report adverse effects on their skin. These are some of the common issues faced by people :
- Joint pain in fingers (for rings)
- Muscle pain in areas where the jewelry is worn
- Rashes
- Blisters
- Skin hives
- Swelling
All of the above problems occur due to allergic reactions cased due to nickel and other such impurities in the precious metal used to make the jewelry. That is why it is always preferable to buy jewelry which has been made using hypoallergenic metals mixed with the precious metals. Some of these hypoallergenic metals are :
- Stainless steel – The stainless steel we know is itself a combination of iron treated in a certain way to make it resistant to corrosion. Molybdenum is one of the additives to the molten ore to make it abrasion and corrosion resistant. Although it reduces the instances of allergies, but stainless itself also contains small quantities of nickel.
- Sterling silver – Sterling silver does contain some other metals like copper or zinc in very small quantities, but there is no nickel. That’s why sterling silver gives great looks without the fear of allergies.
- Aluminum – Not only is this lightweight metal free from nickel, but it also doesn’t contain any lead which also affects some skin types adversely.
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