Brass has a similar appearance to gold and is an alternative for those who cannot afford expensive jewelry. However, brass jewelry does entail some extra care and responsibilities. Like silver, never get your brass jewelry wet and be sure to wipe away any traces of water that makes contact with the surface. Even a bit of moisture can cause a brown patina to form though this is not necessarily a bad thing if that is the type of look you prefer.

Even with stringent care, most brass jewelry will eventually show signs of tarnish over time. Even if you keep it dry, it can still absorb moisture from air and from your sweat. However, you can restore its original look by using a polish cloth or steel wool, which is available at any hardware store.

You can also gently clean the brass with a toothbrush. To get a deeper clean, you can create a cleaning agent using a mixture of baking soda, lemon juice and warm water. This is the only time it is acceptable to expose the jewelry to liquids. Be sure the brass is completely dried afterwards.

It also helps to know if your brass jewelry is lacquered. This is a polymer coating that protects the surface from tarnishing. If the brass is lacquered and still shows signs of tarnish, then the coating has likely worn off and air moisture is leaking into the brass. If this is the case, then you can take the jewelry to a professional to have the existing coating stripped and reapplied.

When not in use, store the jewelry in an anti-tarnish bag; be sure to completely remove the air from the bag before sealing it.

Brass jewelry is among the finest when it comes to design and affordability. With just a little maintenance, you can retain its natural appearance and prevent tarnishing and visible scratches.

Brass in Gifts and Jewelry

Much of the jewelry we have on MostOriginal.com has findings and accents in Brass. The term used for alloys of copper and zinc in a solid solution, typically it is more than 50% copper and from 5% to 20% zinc, in comparison to bronze which is principally an alloy of copper and tin. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes. Brass has a yellow color, somewhat similar to gold, because of this, and its relative resistance to tarnishing, it is often used as a decoration to handmade jewelry.

Brass has been known to man since prehistoric times, long before Zinc itself was discovered, it was produced by melting copper together with calamine, a zinc ore, during this process, the zinc is extracted from the calamine and instantly mixes with the copper, pure zinc, on the other hand, is too reactive to be produced by ancient metalworking techniques. The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the tuba, higher malleability than copper and zinc.

In some environments, brasses with higher content of zinc are prone to a "selective leaching", corrosion known as dezincification, in some territories, plumbing fitting designed to resist dezincification are embossed "cr" (corrosion resistant), a dezincified fitting has the pink appearance of pure copper and will easily crumble, being reduced to a weak sponge-like matrix-brass, is a versatile manufacturing material because of its hardness and workability.

There are many brass types, and their contents vary, from Admiralty brass (30% zinc and 1% tin) and Alpha brasses (prince's metal) (with less than 35% zinc) to White brass and Yellow brass- an american term for 33% zinc brass, calamine brass, is brass produced by a particular alloying technique using calamine, a zinc ore, rather than, metallic zinc, calamine brass was produced using proportions of 2/7 fine copper, four sevenths calamine, and one-seventh shruff (old plate brass) calamine brass was the first type of brass produced. Calamine brass was slowly phased out as zinc smelting techniques were developed in Europe, which produced metallic zinc more suitable for Brass production than calamine.

Our Handmade Jewelry and Unique Home Decor sections have a wide range of items with brass accents including:

Pink Cross Necklace

Bat Mitzvah Star of David Necklace

Blessing For the Home

Business Seal of Solomon

Blue Hamsa Earrings

Purple Chamsa

Hand Decorated Crystal Candle Holders

Lilac Sterling Silver Drop Earrings

Multicolored Handmade Bracelet

Handbag Charm & Keyring

Hamsa Hand

Hamsa Hand Mezuzah Case