I love the use of different metals in jewellery and as I don't normally react to copper (I'm quite lucky on the metal allergy front) I couldn't wait to receive my bangle and stoppers.
 |
| Copper Bangle & Stoppers from Trollbeads (bead my own) |
This is my bangle as it arrived, the background is actually the tissue paper it was wrapped in! I started wearing it straight away and Yay no reaction - not that I was expecting to have one, but it's nice to know I still don't!
I've made very few changes since it arrived, I liked the copper next to the green bead so much that I've actually not swapped the bead at all; I've just added a couple of silver stoppers to the mix.
 |
| Copper Bangle from Trollbeads paired with Bronze & Silver Links from X Jewellery |
One aspect I was really curious about was how it would age as there was lots of chatter on the Internet about this element of using copper in jewellery.
On purpose, I've followed none of the guidelines for keeping it shiny; I've deliberately left it out all the time (ooh you rebel), just over 2 months now, so that it would get as "aged" as it possibly could.
Prompted by a question on the Wednesday Twitter #Trollbeadschat (8pm GMT if you're interested?) I tweeted a before and after pic of my bangle for comparison.
 |
| Left: Bangle on the day it arrived, Right: Bangle 2 months later after no care |
It's gone a lovely deeper copper colour which I quite like! I left it another week but then decided it was time to try out some of the methods for cleaning it.
Me, being me, didn't bother to look them up... so I tried vinegar as I had a vague recollection that was one of the possible, find it around the house, cleaning products - not so great, it was much better on my chips!
The one that bead friends seemed to swear by was Tomato Sauce, oops having just had some chips I'd run out of Ketchup! So I turned to the next best thing...
 |
| The cleaning power of HP |
Really I should have taken a pic when the bangle was half clean to show the difference... the black marks still on the bangle have actually come off the inside of my silver stoppers; I haven't been able to remove those yet!
Although I forgot to take a pic of the bangle halfway through, I think this next pic might demonstrate the difference between the before and after quite well!
Left: Stoppers before cleaning Right: Stoppers after cleaning!
It's very simple, just put a tiny blob on some kitchen towel, rub your bangle and stoppers with it and voila! I washed them in mild soapy water afterwards to remove the food smell, dried them very thoroughly and I was good to go.
Personally I'm very happy with the colour that develops over time with my bangle; for now at least though it's back to shiny!
 |
| My Copper Bangle, shiny again thanks to HP Sauce! |
Next step - test it on my bronze X Jewellery links! Now, for some reason I'm craving a bacon sandwich...
Would you wear copper jewellery and other metals?
What do you currently use to clean your jewellery? Share your tips!
