How to Care For and Clean Your Copper Jewelry

While copper jewelry has recently enjoyed a new life in the marketplace, man has been creating copper jewelry for many centuries. Today, the price of gold has skyrocketed so high that many designers are looking for a more affordable material. Copper too, has gone up in price but it still allows artisans to create wonderful unique designs at an affordable price for the buyer. As an artisan and designer, I love to create jewelry with copper. It is a wonderful metal to work with and it has an earthy appearance.


Some people are afraid that copper will cause green marks on the skin. To understand the nature of copper, you must first understand that copper develops its patina from exposure to gases and moisture in the air and from your skin. It is this reaction that could cause a greenish mark. However, if you wash your copper jewelry with mild soap and water, rinse and pat dry, you should not have any problems with it leaving marks on your skin. I have personally worn my copper rings for days without having any problems.

As I said before, without cleaning, copper will develop a nice patina and darken to a warm brown color from general exposure to gases and moisture it reacts with. When you wear my copper jewelry, this patina will wear off exposed surface areas and remain in the nooks and crannies giving the jewelry a special character. If you wear your copper jewelry on a regular basis, you will probably not have to do anything at all to keep it looking beautiful.

Should you decide not to wear your jewelry on a regular basis however, you should place your copper jewelry in a zip lock baggie with a piece of regular chalkboard chalk or silica gel packet. The chalk or silica will absorb any moisture in the bag and, of course, the bag will prevent any further moisture from reaching the copper.

If you love the shiny rose gold color of freshly cleaned copper you should clean it when you notice it is becoming dingy. To clean your copper jewelry, prepare a mixture of lemon juice and a dash of salt. Then, you can either (i) dip a rag or soft cloth in the lemon juice mixture and gently wipe or rub your jewelry clean by hand or (ii) place your jewelry directly in the lemon juice solution and swirl until clean. Since lemon juice has an acid base, you should be careful with soft stones or pearls. When your jewelry is clean, you should then rinse and pat dry with a soft dry towel.

If the artist intentionally oxidized or gave your copper jewelry an aged look, I would suggest that you simply wear your piece regularly or wash it with soap and water.  If you were to use the lemon juice method, it will most probably remove the intended oxidation and completely change the appearance of your art piece.  You can also clean your copper jewelry with a jeweler’s polishing cloth.  

NOTE:  I would not recommend that you clean your copper jewelry with a toothbrush or silver polish because they may scratch and damage your jewelry.  Take care not to damage soft stones and pearls.

I hope this article was helpful to you. Check out my website www.bodyice.net or my available pieces at www.bodyice.net/jewelry. Thanks for stopping by!