Bali Silver Beads
Bali Beads are decorated with small pieces of wire, tiny silver balls and other shapes. To emphasize this design the bead is typically oxidized
and the raised part then polished which gives a dark background highlighting the shiny silver pattern.
Whilst the majority of beads are oxidized
Oxidizing silver turns the surface black. Oxidizing your silver beads leaves the a
black patina that is seen on the surface of old silver. The oxidizing accentuates the loops and twists of your silver wire work. As you are
likely to oxidize the whole piece and then polish the top surfaces, you will have a contrast between the dark stain of the oxidization and the
bright shiny polished surface.
When designing your jewelry, build into the design additional raised and sunk surfaces and use oxidizing to emphasize this. As the inner part of
wire work can often be difficult to access and clean – it is a good idea to actually make a feature of this and oxidize it as it will tarnish anyway.
To oxidize the silver products, use either Liver of Sulfur or hydrochloric acid which is sold under the trade name of
Silver Black. These are both strong chemicals and need special handling.
Send your
order by email to:
balibeads1@gmail.com
with any item numbers and the quantity of each items
