Things You Should Know About Copper Jewelry

Copper jewelry is HOT right now, and no wonder – it is not only attractive, but it is also usually very reasonably priced.  Copper jewelry can consist of anything from copper beads strung on beading wire, to intricate designs twisted into wire, to painstakingly hammered and polished links fashioned into gorgeous copper bracelets, or possibly even one of a kind jewelry designs.  There are even some who believe that copper bracelets can provide pain relief. Before you buy any copper jewelry, here a few things to keep in mind. First off all, let’s take a look at copper jewelry being sold as a pain reliever.

Copper Bracelets for Pain Relief

There is evidence that copper has been used for pain relief for a long time; ancient Greeks used copper as a treatment for arthritis, for example. In more recent times, doctors used copper salts injections to alleviate arthritis pain during the 1940’s – 1970’s. Today, many products (such as ‘arthritis copper bracelets’) have been marketed that claim to reduce inflammation and/or pain from arthritis.

Are these products really giving pain relief? Many golfers wear a magnetic copper bracelet because they believe that the magnetized copper has beneficial circulatory properties that keep them from having wrist and arm pain while playing. People are shown in TV, print and online ads claiming that their arthritis pain has completely disappeared, or has at least been greatly diminished.

There has never been any clinical proof of the effectiveness of copper as a pain reliever. The facts about the claim that copper provides pain relief are this: There has never been any clinical proof of the effectiveness of copper as a pain reliever. The only evidence that exists is “anecdotal evidence”, i.e., claims from individual people who say they have received relief from pain by wearing a magnetic copper bracelet or a copper cuff bracelet.

Is it the copper or the magnetism that provides the pain relief? I’m not sure of the answer to that question, unfortunately. The only thing I do know for sure is that in doing research for this article, I found that most of the claims of pain relief come from those who are endorsing a particular product.

The important thing to remember is that there is no scientific evidence proving that copper jewelry or even magnetic copper jewelry reduces pain, only “hearsay”. The good news is that most of the copper bracelets and cuffs sold as pain relievers are fairly inexpensive, so if you want to try it yourself, it won’t cost you much to do so.

In my humble opinion, the best reason to buy copper jewelry is because it is beautiful. Take a quick look online and you will find hundreds of styles of copper bracelets, copper earrings, and copper necklaces. Since most of these pieces are priced under $50, a nice collection of copper jewelry can be acquired for very little investment.

Care of Copper Jewelry

If you clean, polish and store your copper jewelry correctly and it will last you forever! Here’s how:

Copper jewelry needs to be cleaned once in awhile to remove dirt and oils from your skin.  If you wear your jewelry often, you will probably need to clean it weekly. Before you clean your jewelry, make sure the other components of your piece are washable before you immerse your jewelry in water.  For example, some of the beads may have been made of rolled paper or polyclay that have a water-based finish on them. Do not immerse beads like that in water.

• To clean copper, run some warm water in your sink or a bowl and mix in a few drops of mild non-detergent soap (especially important if you are cleaning something such as copper earrings or copper bracelets that incorporate pearls) .
• Use a soft cloth and gently rub the jewelry for a few seconds, until visible dirt is gone. Rinse the piece with cool water, and blot dry. Leave the jewelry to dry thoroughly before you wear it again.  Pieces that have non-washable components in them will need to be carefully wiped with a soft cloth moistened with water and a drop of soap only on the copper areas.
• Rinse your cloth and wipe the piece again to rinse off any soap, an set aside to dry completely.
• Commercial jewelry cleaner is not recommended for cleaning copper.

Polish your copper jewelry in order to keep that gorgeous original pink-ish glow for your pieces.

• Use a pinch of salt and about one cup of lemon juice to make a polish.  Dip your jewelry in the polishing solution and let it soak for a few seconds, swirling it around.  Any accumulated tarnish will be whisked off of your jewelry and it will look like new.
• Rinse in clear water and wipe with a soft dry cloth.  Of course the above caution applies, if there are any non-washable components in your jewelry.
• I would not recommend using this method to polish copper jewelry that has been lacquered or that contains pearls – a jewelry polishing cloth should be used instead.
• Important note: if your jewelry has an extra patina already added to it which is a part of the design of the piece, don’t polish it, or you may remove it inadvertently.
• Also, DO NOT use silver polish on copper because it is too abrasive and will scratch the softer surface of copper.

Always store your copper jewelry in a zipped plastic bag.  Constant exposure to the air will cause excess tarnish to build up on copper.  Some people like the bluish-tinted tarnish that builds up on copper, but for most copper jewelry, that finish isn’t desirable and will take away from the look of the piece. So as soon as possible after removing your jewelry, place it in the zipper bag for storage. If you have just cleaned it, make sure it is completely dry before storing it.

For those of you who have tried copper jewelry for pain, if you do feel that you receive any level of pain relief from wearing copper jewelry, then you are getting an added perk to the simple beauty of copper jewelry pieces. Anyone who has tried wearing copper for pain relief, I’d love to hear from you one way or another. Let me know whether you feel it helped or if it looked pretty but did nothing for your pain.

Happy Shopping!