What Am I Buying?

 All your jewelry purchases should be wonderful surprises. But, sometimes terms can be misleading. Brass, patinated brass, brass ox, sterling silver, silver plate, gold plate, gold filled, vintage-what do these terms mean? How do I know what I am buying? How about some explanations!!!

Our Metals

Brass 

• is a mixture of copper and zinc,
• begins its life as bright yellow and will tarnish unless a sealer is applied

At The Swallow's Tale we use brass that is lead and nickel free. Our brass items have been manufactured in the USA. We will state if the item comes from a country other than the USA.

Brass ox

• is  brass that has been plated
• has a uniform appearance
• will not tarnish
• can be plated on base metals other than brass

At The Swallow's Tale the brass ox items are brass plating on brass and are lead and nickel free.

Patinated Brass

• is brass that has begun to change color
• can be naturally patinated (over time brass changes color as it is exposed to the air)
• can be hand patinated

At the Swallow's Tale the hand patinated brass items have been soaked in vinegar and sea salt and "baked" to achieve a warm brown/gold color.

All hand patinated brass items in The Swallow's Tale have a protective coating of Renaisance Wax to stop the brass from changing color after it has been patinated.

Sterling Silver

• is 92.5% silver by weight, 7.5% is usually copper
• usually has a stamp "925" on the piece (It can be microscopic!)
• is more expensive than brass and silver plate

The sterling silver at The Swallow's Tale is 925 sterling and has been purchased from reputable suppliers. It is guaranteed to be solid sterling silver by those suppliers.

Silver plate, antique silver plate

• is base metal which has been plated with a coating of silver or sterling silver
• can wear off with continuous, daily use
• is affordable!

At The Swallow's Tale we use silver plated and antique silver plated products which have a lead free and nickel free brass base. We purchase our silver plated and antique silver plated from USA suppliers. We will state the origin of the piece if it is from another country other than the USA.