Yes, oxidised jewellery can change over time, and how much depends on the base metal and whether the finish is sealed. Unsealed pieces keep reacting with air, sweat and perfume, so recesses may darken further while the raised areas wear brighter with handling.
Sealed pieces, coated with a clear lacquer or e-coat, change much more slowly. For most export buyers, a sealed finish is the safer choice because customers expect the piece to look as it did in the photo.
What causes the change
- Air and humidity: brass and copper keep oxidising, which can add a brown or green tone, especially in humid climates.
- Skin contact: sweat is slightly acidic and salty, so pieces worn against skin change faster than earrings or hair pieces.
- Friction: rubbing on clothes polishes the high points, which slowly increases the contrast.
- Perfume, lotion and water: these break down lacquer and speed up every other effect.
Is the change a defect?
Some change is part of the style, and many buyers like a finish that ages gently. The problem is a change the customer did not expect, such as green marks on skin, a sticky feel from poor lacquer, or plating wearing through to bright yellow brass within weeks.
Agree in advance what is acceptable. A simple wear test on samples, such as rubbing and a short exposure to artificial sweat, tells you more than any verbal promise from the maker.
How to reduce it
- Ask for a clear protective coating and check it on a production sample, not only on the first sample.
- Pack each piece in a sealed bag, ideally an anti-tarnish bag, with a small silica gel sachet in the carton.
- Ship and store away from heat and humidity, and avoid long storage in hot warehouses.
- Add a short care card telling customers to keep pieces dry and away from perfume.
What this means for a buyer
Oxidised jewellery that changes slowly and evenly is normal; jewellery that changes within a month is a finishing problem. Build the coating and packing into your order so the shelf life matches your sales cycle, and set it out clearly in your purchase order.
Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing. We check coatings and finish in Rajkot workshops, have samples tested at NABL-accredited labs and supervise packing. Ask for a free sourcing review.