Available hither, thither, and yon.
Above are three pieces -- my Clockwork Orchid necklace, my Ocean Bijoux Empress necklace, and some of the bracelets I'm offering with the stocking-stuffer deals this year -- where I've used aluminum chain.
I was a little surprised, when I started paying attention to my materials, by how much I like aluminum. It's got a lot of advantages. It's very lightweight -- while I like the nice weighty feel of, say, glass or stone, that's good when you're working with a lot of heavy materials and fantastic for earrings. It's easy to cut -- I've ruined a lot of pairs of flush cutters on silver-plated steel chain -- yet it's very very strong. To my knowledge it never tarnishes. It's also hypoallergenic.
People react badly to this on occasion. Aluminum doesn't count as a jewelry metal to them, and it sounds cheap. But honestly, it's such a phenomenal material that it's a pity people don't value it more.
And on the list of random trivia: Aluminum oxidizes to sapphire. Sapphire is crystallized, oxidized aluminum. Therefore, your soda can, your deck chair, and the chain of those bracelets? Metal coated in sapphire.
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