Sterling Charms on WG hoops....problem?

[Stone Hunter]

I am learning how to wire wrap and am making some Sterling Silver charms. Can I hang them on my White Gold hoops without causing damage to the hoops?

Ya know the charms move around a bit and rub against the gold. So it''s sterling wire resting on and rubbing on gold.

Would it be better for me to buy some Sterling hoops for this? So far I haven''t found gold (solid not plated) pins for charms.

I tried searching but found no info. THANKS folks!

 

[ma re]

Silver is softer than gold so generally, silver should be the one "suffering" from the wear. But if charms have something faceted on them (rhinestones, cz''s, gems...), gold could get scratched easily. Damage can happen even from just storing the wrong items together - not severe damage, but more like increased signs of wear.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Thanks Ma re. The gem part of the charm is smooth and rounded and doesn''t touch the earrings. It''s just agate beads I''m working with at this point. I don''t think I''ll move up to faceted stones for a long long time.

So sterling is softer than gold? OK I don''t mind that wearing since these are my first efforts anyway.

 

[yssie]

Date: 5/2/2010 3:39:24 AM
Author: ma re
Silver is softer than gold so generally, silver should be the one ''suffering'' from the wear. But if charms have something faceted on them (rhinestones, cz''s, gems...), gold could get scratched easily. Damage can happen even from just storing the wrong items together - not severe damage, but more like increased signs of wear.

I''ve heard the opposite - that silver, because it''s so soft, picks up grit and dirt and turns into an abrasive against the gold. Thoughts?

 

[Stone Hunter]

Well I tried searching for the Moh''s hardness and gold and silver are given a 2.5 to 3 not saying which is which.

So due to all of the confusion I ordered some earrings in sterling that are the size and huggie closure that I''ve been wanting in Gold. So I''ll keep my silver with my silver just to be sure.