Problem with mokume sheet

[FacetNation]

Hi,

I have a customer return to me today after having a ring we made for him 6 months ago.

It was a silver wedding band, with cooksons mokume sheet soldered to the outside almost like a sleeve, as it is quite thin.

The copper has almost entirely worn away!

He types at a keyboard all day and has no active hobbies, so the ring has only had normal wear and tear. This is evident from the rest of the ring - just worn like a regular silver ring, no massive dents etc.

My boss suggests that the man could have quite acidic sweat and this could have eaten away at the copper.

Anyone else had this happen, and what could the cause have been? I have suggested remaking the ring with a thiker band, lathe the middle out, and make a new sleeve inside the groove which will hopefully be protected by the higher sides.

Any suggestions, tips and discussion etc would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

Amy

[ps_bond]

Jim Binnion has an enlightening post -

http://ganoksin.com/blog/binnion/2012/11/23/copper-and-silver-rings-may-not-be-such-a-good-idea/

Doesn't need to be acidic sweat, but it'll help. Copper-based mokume in continuous contact with skin will do this sooner or later.

The solution (sorry!) is to use a non-copper mix mokume. Which is a pity, because the colour contrast is lovely.
I think this year will be the one I start using 18k yellow/white as my mix.

[LydiaNiz]

Argh! Amy I made a wedding band in entirely the same way for someone a month ago. Judging by the article I can assume the same will happen. Do I say 'my bad' for not knowing, and replace it (while crying inside) or warn them now that it could happen. Eek.

[FacetNation]

yes, our customer has had this for 6 months or so and this has happened to the extent that all of the copper apart from a mere smattering that looks like you could rub it away with your finger has gone!

i am going to email him now with the article link above, and yes, i think we may be having to make a new ring for him. but you learn i guess! We did make some stock rings and cufflinks too, so the rings are coming out of the window today, but i think the cufflinks should be ok, as they wont be in contact with the skin.

[ps_bond]

Can you rework the rings as pendants or brooches? The former shouldn't be too bad - it's rings are the worst for this.