The jewelry industry still lacks clear certification standards for its materials and manufacturing methods; nonetheless, many terms exist which are used to describe responsibly sourced and manufactured jewelry. To consumers and those in the industry, the loose terms can be quite confusing. Below are working definitions of the labels commonly used.

Ring sizing can be confusing, so we’ve laid out some tips below to help you get the most accurate read on your ring size.

Finger size can vary depending on the season, the temperature, the time of day, and the design of the intended ring. Fingers tend to shrink a bit in the cold, so:

-Measure rings sizes when your fingers are warm towards the end of the day.

-Keep in mind that a more delicate ring will fit more loosely; a more substantial ring will fit more tightly.

-Generally, the average woman’s ring size is around 6, and the average man’s size is around 10.

The best way to find your ring size is to go to a local jewelry shop to get sized. Although jewelers’ measurements may vary slightly, this is the most accurate method. If you can’t make it to a local jeweler, we are happy to send a complimentary ring sizer; just contact us at inquiries@bario-neal.com to request one. There are several online printable paper ring sizers, but these are usually inaccurate.

If you are trying to get your partner’s ring size without letting them know:

-Measure the inside diameter of one of their existing rings. Wikipedia has a helpful measurement and size conversion guide.

-Ask around. Your partner’s family and friends might know.

If you purchase an engagement or commitment ring from us, and it doesn’t fit, we’re happy to resize it for you within 30 days.

By Ian Cobain Published in the Guardian.co.uk, October 18th 2009

The British mining corporation Monterrico’s plan was to create Peru’s second largest copper mine at Rio Blanco, a vast site in the Huancabamba mountains in the north-west of the country.

Peru is already the world’s third-largest copper-producing nation, and the mine in the province of Piura was to have increased output by around a quarter, producing exports worth up to $1bn (£600m) a year for the next 20 years.

However, the corporation found itself in conflict with local farmers soon after its arrival in the region in 2001, and has struggled to develop the project.

At 18,858 acres (7,600 hectares), the mining concession covered a vast area, much of it covered by cloud forest that collects rainwater and feeds it into rivers flowing into the agricultural basins below. Farmers and environmentalists feared the rivers would become polluted and depleted, that the fragile eco-systems of the region would be severely damaged and that farmlands would be endangered.

In law, the corporation was required to obtain the consent of two-thirds of the local population before embarking on mining but – with the apparent encouragement of the government – it tried to press ahead without it. This resulted in a series of violent confrontations.

In August 2005, a group of protesters marched to the mine to find police waiting for them. Twenty-eight of the protesters say they were detained, hooded with hands tied behind their backs, beaten with sticks and whipped.

Hundreds of people had converged on the mine from communities scattered across the region. Some had walked for several days to reach the site. Once there, they say, they were attacked by the mine’s security guards and by contingents of the Peruvian federal police firing teargas.

Two protesters were shot in their legs, one man lost an eye to gunshot wounds and a farmer called Melanio Garcia, 41, suffered a fatal gunshot. Photographs allegedly taken by a Monterrico supervisor, which the protesters say support their allegations of abuse by the police, show Garcia lying on the ground, apparently alive but badly injured. Several other pictures taken 30 hours later, according to their time and date stamps, clearly show Garcia to be dead.

The protesters – who have launched a multimillion-pound claim for damages at the high court in London – claim Garcia was left to bleed to death at the mine site. Monterrico says Garcia was shot some distance from the mine and it vigorously denies that any of its officers or employees were in any way involved with the alleged abuses at Rio Blanco.

The corporation says a police officer was shot in the leg by the protesters, and that the protesters were detained because of this assault.

Richard Meeran, of Leigh Day, the London law firm bringing the high court case, said the evidence of torture was incontrovertible and that it was inconceivable the company could have been unaware of what was happening on its site.

“The company must have been aware of the inhuman treatment of the victims during their three-day ordeal at the Rio Blanco mine,” he said. “Yet there is no evidence of it taking any steps to prevent the harm. On the contrary, it would appear that the company was working in cahoots with the police. It is vital that multinationals are held legally accountable for human rights violations occurring at their overseas operations.”

Meeran said the claimants’ allegation was not that Monterrico was responsible for Garcia’s shooting, but that it failed to provide him with medical assistance.

According to statements by three former mine employees, the police arrived by helicopter and were taken to the dining area where they received instructions directly from the mine’s manager. This man is said to have warned them that they were at risk of being overrun and killed by the approaching protesters if they did not take “all necessary measures”.

The security staff told police where to deploy, according to statements. One adds: “The commanding officers of the police did not speak in these briefings.”

One of the former mine employees said in his statement that before the protest began the manager of the mine’s security force gave orders to the police “pointing out strategic points of the operation on a map, for instance, geographical points, the rotation of the police personnel and the dangers they could encounter in each area. He also explained that they had to report every 10 to 15 minutes via the Motorola radio to the management of the mining company.”

When the protesters arrived, he added: “The police shot teargas immediately. I saw the community members who wanted to talk but this was immediately denied and they were teargassed. After this clash the community members, who were about 500 or 600, retreated and stopped at about 15 metres from the police. It could be observed that among the protesters there were some children, young ladies, and elderly people. The community members raised the national flag, and sang the national anthem.”

Both sides spent the night there, he added, and the next day around 30 of the protesters were detained.

Doctors from Physicians for Human Rights, a Massachusetts-based NGO, examined eight of the protesters, and found physical and psychological signs of the mistreatment they described.

In the aftermath, however, local authorities prosecuted several demonstrators in a manner that Peruvian human rights groups denounced as an attempt to criminalise legitimate protest. Some people, including a number of mayors, faced charges of terrorism and corruption. Many of those charges were later dropped.

Richard Ralph, the British ambassador in Lima at the time of the incident, later resigned from the diplomatic service and joined Monterrico as executive chairman. He expressed the firm’s deep regret for what had happened, and has since resigned. The company was bought by a Chinese consortium in 2007, but is still incorporated in London. It has yet to extract any copper from the mine.

A spokesman for the company declined to comment on detailed questions ahead of the case, but said: “Monterrico vigorously denies any of its officers or employees were in any way involved with the alleged abuses at the Rio Blanco mine in 2005 and it considers allegations to the contrary made by the claimants to be wholly without merit.”Last March Peruvian prosecutors accused the police of torture, but cleared Monterrico and its security guards of wrongdoing. In Lima, the National Coordinating Committee for Human Rights denounced that finding, and with the emergence of the photographs, human rights activists are pinning their hopes on a victory in the English courts.

Calling all jewelers. The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) have been working together for the past three years to develop fair trade gold. In advance of their plans to launch fair trade gold in 2010, the organizations are asking those in the industry to help provide some information to make the launch as successful as possible, and to maximize the adoption and sales of fair trade gold.

ARM and FLO are looking for jewelers, goldsmiths, designer-makers, large and small retailers, manufacturers, refiners, bullion dealers and gold traders to take the survey.  You can take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=rPcDXz0aFnxTa3N21y2mVQ_3d_3d and it only takes about 10 minutes.

Greg Valerio, on behalf of the Fairtrade Foundation UK, writes of the fair trade gold efforts:

‘The adoption of fairtrade gold by the industry will hail significant developmental impact for the millions of small-scale miners around the world and will play a foundational role in addressing the negative environmental impact of mining as a whole. The fairtrade gold standard has been 3 years in the creation through an extensive international multi-stakeholder consultation process. The final standard is now out for public review at www.fairtrade.net/setting_the_standards.html or www.communitymining.org/ so in addition to contributing to the market survey you can also review and comment on the standards behind the fairtrade gold offer.’

What is Palladium?

Palladium is a rare and lustrous silvery-white grey metal. Palladium, along with platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs).

Palladium is similar to color in platinum, but is a bit more gray.  If we use the CIE lab system to refer to “whiteness” in  metals, where zero is black and one hundred is white, pure silver rates 93, platinum alloys are about 87, palladium alloys are around 84 or 85, and most white golds range from 78 to 83. Like platinum, palladium will develop a hazy patina over time. Palladium is much more affordable than platinum. It isn’t as dense as platinum, though it is about 12% harder.

We encourage customers to opt for palladium over white gold because it is a pure metal with  naturally white properties, giving it no need for rhodium plating. White Gold by itself is an alloy of gold and at least one white metal, usually nickel or palladium. Like yellow gold, the purity of white gold is given in carats. White gold’s properties vary depending on the metals and proportions used. As a result, white gold alloys can be used for different purposes; while a nickel alloy is hard and strong, and therefore good for rings and pins, gold-palladium alloys are soft, pliable and good for white gold gemstone settings, sometimes with other metals like copper, silver, and platinum for weight and durability.

Almost all white gold jewelry is rhodium-plated since gold alloyed with palladium or nickel never comes out true white, but tinted brown, therefore requiring a thin layer of rhodium to mask the tinted shade and make it true white. About one person in eight has a mild allergic reaction to the nickel in some white gold alloys when worn over long periods of time. White gold alloys made without nickel are less likely to be allergenic.

The rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months.

COOL TOOLS
Chemical Responsibility - Disposal solutions for the studio
By Helen I. Driggs, Managing Editor

Excerpt from the Jewelry Artist

One of the simplest things you can do to lessen negative environmental impact is to reduce chemical use in the studio and select less-toxic alternatives for those that can’t be avoided.

The most commonly used studio chemical is pickle, and many jewelers are making the switch to citric acid pickle, a less-toxic alternative that is now available from major suppliers. When handling acids, employ proper safety precautions, and mix according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Citric pickle should be used warm, with proper ventilation, to reduce required cleaning time. It takes a bit longer than other types of pickle, but citric pickle is still quite effective, and many jewelers prefer it.

To reduce the amount of pickle you need, use a small potpourri size warming pot to replace larger crockpots. Jewelry items are small, so this little pot will serve most jewelers’ needs, reduce chemical use, and save money. When it comes time to change spent pickle, you will have less to dispose of, which will make it easier to follow proper disposal procedures.

When used properly, a pickle solution will work effectively for many months, or even up to a year before it needs to be changed.

To keep your pickle strong, avoid introducing baking soda into the solution. Be sure to rinse tongs, baskets, and jewelry from your neutralizing bath before returning them to the pickle. As water evaporates from the solution, simply add more water. If the pickle is weak, add more acid. Steel adds an electrical charge that turns pickle into a copper-plating bath. However, as soon as the steel is removed, the pickle can be used again as normal. On the rare occasion that the solution contains small steel particles that can’t be removed, it will need to be changed.

At some point, every jeweler has at least one chemical, such as pickle, which requires disposal. To preserve the integrity of our environment, it is important to follow proper disposal procedures for all studio chemicals. Each region is governed by different federal, state, and local requirements for hazardous waste disposal. The guidelines offered here are approved by the State of California, which has some of the most stringent regulations. Following them will ensure your safety and the health of the environment.

Citric acid by itself is not classified as a hazardous material. However, after it has been used as a pickling solution, it contains copper, which is a heavy metal. Therefore, used pickle is a contaminated solution, which is hazardous, and must be disposed of properly. Commercial sodium bisulfate pickle is a stronger acid that also becomes contaminated with use. Neutralizing pickle will not remove the copper.

Therefore, even neutralized pickle is considered a hazardous material. All oxidizers, including liver of sulfur and other proprietary oxidizing solutions, are also hazardous materials. Collect hazardous materials in clearly labeled plastic containers with tight lids for storage in the studio and during transportation to an appropriate disposal facility, preferably with their original labels.

In San Francisco, residents who are hobbyist jewelers can drop off hazardous materials at the county hazardous waste facility free of charge during business hours. Small businesses can drop off small quantities of hazardous waste, up to 27 gallons at time, to the VSQG (Very Small Quantity Generator) disposal program. Disposal fees are $5 per gallon for acids, $6 per gallon for oxidizers. Collect spent pickle after most of the water has evaporated, without adding baking soda, to reduce volume.

Check with your local agencies to find out how to dispose of studio chemicals properly in your area. The proper agency can be found with a Google search using the key words �ghousehold hazardous waste collection program�h along with the name of your city or state. Often household hazardous waste collection agencies also handle hazardous waste collection for businesses or can refer you to the proper authority.

Each day, the choices we make are a part of the cycle of life. We all live together, sharing one earth. The choice is yours: to pollute, or to preserve and protect. Take steps now to implement safer and more environmentally friendly practices - at your bench, and in all aspects of your life.

Mary Ann Scherr
I took an etching class with Mary Ann and learned her method for neutralizing nitric acid etchant. Remember, nitric acid is a very aggressive acid, and baking soda is a weak base. Acids and bases will become neutral when mixed, but you’ll need more baking soda by volume than nitric acid to get to neutral because of the different strengths.

When it comes to disposal, here’s what Mary Ann does: �gI drop baking soda into the acid bath until it forms a small mountain. The baking soda will continue to bubble like Alka-Seltzer. A dry mountain of soda usually indicates enough - there’s no need to test [the ph]. The bath is then neutral. I flush the container with water and flow it over the grass or flowers, since it is now capable of making the grass and flowers grow happy!”

Although I haven’t tried this myself, I guess the nitric in the neutralized acid is a lot like commercial nitrogen fertilizer, and the dissolved copper in the bath will keep the slugs at bay!

Pickle, Rinse, Dry - Why?
How many times do we use that sequence in our project directions? If you are new to jewelry making, you may not know what it means or why we do it.

Basically, pickle is a solution used to soak or steep in. With food, it’s usually salt, vinegar, and water - which will also work somewhat on some metals as well. Trust me - next time you finish a jar of baby dills, save and strain the juice and drop a piece of cooled, torched copper or an old penny in there for a few days at room temperature. It will come out shiny and bright and smelling really good! If you’re in a hurry, put that pickle juice in a crockpot and heat it up. The cleaning will happen faster with a hot pickle solution.

Cooking aside, metal pickling typically means acid dipping to chemically remove surface oxides from metals subjected to heat during annealing, soldering, or casting. Pickling also removes other crud - like fired-on flux, carbon, or investment. For the faint-hearted or eco-minded, the commercial safety pickles that are typically used in the studio are a very weak acid concentration that is easily neutralized if you don’t want to hold them unneutralized for longterm storage. Just add baking soda to a room temperature batch of spent pickling solution. You’ll know it’s spent when it’s bright, electric blue - like Paraiba tourmaline. Stir gently with a plastic utensil. It will foam and bubble a bit. Let the mix sit for a few hours to neutralize the batch. Then, pour the neutralized pickle into a clean plastic jug, label it, and take it to your recycling center on hazardous waste day if your locality requires it.

The most important thing to remember is not to toss a hot piece into pickle to quench it. The steam that rises from doing so will be acidic and attack the lining of your lungs as well as the surfaces in your studio. Quench in water instead, then pickle.

There are also organic, but slightly less aggressive pickle solutions you can mix up at home, like cider vinegar and salt mixed into a paste, or food-grade citric acid. Remember Tang? That juice mix makes a great cleaning solution. If you don’t believe me, try running a quarter-cup in an empty, stained dishwasher - no more brown, hard water stains when you’re done! A thick slurry of Tang mixed with water makes a great soaking solution for dirty, oxidized metal.

Patinas
Some patinas are so fantastic you want to cry when you see them. But the chemistry involved in creating them might also make you cry if you think too hard about it. The most non-toxic patina out there is time. Sadly, most of us don’t have that, so we settle for chemicals. I have a stringent set of rules in my studio for chemical patinas, based on common sense:

1. Don’t mix more than you need.
2. Dispose of them properly.
3. Try other alternatives when possible.

I like the non-corrosive, commercially prepared patinas because I can pour out a scant quarter-teaspoon and paint them on with a brush. I work in white plastic photography trays when I patina, and soak up any excess with a paper towel. Then, I let the fluid evaporate from the paper towel and put that in the trash. I rinse the tray in the sink and let the water run into it to clean my patina brush.

If I have more time, I’ll fabricate a silver piece completely, and seal the piece in a Ziploc bag with half of a hot, hard boiled egg. The fumes from the egg will oxidize the silver gently after a day or so. Throw out the egg when you’re done, and give the piece a scrub with some dish liquid and a soft toothbrush.

From No Dirty Gold:

Killed for protecting their land from mining
On June 5th, World Environment Day, Peruvian security forces killed at least two dozen indigenous people protesting to protect their lands around Bagua in the Peruvian Amazon. In the violence, nine policemen perished as well.  The protesters were opposing the Peruvian government’s opening of the region to oil and gas drilling and mining — supposedly conditions of the Peru-US trade agreement.

So far, the U.S. government has not responded. Urge Secretary Clinton to make clear that the U.S. -Peru trade agreement does not infringe on the rights of indigenous people, and also to call on Peru’s government to respect the human rights of indigenous groups.

More info:

Democracy Now

No Dirty Gold

LA Times

EcoTrip: The Real Cost of Living, a Sundance Channel show, just released a new episode that focuses on the true cost of a gold ring that’s made from virgin metal at an irresponsible mine in the US. The host’s conversations with Shoshone elders (whose land and water is threatened by gold mining) and Tiffany CEO Michael Kowalski are high points.

Here is a link to the video.

“Just last week, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) announced that testing performed for the California Attorney General found high levels of lead in jewelry purchased from 10 major retailers, including a $200 number from Saks Fifth Avenue that contained over 175,000 parts per million (ppm) of the toxic metal.”

“Other stores in violation of California law: Claire’s, Cost Plus, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, DD’s Discount, The Buckle, Express, Wet Seal, and Styles for Less.”

“”Buyers need to know that even expensive jewelry can have high levels of lead,” said Caroline Cox, CEH Research Director, in a press release. “Lead can pose real health threats, especially to pregnant women or kids who play with their parent’s jewelry.”"

Read the whole article here.

3M Radial Bristle Discs

Small-but-sturdy “bristle discs” are new abrasive products from 3M. 3M radial bristle discs, in 1-inch diameter, stacked together on a mandrel using a 1/8-inch screw, can tackle tough metal deburring, cleaning, and finishing requirements in the hardest-to-reach places.

Radial bristle discs are designed with abrasive-filled bristles that apply a continuous fresh supply of mineral – without damaging the underlying surfaces. Tough but flexible, these discs conform to the contours of the work piece where intricate designs, tubes or corners make finishing, cleaning and deburring difficult.

They’re also safe for the user, as they eliminate the dangers of flying metal wires posed by wire brushes and also can replace chemical use in some applications. In addition, their unique, patented design resists gumming and loading, so bristle discs work fast on soft or hard metals to produce a consistent, uniform finish. One-inch 3M radial bristle discs are suitable replacements for hand files, wire brushes, hand scrapers, and traditional grinding discs used for sanding, surface preparation, and coatings removal.

The one-inch 3M radial bristle discs are available in four grades: 36, 50, 80, and 120. Additional members of the small 3M radial bristle disc family include a 9/16-inch, as well as 3/4-inch size. These smaller discs fit mandrels with a 1/16-inch screw and are available in finer grades (120, 220, 400, 6 micron and 1 micron) and pumice for finishing and polishing applications. The 3/4-inch size also comes in grade 80. All grades are color-coded for easy identification.

Larger sizes up to 4.5″ are also available. You may find that Scotch-Brite wheels can accomplish the same tasks when using abrasives of these larger diameters.

These discs are worth a try. Most jewelry supply companies now carry a wide array of sizes and grits. Though their lifespan is shorter than traditional bristle wheels, they certainly have many applications including surface preparation for soldering and brazing without the need to remove buffing compounds. They are also excellent for removing corrosion.
Best deal on the internet: Santa Fe Jewelers Supply

Acid Neutralizer/Abrasive (Non-Toxic, All-Natural)

Baking Soda
Less irritating than household cleansers, can be used with the scratch brush,
and to neutralize pickle.
Hardware stores, supermarkets, drug stores

Buffing Compounds (Less-Toxic)

Finishing: C–3568 Alumina Compound
Use on non-ferrous metals and plastics—color is not as dark as red rouge, but safer.

Cut-Down: 303 Alumina Compound
Cuts like bobbing compound, but is much drier. 
JacksonLea, 1705 Conover Boulevard East, Conover, NC 28613, 800/438-6880, Jewelry supply houses

Contact Cement (Non-Toxic, Non-Flammable)

Elmer’s Saf-T Contact Cement
Water-based and very effective.
Borden, Inc., Columbus, OH 43215, hardware stores

Degreaser (Non-Toxic)

Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Pure Castile Soap
6 tbs. in a 6-quart crock pot—used warm, nice minty smell.
Dr. Bronner’s, Inc., Escondido, CA 92033, health food stores

Firescale Preventive (Less-Toxic)

Dr. Frank’s Fabulous Flux
Contains boric acid—sprayed on warmed objects, removed with warm water, compatible with Superior #6 Brazing Flux.
Paul H. Gesswein & Co., PO Box 3998, Bridegport, CT 06605, 800/243-4466

Fluxes (Less-Toxic, Chloride-Free)

Liquid Super-Safe Soft Soldering Flux
Used with solders that melt up to 450° F—organic.

Gel Super-Safe Soft Soldering Flux
Used with lo-flow solders—organic.

Superior #6 Brazing Flux
Active to 1,600° F—organic, removed with warm water, compatible with Dr. Frank’s Fabulous Flux.
Distributor for Superior Flux: H & N Electronics, 10937 Rome Beauty Dr., California City, CA 93505, 760/373-8033

Lacquer Stripper (Less-Toxic)

Ready Strip
A non-flammable, biodegradable, non-combustible remover that won’t harm silver. Contains no methylene chloride! It’s heavy-based so it can be painted on the object without running, then washed off.
Back to Nature Products, Englishtown, NJ 07726, 732/792-2001, hardware stores

Lubricant (Non-Toxic, All-Natural)

Mineral Oil
Use this for drilling, machining, and as a wood preservative, especially cutting boards.
Hardware stores, super markets, drug stores

Pickle (Less-Toxic)

Citric Acid
Slowly add 1 cup per 10 quarts of water. I use the mixture cold. If used warm in a crock pot, ventilation is advised. Neutralized with baking soda. Remember, this is an acid!
Preferable: Reconstituted Lemon Juice (use full-strength).
BulkFoods.com, 3040 Hill Ave., Toledo, OH 43607-2931, 888/285-5266

Respirators (Half-Face)

Chemical Respirator: 3M’s #6006 Cartridges
Protects against fluorides, chlorides, gases, ammonia.

Toxic Dust Respirator: 3M’s #2047 Cartridges
Use when polishing & grinding—very light-weight with a thin chracoal insert for nuisance smells. Always mark your respirator with the date the cartridges were installed.
3M Occupational Health & Environmental Safety Division, 3M Center Bldg., 275-6W-01, PO Box 3325, St. Paul, MN 55133, 800/243-4630, Safety supply houses