This post continues my series of Pandora FAQs and How To’s, focusing today on the Pandora Oxidised Bracelet. I’ll be answering all your questions about the durability of the oxidised finish, and offering tips on how to re-oxidise your bracelet at home.
What is the oxidised bracelet / how is the oxidisation achieved?
The Pandora oxidised bracelet is essentially exactly the same as the standard silver Pandora charm bracelet, but with its chain treated to give it a dark, black finish (see above). This finish is achieved by exposing sterling silver to sulphur.
Is the oxidisation a permanent feature?
No – sadly, it is not. Over time, the effect of the charms moving across the bracelet chain and contact with everyday environments causes the oxidisation to rub off the silver chain. It becomes a shimmery, dull grey silver. As a comparison, I have two pictures of my own oxidised bracelet. At the time of writing this article, I have owned my bracelet for roughly eleven months. I wear it regularly – at least a couple of times a week. Comparing the two images, you can see that the whole bracelet is quite a bit lighter now. The most obvious signs of wear on the bracelet are on the threads, which are looking slightly streaky.
How can I stop this happening?
You can’t stop it happening it entirely, but you can help to slow down the process. Be especially careful to keep your oxidised bracelet away from any chemicals, such as hair spray or perfume, and from creams and lotions, sweat and chlorine. The speed of the fading also depends on your skin type – some types cause the bracelet to fade quicker than others.
Can I get my bracelet re-oxidised?
Yes. Pandora do offer re-oxidisation, but at a cost – you’ll have to check with your local store for details. Pandora do not consider the loss of oxidisation a manufacturing fault and therefore you can’t get this done for free, even if your bracelet is within warranty.
You can also try and re-oxidise it yourself at home, using boiled eggs. To try this, you need a boiled egg:
- Take the egg yolk and put it in a plastic food storage container that can be sealed tightly. Break up the yolk a bit.
- Put your bracelet into the container. However, before you do so, make sure that you have covered the clasp up – otherwise this will get oxidised too!
- Seal the container, and leave the bracelet for a day. Check the bracelet to see if it is dark enough – if not, leave it for another day.
- Remove the jewellery! Hopefully it should now be perfectly re-oxidised.
I’ve seen some really good results achieved from this method, so give it a go if you’re feeling brave!
How can I clean my oxidised bracelet?
You don’t want to use a polishing cloth on the oxidised bracelet, as you risk damaging the effects of the oxidisation. Using a liquid chemical silver cleaner will also remove the oxidisation entirely. The bracelet shouldn’t really require cleaning, anyway; the effects of the oxidisation hide the silver chain and any possible tarnish.
That concludes our Pandora oxidised bracelet 101! Let me know if you have any questions. :)
Hi Ellie,
I’m so glad I found your site! I unfortunately used a liquid silver polish to clean my oxidized chain…and some of the beads :( I am somewhat relieved to know that it fades over time anyway. I am going to try the egg method to bring it back to life. I’m wondering about the beads that have stones in them — these initially had a darker background and some raised surfaces that were polished. Do you know if I can treat the beads with the eggs and polish the top layer with a cloth? Will it hurt the stones at all?
Thanks again!
Katie
Hi Katie,
Sorry to hear about your bracelet! :( I’ve never tried to re-oxidise a charm, so I’m not sure how good the results would be from trying to just buff the high points up with a polishing cloth… you can certainly try it. You could always try re-oxidising the charms and then taking them to the Pandora store to be put in their sonic cleaner – that might shine up the high points better than a polishing cloth! If in doubt, I’d go straight to your store and ask their advice :)
From what I’ve read, re-oxidising your charms should not affect most gemstones. The only exception that I know of is pearl, as this can get tainted by the sulphur. To be honest, if the silver cleaner didn’t affect the stones, I’m pretty sure the egg won’t either! :)
Good luck!
Ellie
Will you do a feature on how to re-oxidise?
Hi Sarah, I do actually have an upcoming feature on just that, detailing how to re-oxidise your bracelet using the egg yolk method! :) Look out for it in the next couple of weeks.
Ellie
Hi again Mora,
I wanted to ask. I like the Pandora Oxidised Bracelet, I think that the silver charms pop out better if the backdrop is dark. However what worries me is that I sweat a lot. So I wanted to ask a couple of things – first of all; does the egg yolk method have a 100% success rate when it comes to pandora bracelets or does it involve luck? Because I can tell you right now, I am not a lucky person.
Second of all; the shop in my country said that just for 10 euros they will be able to oxidise it, do you think, due to my sweaty skin that maintaining it becomes a chore and I should opt for the silver one?
Any advice you have would be wonderful as I am still not sure about getting a pandora bracelet, if you can give me any advice that would be wonderful :)
Hi Humphrey!
Haha, you don’t need to be lucky with the egg method – it’s an easy way to re-oxidise your bracelet, if you do it correctly (and I’ll explain how to do it properly in an upcoming post). However, I’ve found that it doesn’t give absolutely perfect results. While I found that it did return my bracelet to a lovely dark colour, the oxidisation can be a little patchy in places, and it definitely wears off quicker than the original oxidisation the bracelet comes with.
Secondly, I don’t sweat very much and I wear my bracelet maybe twice a week, and I found that the official Pandora oxidisation was compromised in six months or so. So you’d probably be looking at re-oxidising it fairly regularly – bearing in mind that it usually takes them some time to send it away and have it looked at by their team, I’d imagine it would get to be something of a chore.
However, there are other methods of oxidising your bracelet. I’ve heard that liver of sulphur is very good, better than the egg method – I’m going to look into that in the future. You can search for videos on YouTube that detail how to use that. :)
So, I hope that helps! In a nut shell, I’d say that, if you want to keep your oxidised bracelet looking as good as the day you bought it, it’s going to be somewhat difficult to maintain. The oxidised bracelet is beautiful, though, and it’s a shame that the effect isn’t permanent. Let me know if you have any more questions! :)
Ellie
So I should be aiming for the silver one cost wise? Also the liver thing will blacken it be careful
Cost-wise, yes – if you want Pandora to keep topping up the black finish you’ll be paying every time, as loss of oxidisation is not covered by warranty. :) The egg method is not exactly expensive, but it’s still a bit of a hassle!
I see I think cosr wise its like 10 euros
Is the silver just as nice?
The silver Pandora bracelet? It’s a matter of personal taste, but I’d say so! I have four in my collection. ;) It’s much more popular than the oxidised version, generally. :)
Ah. I like the oxidised due to the black finish. It makes the charms look nicer, imo. But you know, I think due to my skin tone, it’d be a nightmare to keep looking nice.
Also, is the one with the rose gold clasp still available? Sorry for bothering you D:
You’re not bothering me at all – this is exactly what the blog is for! ;) The contrast between the silver charms and the oxidised chain is very pretty, yes. However, I quite like the effect it fades to over time, a sort of darker silvery speckled look. But it’s quite different from how it originally looks.
Ah, you mean the Pandora Rose one? I’m afraid not. :( It was a limited edition test product – you could probably find one online, but they’re going for quite exorbitant prices.
Really? It doesn’t look that bad at all wheb it fades? Because I personally lke the oxidised more thab the silver one
It’s personal preference, I guess. It goes a kind of marbled dark silvery colour, which I don’t mind at all. It doesn’t look much like the original oxidised effect, though, if that’s what you’re after!
Personally, I’d like something dark because it’ll stand out more. Plus it is prettt. In your opinion, what should I do? Opt for the oxidised and pay 10 euros when it goes or do the egg method. Or shall I go with sterling silver instead?
Welll. It’s pretty much down to how willing you are to pay/maintain the effect. Personally, if the oxidised bracelet is what you really want, then I’d get that. A Pandora bracelet is quite a personal piece of jewellery, and I think you should be 100% in love with it! If you then find that the maintenance is too much, I think there are ways that you can strip the oxidised effect from the bracelet, too. I’d have to find out more about that, though!
I have to say, I love my oxi and I find it worth the effort – so much so that I just bought another one! :)
Ellie
Hi, if the bracelet is filled with beads, guess it would cover up the lightened oxidised areas. I’m still thinking if i should get this oxidised bracelet as all my bracelets are silver.
Hi! Yes, once it’s full, you only see little glimpses of the chain and you can’t see so much that it’s faded. I wrote an updated review of this bracelet that might help :)
http://morapandorablog.com/2014/09/08/review-pandora-oxidised-silver-bracelet/
Ellie
I have a full pandora bracelet, all with CZ charms. I noticed the oxidisation was really wearing off. The egg method was far too lengthy, all the egg got stuck I into my charms and the result was very patchy, more brown than black. Then I remembered a mistake I’d made in the past with my silver jewellery, putting it into a mild bleach solution turns it black, this is what I wnated with my £1200 bracelet. Took all the charms off and put the into a cup of warm water and bleach, decent strength for 5-10 mins. It was black… Buffed all the surface with a cloth and polish so all the right bits lost the black. My bracelet looks good as new now. I would not risk this with pearls or beads but for the CZ and silver, it’s the best and only method that has given me perfect, quick results. The only hard work is buffing the charms but the result is more than worth it.
Hi Amanda, thanks so much for that tip!! I tried the egg method on the bracelet myself recently and found that the results were really inconsistent. It might look good when it first comes out, but as soon as you put charms on it, the oxidisation rubs off. It sounds like your method is much more reliable – do you think it would work for re-oxidising the bracelet as well as the charms? Thank you! :D
Hello, My oxidised pandora bracelet is very faided so I wanted to get the darker colour back. I have recently brought some liver of sulphur fluid and am scared it will take the shine out of the bracket or simply ruin it! Do you know anyone who has used this technique or if it’s worth risking it??? ?
Hi Lily! I haven’t tried using the liver of sulphur technique myself but I have seen the results on Facebook etc of other people who have and they seem to have had great results. A lot of people recommend it over the egg method – I tried the egg method myself and found that, while the bracelet initially looked good, the new oxidation rubbed off really quickly and it was not long lasting at all :( Have you tried looking on YouTube to see if there are any tutorials for the liver of sulphur?
Hi, great that’s reassuring! I tried the egg method but I didn’t notice much of a difference, and yes I have looked up some tutorials on YouTube but they didn’t show you the finished result and from what I could see they looked very black and not very shiny ? I think I am just going to go for it and hope for the best! Thank you for your advice!! ?
I noticed a difference with the egg method but the problem was that it wore off so quickly :( it’s not a great solution for the charm bracelets, although I can see that it might work better with charms as they don’t have the same wear and tear. Best of luck with the liver of sulphur method – I’d be very curious to know how it goes! :)
All done! Looks as good as new! So happy with the result and would definitely recommend it. After I put it in the liver of sulphur and got the colour I wanted it suggested putting it in a ‘neutralising bath’ which contained baking soda and water to remove the excess liver of sulphur which made it really shiny! – also I saw your blog about the fascinating adventurescent bead and I believe they are now available in some stores in the UK as I was able to get one in my local store which I was so happy about as I had been looking for one for ages, and I had to have it when they told me they had only just realised them! I just wanted to put this on the site as I know they were very difficult to get :)
Sorry Lily I didn’t see that you’d posted this! So glad to hear that it went well! :D That’s encouraging – I’ll definitely put that on my to-do list then, as my oxidised bracelet is looking a little peaky at the moment. ^^
Yes it’s so exciting that the UK have got something good for once haha! Glad to hear that you got yours – it’s such a beautiful bead. They’ve been selling out super fast! Thanks for the tip Lily :)
I was reading this out of interest (I don’t actually have an oxidised bracelet, just the silver) as I came across something that may be of use if you are trying to re-oxidise something. The other day, I applied a clay face mask, left it on as normal for 20 minutes, then washed it off. I hadn’t realised that I had managed to get the mask all over my silver necklace. When I rinsed it, my necklace was completely black where I’d managed to get the mask on it. I have been rubbing the oxidised parts vigorously with a silver cloth and I still haven’t got it off. I checked the ingredients on the bottle and they include sulphur which you mentioned for oxidising above. I’m not happy as my Tiffany Key and chain are covered with black splodges, but it may help you guys! Check your bathroom cabinets! The mask I used was a Kiehl’s one. (Disclaimer: I have no idea how this would work on an entire bracelet or how durable the finish would be, or whether it would come out even as I came across it purely by accident!)
Wow, thanks for the tip Nikki! I’m sorry to hear about your necklace but it does sound like you’ve hit on something there. I am looking to oxidise my bracelet again soon and was going to try the egg method again but perhaps I’ll try adding a mask to it first to see what happens ^^
Hi there,
I have a question. I recently bought an oxidized bracelet and added my silver charms to it. Now I notice that my sterling silver charms have lost their shine and look tarnished, although I do keep them in a jewellery box. I was wondering whether the oxidized bracelet has any affect on the charms you wear on it? Since I haven’t had this issue with my regular charm bracelet. Thanks in advance :)
This same thing happened to me, only the oxidized bracelet turned some charms on a different bracelet black in a matter of days. I have two formerly shiny silver charms that are black on one side and a few others that turned totally black. I can only think that storing it next to the oxidized bracelet caused it as i have had other regular silver bracelets for years and never had a problem with them turning dark.
I am thinking about trying to oxidize my new pandora rose bracelet. I think the black with the rose and silver would look amazing!
I saw a picture on Facebook posted by someone who did exactly that – it did look great! The contrast between the pink metal and the darker silver was fantastic. :D You should definitely try it!
Is it common for charms to lose their oxidised detailing over time? I just received two pre-loved charms via eBay (after doing extensive research on the seller!); the ghost & Jack-o-lantern but the black of the ghosts eyes and mouth have faded. Everything else about them matches up with all official images I can find online so I believe them to be genuine, it would just be nice to restore the black detailing.
Hi! It may not be common, exactly, but it does happen, depending on how the charm has been treated as well. Is it completely faded? It may have been dipped in silver cleaner or some other harsh cleaning chemical – this often removes all the oxidised detailing, leaving the charm all silver. It is possible to re-oxidise the whole charm yourself, and then to polish up the bits you want to be silver, if you’re up for some DIY?
The seller did say that he polishes the charms before sending them out, & I have to say that they have come to me in a shinier condition than I was expecting (which I liked). One eye on one side is still black but the rest of his face on that side and all of his face on the other side is silver.
As I’m new to this, I’m too scared to try any DIY on my charms at the moment!
That is fair enough! It took me a little while to work up the courage to start re-oxidising my oxi bracelets at home. ^^ You could always take it to the store and see if they can do anything for you? Or perhaps just a local jewellers?
Hello
BO RAM KIM
I love retire de charms.
I would like charms and oxidation.
Raw egg yolk?
Loosen the egg yolks a little break?
Then sealed and immersed it?
Hi! You don’t want to use raw egg yolk. You need to boil the egg first and then mash it up. Put the charms in with the egg in a zip lock bag and make sure it’s sealed completely.
Hi there,
Found your blog when I go around to find out what I want as I have been considered about getting the oxidised bracelet or the leather one. I have 1 bangle and few charms a few years ago and have left it in my closet for a year. As the result,it have been oxidised and don’t look as good as it used to since I’m not a very careful person. Want to add the new look to my bracelet, so I decided to get the new one. I wonder a few questions, hope you may help. Thanks a lot.
– Compared btw the leather and the oxidised bracelet, which one do you think will make the charm looks more pop out? Because I think, by the time, the charm will not looks as shiny as it used, so somehow, it will be quite blend in btw the bracelet. Do u think so?
– Which one will maintain its beautiful longer without care as I’m not a very careful person and may want wear it quite often?
hello, thank you for your post and website. can you possibly post an update on your oxidized bracelet and show if “reoxidation” worked and what it looks like now. thank you
Hi, I have a reverse question. I purchased a regular silver bracelet as a gift from RueLaLa but they sent me the oxidized. They don’t have the silver available to exchange. Can I clean this one and it’ll look like a new silver one? Thanks, Lisa