Crescent Maille now offers an “upgrade” when you buy a piece of jewelry (bracelet, pendant, earrings, necklace, or pendant & earring sets) — oxidation. To quote the upgrade description in my shop:
The natural process for sterling silver is to tarnish very slowly over time — this is called oxidation — and it is easily polished back to its original shine. But there are various methods that force instant oxidation. Then parts of the piece are gently polished up to more satiny shine. This results in a piece that looks softer, darker, and “antique.”
(Because of the nature of chain maille, the jewelry is not “static.” The rings move and rotate within the weave. Different weaves require different types of polishing. For example, the bracelets shown in the photographs are Jens Pind bracelets. Since the rings are free to rotate in the weave, one has to think of them like “tires.” So each ring has to be polished individually — polishing each part of the “tire” that would touch the road [so to speak], one by one. This is why the pricing varies.)
Here are photos of shiny sterling silver and oxidized sterling silver side-by-side — the first photo is of Jens Pind chains, and the second photo is of the Byzantine Rose pendant:
