Black Body Jewellery

Many people want black body jewellery in their piercings, fresh or healed. I touched briefly on black jewellery in my previous blog 'Metals, Materials and Why They Matter' (https://www.hannahbuck.co.uk/post/metals-materials-and-why-they-matter) but here I plan to go into a bit more depth...

PVD Coating / Plating is the cheapest and most common black jewellery you'll find in non-reputable shops or high-street stores. It's often disguised as "black titanium" or "black steel," but don't be fooled - these metals cannot be made black without the use of a plating / coating which simply do not belong inside your body; they will wear away over time, and are often just disguising a cheaper non-imlpant grade metal underneath (remember not all titanium/steel is implant grade). Best to steer clear of this stuff completely, unfortunately! Some would argue that it could be suitable for well healed piercings (including myself back when I was a baby piercer and didn't know much better!), but honestly, you and your body deserve better than that. Your body healed a hole that was purposefully made through it for aesthetic / fashion purposes - thank it by wearing what it deserves, and what it needs to sustain a healthy piercing; quality metals and materials. So, PVD black jewellery = no no.

Niobium is a pure metal that is safe and suitable for fresh piercings. It is also a metal that can be darkened through heat treatment, giving it a black effect. It might not be the truest black, and it definitely won't be matte black as body jewellery requires a high polish finish to

be safe to wear, but it's a very good and safe alternative to PVD coated black jewellery.

Some unique black Niobium rings handmade by Apex - Hand Crafted Body Jewllery

(@apex_piercing on Instagram)

Black Gold is one you may not have heard of. Unlike rose and white gold, black gold isn't made by using alloy metals to change the colour of yellow gold, instead it is often real gold which is plated with black rhodium. Again, some may argue that rhodium plated gold is safe for wear if the gold underneath is a good quality 14ct or above, but the fact still remains that plating and coatings will wear away inside the body, which isn't great!

Black stones are a great compromise for some when it comes to achieving the look of black jewellery. Onyx, black opal, black tourmaline, obsidian, black diamonds and black cubic zirconias are just some of the stones available to achieve the desired look. They're often housed in titanium or gold settings so are not entirely black, but you can be clever by choosing a low profile setting and even anodising the titanium to a darker colour to blend the setting to the stone for a more uniform look.

A marquise cut black cubic zirconia fan from Industrial Strength, chosen by the client, pierced by me.

Genuine black onyx cabochon in a helix, pierced by me.

The titanium bezel setting on this piece is low profile, and could be changed to a darker colour through anodising to help hide the smallest amount of it that can be seen.