With the price of gold hovering around $1,660 an ounce, it's no wonder there's been a surge of interest in using other metals in jewelry.
The prices of silver (about $30 an ounce) and copper (about $3.50 a pound) make them more appealing to some jewelers.
And then there's brass, which jewelers typically buy in sheets priced around $12 a pound. Accessories made from the alloy of copper and zinc are experiencing a new popularity, popping up at stores and boutiques where shoppers who haven't been paying attention might expect to find gold or gold layered over silver.
"The costs of silver, gold and many other traditionally used components have skyrocketed over the last few years, and brass has become a good choice for making jewelry," says Karen Giberson, president of the Accessories Council. "Everyone from the Etsy.com craftsmen to major contemporary jewelry designers is using it in their collections."
Neiman Marcus, which has a store in Garden State Plaza in Paramus, sells a variety of brass jewelry from necklaces to bracelets to bangles. Zales Jewelers in Willowbrook Mall in Wayne sells a number of key rings, cuff links and tie tacks made of brass with gold or silver over brass.
Precious Accents, a jewelry store in Englewood, sells a unique braided brass mesh bracelet with a brass clasp for just $106. They also offer a bevy of bracelets, earrings and necklaces made of brass but plated with gold, nickel or silver, which keeps prices considerably lower compared with items made of solid gold or silver.
Prices of brass jewelry are wide-ranging. On the website Accessoryartists.com, for example, prices range from $40 for a brass Buddha pendant to $1,700 for a more elaborate tiered statement necklace.
New York-based jewelry designer and metalsmith Anna Sheffield uses brass as well as gold and sterling silver in her line Bing Bang and gravitates to brass for its versatility.
'Lovely material'
"Brass is actually a really lovely material to work with, coming from a metalsmith background," Sheffield says. "It has a beautiful yellow color when polished, it can be luxe when it is lightly brushed, and oxidized brass has a nice antique brown quality or black tones in the recesses."
Brass works for strong statement pieces such as chunky cuffs and thick hoop earrings. Kelly Wearstler, a designer in West Hollywood, Calif., offers an array of brass pieces; among them, cuffs topped with natural agate stones set with thick prongs. The combination of stone and brass in the bracelet feels earthy, not precious, which means it's as easy to wear with a casual button-down shirt and jeans as it is with a dress and heels.
Raven Kauffman's "crocodile skin" embossed cuffs, made from reclaimed brass, have been crafted to show lots of texture and design; the metal appears opaque, rather than shiny, which means the overall look is more chic than superhero. Her jewelry is sold online.
A.L.C., sold online and at Barneys New York, has a different take on brass jewelry. The screw-top tennis bracelet feels dainty, even though its primary design motif evokes building materials. Brass "handcuff" earrings are shiny and bold.
And for those who want to wear their brass in an unexpected way, Monika Chiang sells sleek wedge sandals and a flat version with brass ankle cuffs.
