I have recently noticed various sellers of glass memorial jewellery quote on their websites that resin jewellery is far inferior to glass. Whether the sellers are trying to protect their brand or simply do not have any experience or understanding of working with resin jewellery, so I thought I should clear up any false claims that have been made by some of these sellers.
I have had experience of using both resin and glass in my memorial jewellery over the last 17 years in fact some of my earliest resin jewellery, made 17 years ago for my wife, still looks like new today.
Can resin jewellery break if dropped?
Resin memorial jewellery is generally durable and is fairly shatter resistant compared to glass jewellery. I would be reluctant to put sentimental items such as ashes or hair from a loved one inside glass memorial jewellery.
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| Broken glass memorial pendant |
The risk is too high, and I would be afraid of accidentally dropping the glass memorial jewellery onto a solid surface and breaking it. For a similar reason, I would be reluctant to put ashes inside one of those items of jewellery that have hidden compartments that hold the ashes.
From personal experience, when I started making resin jewellery 17 years ago, one of the first things I did was to contact Trading Standards in the UK to ensure that my products were safe. Trading Standards visited me, inspected my jewellery, and even took several pieces for stress testing to ensure that they were compliant. Needless to say, my jewellery passed the tests with flying colours!
Can resin memorial jewellery yellow over time?
Whether you preserve ashes with art into jewellery as a full-time profession, or as a hobbyist wishing to make memorial jewellery for friends and family, I would strongly advise using an industrial resin, rather than a craft resin commonly purchased from craft shops. Most industrial type resins contain UV inhibitors that block UV light and therefore prevent yellowing and degradation to the resin piece.
Please check with the supplier of the resin to ensure that the resin that they supply contains UV inhibitors.
Can a resin ring be re-sized?
Yes, a sterling silver ring with a resin setting holding ashes or a lock of hair can be re-sized using laser welding. The laser welder does not heat the entire ring and provides a pinpoint beam to the local area. Many independent jewellery makers offer laser welding as a method for resizing amber rings, and this method can be equally used to resize resin rings.
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| Resin memorial ring being laser welded |
Is resin jewellery waterproof?
Resin memorial jewellery is non-porous and is therefore generally thought to be water-resistant. However, I would advise against wearing any form of memorial jewellery, including silver and glass, whilst swimming, bathing, showering or even washing the dishes.
More importantly, chemicals such as Chlorine from swimming pools should be avoided whilst wearing any form of jewellery. The application of hairspray, perfume and lotions should be avoided whilst wearing any form of jewellery (not just resin based). These chemicals can have a tarnishing effect on silver.
Other benefits of resin memorial jewellery over glass
Resin jewellery is extremely light to wear in comparison to glass, making an ideal solution for all items of jewellery including earrings. The largest resin pendant that I make, measuring 45mm (l) x 25mm (w) x 10mm(d) and weighs approximately 6g, (about the same as a UK 10p coin).
Resin jewellery costs a fraction of the cost of glass memorial jewellery, making it so much more cost effective when providing for several members of the family and friends.
Other inclusions such as small forget me not flowers can be incorporated into the resin memorial jewellery designs. This would not be possible for glass memorial jewellery due to the making process.
If you would like to read more about how to care and protect resin jewellery, please read my article How to care and protect resin jewellery.
Mick
