Silver has well-known properties in jewelry art. For example, it blackens easily from exposure to the environment. Sulfur and nitrogen dioxide and trioxide gases, which are present in the air as pollutants, react with the surface of the silver to form black compounds such as silver nitrate and silver sulfide. This happens especially fast on unpolished or matte surfaces. From my earliest work, I very much wanted to use this property of silver as part of the design process – using the contrasting white and black surfaces. This is made easier by covering a surface with oxide, a liquid sold in shops for jewelers that allows us to blacken the silver. The metal can be made as dark as you like, while you are watching it. The untreated surface (sealed from exposure to the liquid oxide) remains silver-white.
“Leaves” earrings with black and white silver surface.
I found there was a problem in keeping this contrast fresh and vibrant, because white silver naturally darkens faster than blackened silver. If the design in a jewelry piece 
