What is fine pewter, anyway?
Pewter has been used for hundreds of years for many purposes, including jewelry making. Traditionally, pewter contained some lead and so people were a little wary of using it for jewelry. But in 1974, the lead was successfully removed from pewter and it is now an alloy comprised of tin, copper and sometimes silver. This new, lead-free material is referred to as Fine Pewter.
Fine pewter is very fun to work with, from a jewelry perspective. It is a bit softer than sterling silver so is a little more forgiving and easy to form, polish and hammer. It doesn't scratch easier, despite it being softer. It has a really neat look to it, kind of organic and hand-made looking. With some charms, you can't actually tell the difference between a sterling version and a fine pewter version of the same charm. Depending on what you do to it - hammer, forge, shape, patina, polish, brush - it can come out looking very similar to sterling silver or very different.
But this is what makes it so fun to work with. I have found that tumbling the charms to a shiny finish leaves them looking really shiny and like silver. I also like to brush the pewter to a matte finish. This gives a it a really nice sheen and more of an organic look.
An advantage of fine pewter is that it is a less expensive material than sterling silver, so we are happy to pass on that savings to our customers. I like offering different forms of jewelry at different price points. It really opens up a lot of possiblities when customizing or creating pieces for our awesome customers.
If you still have questions, please ask us!