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I remember one of my first jewelry fabrication classes when I saw the instructor quench a newly soldered piece of jewelry in water than nonchalantly toss it into this crusty, disgusting looking, warm crockpot, saying, “Now we pickle the piece.” Ok. If you say so.

According to this International Gem Society article, jeweler’s pickle is, “… a liquid compound used to remove oxidation and flux [sometimes referred to as ‘firescale’] from newly soldered jewelry.”  Most pickle contains a mild acid or other ingredients that produce the same effect. You will likely need to follow up pickling with an abrasive, such as a green scrub pad, water and soap.

Nancy Hamilton’s  excellent post, “Soldering 101 — Oxidation, Flux and Fire Scale Prevention“, explains what causes oxidation, what metals are most vulnerable (those containing copper), what metals are most resistant (such as Argentium® silver which contains germanium) and flux recommendations.

If you are new to pickling, one big fat, don’t you even forget it tip is to always use copper tongs (not steel, e.g.) when removing silver pieces from the pickle pot unless you like your silver in a cheery pink color.

Jeweler’s Pickle Tips & Recipes

1. Recipe to Make your own Natural Jeweler’s Pickle  — The Artisan Life Blog
2. On pickle, Acid, Crock Pots and Baking Soda — Nancy Hamilton blog
3. How to Remove Pink Coating After Pickling When Soldering Brass and Copper — Creative Jewelry Making Blog
4. Using pH Down to Pickle Brass and Copper — Art Metal
5. Citric Acid Pickle — Jewelrytools.com (YouTube video)
6. Little Dipper Crockpot — Amazom.com
7. Organic Pickle Recipes — Emily Wiser Jewelry