There are more than 100 different grades of stainless steel, or RST.
The purpose and properties of the types of steel differ and not all of them are suitable for making jewelry.
I have come across jewelry parts made of steel 201, 430, 304 and 316. Which ones are best suited for jewelry?
1. Steel 201
– inexpensive low-nickel austenitic steel with a high manganese content
– lower corrosion resistance
– not magnetic but can become magnetic after cold working
– use – car parts, building materials, pipes, interior items
2. Steel 430
– inexpensive ferritic steel
– contains only a little chromium, so it rusts the most sensitively of the four if the surface is scratched
– magnetic
- use - metal parts of furniture, hinges, interior elements of cars and kitchen appliances
3. Steel 304
– austenitic steel
– excellent corrosion resistance
– not magnetic but can become magnetic after cold working
– use – food industry, kitchen utensils, industrial machinery
4. Steel 316
– austenitic steel
– excellent corrosion resistance
– not magnetic but can become magnetic after cold working
– use – shipbuilding industry, chemical industry, food industry, medicine
Which of these four are best for jewelry?
Steels 304 and 316 are the best types of steel for making jewelry, because they have the best corrosion resistance. The hypoallergenic properties go hand in hand with the corrosion resistance of the steel, as the corrosion-resistant non-reactive surface also does not react with the chemistry of the skin (I will write in a separate post about steel types 304 and 316 (also subtypes 304L and 316L) and their hypoallergenic properties in more detail).
When looking for stainless steel for jewelry, choose either steel 304 or steel 316.
If the type of steel is not mentioned, you might get the cheapest stainless steel (and anyway, I would wonder why such an important thing was not mentioned). For example, the popular Huggie hoop earrings are often made of 201 steel.
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