Ask
Dr. Barrett . . .
What should I do if my gold jewelry is exposed to MERCURY?
MERCURY is POISONOUS! STOP wearing it immediately, and take
it to a jeweler right away. (Of course, you can mail it to us
at BARRETT'S, too.)
Unfortunately, cast jewelry in gold can be very porous; and
mercury is liquid in its nature. The mercury seeps into the nooks
and crannies of the gold like water into a sponge.
The gold takes on a new look--a dull, tin appearance. Since
the piece of jewelry is now tainted with the mercury, the piece
of jewelry is poisonous, too! Do not expose it to any other jewelry.
Place it in an envelope and take it to a jeweler. (Make sure the
envelope is thrown away!)
The jeweler will heat the gold up to a bright, cherry red;
thus, driving out the liquid mercury. The piece is cooled specially
and refinished. (This process can not be done with thin or delicate
gold pieces; the gold will melt before the mercury can be extracted
successfully.)
The moral of the story is . . . Don't ever expose jewelry
to mercury!
