First let us separate out the different types of bullet jewelry because there are two basic elements of a bullet to talk about.
First of all there is bullet itself, the projectile, the part that leaves out the end of your gun when fired. This can be solid copper, copper and lead or just lead and now there are even some other materials.
We custom load our bullets ourselves to achieve just the right flower/blossom/mushroom from the bullet. Then all our bullets get spray coated with a clear glossy finish to bring out the beauty of the bullet as well as to encapsulate the lead. Then we turn them into earrings, pins and anything else that inspires us.
Second there is the brass casing which may or may not be ejected to your side when the gun is fired. This is usually brass, steel or nickel although we occasionally se other materials used.
We take all kinds and sizes of brass, we have everything from .22, 9mm, 10mm, 44mm, 45mm, 357, 38, 223, .308, 30-06 and even a handful of larger each one is great for a different product. The smaller ones are used to make lots of earrings because of their size and weight…you don’t want earrings so heavy that they give you a headache! While some are just polished then clear coated to help prevent normal wear and aging, we also etch most of our brass to make larger earrings as well as bracelets and anything else we feel fits within our realm such as the business card holders, boutonnieres for prom or wedding and even push pins for cork boards! One of the biggest trends lately is using the head stamp (just the bottom of the brass) as an earring and we have a few of those as well!
