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Precious Metals
Explained
Gold
This is the most used metal in jewelry and perhaps in the world. Gold is a naturally yellow metal brought from the ground in a mining process. It is very mallable (workable) and also very soft. One ounce of pure gold can be hammered into a sheet of gold 10 feet square or milled into a wire a mile long! It is so soft that pure gold (24kt) is seldom used as jewelry. Manufacturers mix the gold with other metals (alloys) to make it more durable. The higher the karat number, the less of the alloy.
KARAT GOLD
24kt: This is pure gold. In Europe, Asia and sometimes the US it will be stamped 999, meaning it's 99.9% pure gold.
18kt: This is 18/24 pure gold. Again, overseas it will be stamped with the percentage. In this case, that's 750 for 75% pure gold. In yellow gold, this is a softer metal than 10 or 14 kt. In white gold it's harder.
14kt: This is 14/24 pure or 585. This is perhaps the most commonly used gold. It's a nice mix of beauty and durability.
10kt: Again, 10/24 pure or 420. This will be used to keep cost down a bit and is slightly more durable than 14kt.
Yellow Gold: This is typically alloyed with copper and silver. This gives it durability and keeps it's yellow color.
White Gold: This is alloyed with copper, zinc and usually nickel to create the silver color. In the last few years, manufacturers have substituted other metals for the nickel because of nickel allergies. This has created a problem with white gold having a yellow cast to its color.
Pink or Rose Gold: This tint of gold (often seen in older watches and in Black Hills Gold) is alloyed with the same copper and silver as yellow gold, but by using different mixtures, the metal has the pink color.
We've named 3 colors of gold created by the alloys, but it can truly be any color. Manufacturers
have created green, purple and even black.
Gold Filled:
Gold filled is a process of mechanically layering gold over the top or around a base metal. It is used in lower priced jewelry that is still nice. It has a legal standard in that 1/20 of the weight of the item must be the stamped karat. If it's marked 14kt GF, then 1/20 of the weight of the entire item, excluding gems, must be 14kt gold.
Gold Plated:
Gold plating is a process where an item is placed in a liquid containing gold and through electrolosis, the gold in the liquid moves from the liquid to the item. There is no legal standard for this. It is typical of dime store type of jewelry.
Platinum and Paladium
Platinum is a truly white, hypoallergenic metal used in many fine pieces of jewelry. It is very durable and, unlike gold, must be alloyed to make it workable and softer. Whereas gold is typically 42-58.5% pure in jewelry, platinum is usually 90-95% pure. It will be mixed with another platinum family metal called irridium to make it workable. Because of this higher percentage of pure metal, platinum is much higher priced.
Platinum has it's own kind of beauty, but you need to be aware that it does NOT keep the bright, chrome-like shine of white gold. It becomes, with wear, a truly white metal. While it is durable, it gets tiny surface scratches on it rather quickly and develops a patina. Many feel this is what makes it beautiful, but others don't care for that.
Paladium is another platinum family metal recently used in jewelry. Like platinum, it is purer than gold when used for jewelry, but is comparably priced to gold in its finished state. Unlike platinum, it keeps its bright shine for years. Many manufacturers are having some problems right now with casting platinum so until those issues are worked out to our satisfaction, we won't carry it.
Titanium and Tungsten
Titanium is a gun metal grey metal recently used in jewelry, especially men's wedding rings and watches. It is not cast like the precious metals, but formed in a lathe and worked. It is extremely light and extremely durable. You probably will never be able to bend your titanium ring, but you will scratch it.
Tungsten Carbide is a steel product used in some watches and rings. It is heavier than gold, brighter than titanium and is nearly scratch proof. Like tinanium, you'll also never bend it, but it can be shattered, sometimes as easily as dropping it on the sidewalk. This can be a good thing if your finger gets injured and we need to get the ring off your hand!
Silver
Historically, silver has been used as much as gold, but has never had gold's value. Silver has its own beauty and, like platinum, gets a patina from the tiny scratches that gets on its surface. It also is the only precious metal that tarnishes. It is soft enough that it must be alloyed with another metal to make it harder. The mix is 92.5% silver. In fact, that is the legal definition of sterling is that it must be at least 92.5% pure. Usually the alloy is tin, but in recent years manufacturers have alloyed silver with germanium creating argentium silver. It is still 92.5% pure silver, but is very tarnish resistant.
Usually, higher value gems such as diamonds or emeralds are not set in sterling because of how soft the metal is.