Jewelry Metal Informations

Jewelry metal information

 What you need to know about jewelry metals

There are several metals used in the creation of fine jewelry. By knowing information about the different metals, their benefits compared with each other and their unique qualities you will be able to make a better and more informed decision about purchasing your jewelry.

The metal types commonly used to make jewelry include gold, platinum, titanium, silver and stainless steel. Metals including rhodium and palladium are also used with jewelry.

Below you will find information about each of these metal types, together with information about which metals are best for particular types of jewelry.

Gold

Gold carats
Yellow gold, white gold and rose gold

Platinum
Palladium
Titanium
Silver
Tungsten carbide
Stainless steel
Rhodium

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Gold

Gold is the most popular choice for men's and ladies wedding rings and engagement rings. Gold is also very popular in dress rings, earrings, penda nts, n ecklaces   and bracelets.

There are two things to consider when looking at gold. First, which gold carat to choose and second, the gold color or the combination of gold colors available.

Gold carat

There are several carats available for gold.

The carat is the gold content of the metal. The carat measures the proportion of pure gold mixed with other metal alloy to make up the final metal.

The carat of gold is represented in many countries by the abbreviation ct. Carat can also be called karat, represented by kt or K.   

You may notice that carat or ct is also used to measure the weight of diamonds and gemstones. Although the same name is used, the two measurements are measuring different characteristics of jewelry.

The gold carats normally used in men's wedding rings are 10kt, 14kt, 18kt and 19.2kt (portuguese gold).

The higher the proportion of gold used in the final metal, the more valuable and expensive the metal will be. So all other things being the same, an 19.2kt ring will  be more expensive than a 18kt ring, 18kt ring will be more expensive than a 14kt and a 14kt ring will be more expensive than a 10kt ring.

Gold 

14kt gold contains 58.5% pure gold (585 parts per thousand parts). 

18kt gold contains 75% pure gold (750 parts per thousand parts).

19.2kt (portuguese gold)gold contains 80% pure gold (800 parts per thousand parts).

Other gold carats are used in different parts of the world including 9ct, 22ct and 24ct. It is generally considered that 22ct and 24ct gold are too soft to be used to make men's wedding rings.

Jewelry is normally stamped with a marking to show the type of gold.

For 10kt gold the stamp will normally be either the number 417, 10kt, 10kt or 10K.

For 14kt gold the stamp will normally be either the number 585, 14kt, 14kt or 14K. 

Portugual, by the portuguese law, for 19.2kt gold use a stamp showing a deer with 800 on the bottom.

10kt, 14kt, 18kt and 19.2kt gold are each relatively hard and durable metals and are suitable for use in all types of fine jewelry. Gold is also suitable to be used in jewelry that is worn on an every day basis.

When choosing jewelry, particularly rings, many people consider the hardness and durability of gold to be used in their ring.

Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale where harder metals receive a higher Vickers score than less hard metals.

10kt has a Vickers hardness of 120 and 19.2kt has a Vickers hardness of 125. This shows 19.2kt as harder, but the difference is so slight that in practical terms 10kt and 19.2kt are much the same in terms of hardness.

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Gold colors

Gold is available in several different colors. The most popular is yellow gold, followed by white gold and rose gold, though other gold colors are sometimes also available such as bronze, red and lime gold.

Jewelry can also be made using a combination of different gold colors. These jewelry items are sometimes called two-tone, three-tone or multi-colored gold. 

As the color difference is due to the metal components in the alloy mix, the color of yellow gold and rose gold will not chip, fade or wear off with age.

Yellow gold is made by mixing pure gold with alloy metals such as copper and zinc.

White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium.

Traditionally nickel was used in white gold, however, nickel is no longer used in most white gold made today as nickel can cause reactions with some people.

The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color. The rhodium is very white and   very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months. Most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a cost effective price.

As each gold color contains the same proportion of pure gold all gold colors with the same carat weight when measured on the Vickers scale have the same Vickers score. 

19.2kt, 18kt and 14kt. yellow gold is more yellow than 10kt yellow gold, making 19.2kt, 18kt and 14kt yellow gold a more popular choice of yellow gold than 10kt for ladies engagement rings.

10kt, 14kt., 18kt and 19.2kt white gold have a similar white color (as normally both have a rhodium plating finish).

When comparing the price of the gold colors in the same carat, white gold is normally a little more expensive than yellow gold. Yellow gold and rose gold  normally have approximately the same price.  

1. The metals performance with every day wear 
2. The difference in color.
3. The difference in price between the gold carats. 

10kt, 14kt, 18kt. and 19.2kt are each suitable equally suitable for use in dress rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces. Many people choose 10kt and 14kt for their earrings and pendants due to its lower price. 

For engagement rings 14kt, 18kt and 19.2kt is a better choise.

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Titanium

Titanium provides several unique factors that make it a good metal for jewelry. It is very strong, more dent, bend and scratch resistant than gold, silver and platinum, is lightweight and importantly offers an exotic array of colors which other metals simply do not.

One factor to consider with titanium is that titanium cannot be soldered, which means that titanium rings cannot normally be resized.

Titanium rings made using pure titanium can normally be cut-off the finger in the event of an emergency, though they are more difficult to cut-off than gold, silver or platinum rings. Aircraft grade titanium rings normally cannot be cut-off in the event of an emergency.

Titanium is popular in earrings and bracelets for both ladies and men.

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Platinum 

Platinum is very dense and heavy metal, so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18kt gold ring.

Platinum is, however, significantly more expensive than gold. With all other things being the same, a platinum ring will be approximately twice the price of an 18kt white gold ring.

Platinum is a prestige choice and is often chosen for its sophisticated appeal and popularity amongst the rich and famous. 

Platinum is mainly used in ladies engagement rings, ladies wedding rings and men's wedding rings.

Platinum can also be used to make dress rings, though it is not commonly used to make earrings, pendants, bracelets or necklaces.

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Palladium

Palladium is a white metal which is has a silver-grey-white color and is similar to platinum. Palladium is one of the metals that is part of the platinum group of metals. The platinum group metals share similar chemical properties.

Palladium is well suited to use with engagement rings and wedding rings.

A few short years ago the price of palladium was actually higher than platinum, however, the price of palladium is now lower than platinum, making it a more affordable option.

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Silver

Sterling silver is a white-grey colored metal which is less expensive than gold, platinum and titanium.

Silver is a softer metal than gold, titanium and platinum and does not have hardness that the other metals do.

Silver is a popular metal for use in jewelry such as earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces and dress rings. It is best used for jewelry that will not be worn every day for an extended period. For that reason it is usually not recommend to be chosen for ladies and men's wedding rings, and is not suitable for ladies engagement rings.

Silver is also more prone to oxidisation, sometimes causing the silver to turn black. The silver jewelry can easily be made to look like new again if you use a silver jewelry cleaner (available from most department stores) or if you have your jewelry cleaned by a local jeweler.

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Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten has a characteristic unique to this special metal - tungsten is highly scratch resistant.

Unlike gold, platinum and even titanium, tungsten rings do not scratch with everyday wear like the other metals do.

It is technically possible to scratch tungsten, though only with objects that are harder than tungsten. So that leaves diamonds, sapphires, rubies and ceramic.  Though unless you dragged the tip of a loose diamond along the tungsten, the metal will stay scratch resistant.

Having a wedding band that's scratch resistant offers a lot of advantages. 

Tungsten always looks new and bright and shiny. Tungsten offers what's referred to as a permanent polish, which means that it doesn't need to be re-polished. So, it doesn't need the polishing maintenance that gold, platinum and titanium rings do.

Tungsten stands up to the wear that even the roughest husbands can dish-out, making it a popular choice for men's wedding rings.

Tungsten has an appealing color which almost all men like. The tungsten color is a grey-white color, similar to that of white gold or titanium.

Tungsten is particularly popular in men's wedding rings.

The range of tungsten jewellery is generally more restricted than for other metals.

Tungsten rings cannot be resized (as tungsten can't be cut and resoldered), so it's important to have your finger size accuratley measured before buying a tungsten ring.

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Stainless steel

Stainless steel is a relatively hard and durable metal. It is particularly popular in men's bracelets, necklaces and men's dress rings.

The range of stainless steel jewelry is generally more restricted than for other metals.

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