METAL EDUCATION
One of the most important stages of the design process is choosing the metal type that’s right for you. This choice will come down to a number of factors including your personal preference and budget.
This guide should help to make the choice much easier by giving you an understanding of the basics for each precious metal available.
We create jewellery using 9 Karat and 18 Karat Yellow, Rose and White Gold, Platinum 950 and Palladium 950. We’ll go into detail for each metal below.
Gold
Pure Gold is known as 24 Karat Gold and has not been mixed with any other metals. 24 Karat Gold is far too soft to be used to create jewellery therefore it is mixed with other alloys such as silver and copper to create a more durable alloy which in turn, creates a stronger metal that is suitable for everyday wearing.
The Karat of Gold is a measurement of Gold purity, not weight. This should not be confused with Carat which is the measurement of diamond weight.
18 Karat Gold
18 Karat Gold consists of 75% gold. This is a highly recommend metal for making jewellery.
18 Karat Gold is stronger than 9 Karat Gold.
9 Karat Gold
9 Karat Gold consists of 37.5% Gold. This is a popular choice for jewellery and the most affordable of the precious metals.
Colour
Gold in its purest form is naturally bright yellow in colour. The alloy and percentage of the alloy determines the colour of gold used in jewellery.
White Gold
This is a beautiful metal and a popular choice for jewellery of all kinds. White Gold has the same white finish as Platinum but comes at a lower cost.
As we’ve talked about previously, Gold is naturally yellow in colour so white gold is created using pure gold mixed with other white metals such as Palladium and Silver. This creates a metal which is yellowish or light grey in colour and to create the bright white finish the jewellery is then plated in a metal called Rhodium. The Rhodium plating on jewellery will wear away therefore regular replating is necessary to maintain the bright white finish. This process is used worldwide to create white gold.
Nickel is not used in our White Gold jewellery or any other metals.
Yellow Gold
This is a classic, traditional and very popular choice for all jewellery but especially engagement rings. The warmth of a yellow gold metal compliments lower colour graded diamonds.
Yellow Gold is created by mixing pure gold with alloys such as zinc and copper.
Rose Gold
While it may not be as commonly used in jewellery as other metals such as platinum and yellow gold, rose gold is still a popular choice and has been rising in popularity throughout the last decade.
Rose Gold was first used in the early 19th century in Russia and became a favourite during the roaring 20’s in the US.
To create Rose Gold pure gold is mixed with copper.
Platinum
This is one of the most popular metals for engagement rings for a number of reasons. One of those reasons being that platinum is a naturally white metal therefore its colour will never fade or change colour. Another reason for its popularity is the hard wearing properties of the metal, Platinum is four times stronger and 40% heavier than gold.
Platinum is very rare, more than 30 times rarer than gold. For this reason, platinum does come at a higher cost than other precious metals.
Platinum is one of the purest precious metals used in jewellery with most fine platinum jewellery using Platinum 950. This is a mix of 95% platinum and 5% alloy metals (usually cobalt). All of our platinum jewellery is Platinum 950 and will be independently hallmarked to confirm the purity.
Over time, platinum will scratch just like other precious metals, however, a professional polish will restore the jewellery to the original condition.
Palladium
Palladium has risen in popularity over recent years as an alternative to Platinum. Like platinum, palladium is a naturally white metal so that won’t change colour over time. Palladium is a lighter metal than platinum.
All Palladium jewellery which we create will be Palladium 950. This is a mix of 95% pure palladium and 5% alloys (usually Ruthenium)
What is the difference between Platinum and Palladium?
Both of these metals pose many of the same qualities but palladium is much less dense than platinum which makes it a lot lighter.
The difference in weight between the two metals won’t be noticeable with jewellery pieces such as engagement rings but when it comes to larger pieces such as men’s wedding rings there will be a noticeable difference.
What is the difference between White Gold and Platinum?
- One of the main differences is weight. Platinum is a denser metal than gold therefore a ring created in gold will be lighter than the same design in platinum.
- Platinum is harder wearing than gold. Platinum will still scratch over time like any other precious metal but this is only a displacement of metal and not a loss in volume which means a platinum jewellery piece can be polished to restore the original look.
- Platinum has a purity of 95% as opposed to 18 Karat gold which has 75% purity
- Platinum is a naturally white metal whereas gold is naturally yellow in colour therefore white gold is created using alloys.
Hallmarking
All precious metals, over a certain weight, must be independently hallmarked to confirm the metal purity.
Gold and palladium pieces which weigh more than 1 gram and Platinum pieces which weigh more than 0.5 grams must be hallmarked by law.
You can see our hallmarking guide here.
Caring for your jewellery
To maintain and care for your jewellery we recommend the following
- Don’t wear your jewellery when carrying out any rough jobs
- When not wearing your jewellery put that back in its box or a soft cloth bag
- Ensure your jewellery is kept away from harmful chemicals or corrosives such as chlorine and bleach.
- To clean your jewellery use mild soap, warm water and a soft-bristled brush
