metals...
| Gold
Gold is the most popular choice for mens and ladies wedding rings and engagement rings. Gold is also very popular in dress rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets.
There are two things to consider when looking at gold. First, which gold karat to choose and second, the gold color or the combination of gold colors available.
Gold Colors
Gold is available in several different colors. The most popular is yellow gold, followed by, white gold and rose gold. Other gold colors include bronze, red, and green gold.
Jewelry can also be made using a combination of different gold colors. These jewelry items are called two-tone, three-tone, or multi-colored gold.
The gold content of yellow gold is measured in the same way as it is measured in white gold. So an 18kt white gold ring contains 75% pure gold, just as 18kt yellow gold contains 75% pure gold.
The difference in color between yellow, white, and rose is determined by the metals used in the alloy mix.
The color difference is due to the metal composition of the alloy mix.
Yellow gold is made by mixing pure gold with alloy metals such as copper and zinc.
Rose gold is made using a mix of pure gold with copper. The copper provides the rose-reddish color.
White gold is made using a mix of pure gold and white metals such as silver and palladium.
There can be a difference in color depending if the piece of jewelry is 10kt, 14kt, or 18kt gold.
18kt yellow gold is more yellow than 10kt because it contains more pure gold metal in it.
10kt rose gold has a darker rose-copper color than 18kt rose gold which has a more subtle rose color.
10kt white gold and 18kt white gold have a similar white color (as normally both have a rhodium plating finish). |
White Gold Rhodium Plating
Traditionally, nickel was used in white gold, however, nickel is no longer used in most white gold as nickel can cause skin reactions with some people.
White gold rings are coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white color.
The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. 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 every 12 to 18 months. Most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a cost effective price.
Choosing a Metal
When trying to decide between the gold karat types there are three things to consider.
1. The metals performance with everyday wear.
2. The difference in color between the 10kt, 14kt, and 18kt gold.
3. The difference in price between the gold karats. |
In practical terms, 14kt generally holds up to everyday wear better than 18kt. This is one of the reasons why 14kt is normally preferred for ladies engagement rings rather than 18kt .
10kt, 14kt and 18kt are each 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.
Gold Karat
There are several karats available for gold.
The karat is the pure gold content of the metal. The karat measures the proportion of pure gold mixed with other metal alloys to make up the final metal.
The karat of gold is represented by the abbreviation kt. Karat can also be represented by its color such as 14KY for yellow gold or 14KW for white gold.
You may notice that carat or ct is used to measure the weight of diamonds and gemstones. Although similar in name, the two measurements are measuring completely different characteristics of jewelry.
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 18kt ring will be more expensive than a 14kt ring and a 14kt ring will be more expensive than a 10kt ring.
10kt gold contains 41.66% pure gold (10/24 parts gold to alloy).
14kt gold contains 58.3% pure gold (14/24 parts gold to alloy).
18kt gold contains 75% pure gold (18/24 parts gold to alloy).
24kt gold contains 100% pure gold (24/24 parts gold to alloy). |
Platinum
Platinum is a white metal, but unlike gold it is used in jewelry almost in its pure form (approximately 95% pure).
Platinum has extremely good holding strength, and is very white, so it does not need to be Rhodium plated like white gold.
Platinum is very dense (heavy), so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18kt gold ring.
Platinum is, however, very expensive. A platinum ring will be approximately twice the price of an 18kt white gold ring (excluding gemstone costs).
Silver
Sterling silver is a white-gray colored metal which is less expensive than gold, platinum, and titanium.
Silver is a softer metal than gold 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 or for an extended period. For that reason it is usually not recommend to be chosen for ladies and mens wedding rings, and ladies engagement rings.
Silver is also subject to oxidation, causing the silver to tarnish, turn black. Silver jewelry can easily be made to look like new again if you use a silver jewelry cleaner or a silver polishing cloth.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is a metal not traditionally used in fine jewelry, though its popularity in dress jewelry is increasing.
Stainless steel is a relatively hard and durable metal. It is particularly popular in mens bracelets, necklaces and mens dress rings.
The range of stainless steel jewelry is generally more restricted than for other metals.
Titanium
Titanium is the hardest natural metal in the world. It is very strong, three times the strength of steel and much stronger than gold, silver, and platinum and, yet, is very light weight. Pure titanium is also 100% hypo-allergenic which means that it if safe for anyone to wear as it will not react to your skin.
Titanium provides several unique factors that make it a good metal for jewelry. It is very strong, lightweight, and more dent, bend, and scratch resistant than gold, silver, and platinum.
One factor to consider with titanium is that titanium cannot be soldered, which means that titanium rings cannot normally be re-sized.
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.
Tungsten Carbide
Tungsten carbide, also referred to simply as tungsten, is a very hard, strong, and durable metal. It's also quite heavy.
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 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.
Having a wedding band that’s scratch resistant offers a lot of advantages:
| 1. | Tungsten always looks new, bright, and shiny. It doesn’t need the polishing maintenance that gold, platinum, and titanium rings do.
| | 2. | Tungsten stands up to the wear that the roughest husbands can dish-out, making it a popular choice for mens wedding rings.
| | 3. | The range of tungsten jewelry is generally more restricted than for other metals.
| | |
|
