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The jewelry you choose and the alloy of precious metals it is made out of is one of the most important decisions you will make and shouldn’t be taken lightly. When you are deciding on an alloy things that you should consider are:
1. What color am I looking to get? Yellow gold looks good in almost every alloy if it’s cast properly. White and pink gold will most likely require plating in high karat gold.
2. What is the application? For items like earrings and necklaces that will get virtually no wear, white gold may be just fine. But with an engagement ring, an 18K white gold ring may require constant maintenance.
3. How often do you plan to wear it and what type of abuse will it be subjected to? Many people are careful with their jewelry or wear it only on special occasions so the hardness of the alloy is not an issue.
All gold is yellow of course, but yellow gold is alloyed with metals that don’t take away from the beauty of the gold color. We always recommend 18K gold for jewelry because of it’s balance of rich golden luster and durability. 18K is softer then 14K but is much more durable then 21K, 22K and will hold up to light wear and tear. Most necklaces and earrings will never see much abuse so 18K is preferred. For a ring or bracelet you’re going to give a lot of abuse to, especially for men, you may want to consider 14K. 18K is still acceptable for rings and bracelets but you may need to have them polished more often to restore their finish. We do not recommend 10K yellow gold for any application unless budget is a primary concern.
To get a nice pink color in gold is a tricky thing. Most 18K pink gold jewelry for example looks orange in it’s natural state. Not quite gold color but it’s not far off. 18K pink gold by definition must have 75% pure gold and 25% other alloying metals; so they do not have a lot to play with to get it that nice pink color. 14K pink gold looks much more pink, and 10K pink gold looks even pinker. So if you want a bright pink color you will need 10K gold. 14K pink gold still looks pink and is a good balance between purity and bright pink color. 18K pink gold will look pink compared to yellow gold, but you may be disappointed in the color if comparing to other 10K or 14K pink gold jewelry.
What many people don’t realize is that pink gold is often plated to give it a more pink color. Then when they wear it and the plating wears off, it looks more yellowish and they’re unhappy. None of our pink gold jewelry is ever plated, not even the 18K pink gold. We prefer to leave everything in their natural state. If you have any questions about pink gold, please contact us prior to placing your order.
White gold alloys are typically nickel and silver alloyed with gold and in some more expensive blends palladium is substituted for nickel for hypo-allergenic reasons. 14K white gold by definition must contain 14 of 24 parts gold, or 58.3% pure gold. This only leaves 41.7% alloying metals such as nickel, silver, palladium, etc to bring out the white color. Just like pink gold, the higher the karat gold used, the more yellowish it will appear. Almost always, white gold is rhodium plated to give it a nice bright white color. Some newer alloys such as “18K white gold palladium” that are made of 75% pure gold and 25% palladium will appear more white then regular 18k white gold made of nickel, but will still need to be plated. There is also the inverse alloy which is “18K palladium gold” some vendors use which is 75% pure palladium and 25% pure gold. We’re not really sold on this blend because it is so uncommon and getting repair work done on it may cause difficulty later down the line. Also why would you ruin a palladium white metal alloy by adding yellow gold to it? 18K white gold with palladium is a good alternative to regular 18K white gold that is made with nickel. Any jeweler can repair this alloy if needed with stock 18K white gold solder.
No alloy of white gold should be sold without being rhodium plated, especially 18K white gold. So in our opinion if an alloy is not white in its natural state then why even use it to begin with? Our preference is not to recommend any 18K white gold alloys for bridal jewelry but instead we suggest 14K white gold, 950 palladium or 950 platinum. 18K white gold jewelry that is worn as fashion jewelry or not subject to a lot of wear should last many years without any issues.
Like platinum, palladium is a pure white metal. Some say palladium is even whiter then platinum although the difference is so minimal it could never be detected by eye. It is not as bright-white as silver or rhodium. So a platinum or palladium will look slightly more grayish compared to anything that has been rhodium plated. But don’t let that scare you away, palladium and platinum are beautiful metals in their natural states. When palladium is mined it is typically found with platinum, infact palladium is in the platinum group metals family just like ruthenium, iridium and rhodium. Palladium is not as heavy as platinum, it’s about 40% lighter in weight compared to platinum, and so is roughly the same weight and feel of 14K gold. Currently there are not a lot of jewelers that work with high purity palladium alloys such as 950 blends (95% pure), but it is rapidly gaining in popularity and has so much benefit to the consumer. This is why we strive to offer as many items in palladium as possible. Of course since many of our items are made to order and we work closely with the manufacturers we can bring you most items in palladium. Our lifetime warranty ensures you also never have any problems.
Like palladium, this is another natural white metal. Platinum and palladium both will appear slightly darker compared to rhodium plated jewelry but they are still very white and do not need to be rhodium plated like white gold does. Unlike white gold, as it wears the color never yellows or fades and so it requires no maintenance to sustain its natural white color. Both platinum and palladium develop a nice patina over time from all the small scratches and wear it takes on. These are easily removed by getting the jewelry polished. Unlike gold jewelry, polishing platinum and palladium does not result in any loss of metal since polishing it only moves around the metal and does not abrasively remove it. So you can polish it to your heart’s delight and never worry about wearing away your jewelry. 950 blends (95% pure) is most common with platinum.
Both platinum and palladium in 950 blends (95% pure) are typically alloyed with 5% ruthenium or 5% iridium. Iridium is easier to cast but not as hard. Ruthenium is more difficult to cast for the jeweler but it results in a harder alloy which is more resistant to scratches. For that reason we only sell ruthenium blends even though it does require more labor and expertise on our part.
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Jewelry Metal Alloys
The jewelry you choose and the alloy of precious metals it is made out of is one of the most important decisions you will make and shouldn’t be taken lightly. When you are deciding on an alloy things that you should consider are:
1. What color am I looking to get? Yellow gold looks good in almost every alloy if it’s cast properly. White and pink gold will most likely require plating in high karat gold.
2. What is the application? For items like earrings and necklaces that will get virtually no wear, white gold may be just fine. But with an engagement ring, an 18K white gold ring may require constant maintenance.
3. How often do you plan to wear it and what type of abuse will it be subjected to? Many people are careful with their jewelry or wear it only on special occasions so the hardness of the alloy is not an issue.
Yellow Gold
All gold is yellow of course, but yellow gold is alloyed with metals that don’t take away from the beauty of the gold color. We always recommend 18K gold for jewelry because of it’s balance of rich golden luster and durability. 18K is softer then 14K but is much more durable then 21K, 22K and will hold up to light wear and tear. Most necklaces and earrings will never see much abuse so 18K is preferred. For a ring or bracelet you’re going to give a lot of abuse to, especially for men, you may want to consider 14K. 18K is still acceptable for rings and bracelets but you may need to have them polished more often to restore their finish. We do not recommend 10K yellow gold for any application unless budget is a primary concern.
Pink Gold
To get a nice pink color in gold is a tricky thing. Most 18K pink gold jewelry for example looks orange in it’s natural state. Not quite gold color but it’s not far off. 18K pink gold by definition must have 75% pure gold and 25% other alloying metals; so they do not have a lot to play with to get it that nice pink color. 14K pink gold looks much more pink, and 10K pink gold looks even pinker. So if you want a bright pink color you will need 10K gold. 14K pink gold still looks pink and is a good balance between purity and bright pink color. 18K pink gold will look pink compared to yellow gold, but you may be disappointed in the color if comparing to other 10K or 14K pink gold jewelry.
What many people don’t realize is that pink gold is often plated to give it a more pink color. Then when they wear it and the plating wears off, it looks more yellowish and they’re unhappy. None of our pink gold jewelry is ever plated, not even the 18K pink gold. We prefer to leave everything in their natural state. If you have any questions about pink gold, please contact us prior to placing your order.
White Gold
White gold alloys are typically nickel and silver alloyed with gold and in some more expensive blends palladium is substituted for nickel for hypo-allergenic reasons. 14K white gold by definition must contain 14 of 24 parts gold, or 58.3% pure gold. This only leaves 41.7% alloying metals such as nickel, silver, palladium, etc to bring out the white color. Just like pink gold, the higher the karat gold used, the more yellowish it will appear. Almost always, white gold is rhodium plated to give it a nice bright white color. Some newer alloys such as “18K white gold palladium” that are made of 75% pure gold and 25% palladium will appear more white then regular 18k white gold made of nickel, but will still need to be plated. There is also the inverse alloy which is “18K palladium gold” some vendors use which is 75% pure palladium and 25% pure gold. We’re not really sold on this blend because it is so uncommon and getting repair work done on it may cause difficulty later down the line. Also why would you ruin a palladium white metal alloy by adding yellow gold to it? 18K white gold with palladium is a good alternative to regular 18K white gold that is made with nickel. Any jeweler can repair this alloy if needed with stock 18K white gold solder.
No alloy of white gold should be sold without being rhodium plated, especially 18K white gold. So in our opinion if an alloy is not white in its natural state then why even use it to begin with? Our preference is not to recommend any 18K white gold alloys for bridal jewelry but instead we suggest 14K white gold, 950 palladium or 950 platinum. 18K white gold jewelry that is worn as fashion jewelry or not subject to a lot of wear should last many years without any issues.
Palladium
Like platinum, palladium is a pure white metal. Some say palladium is even whiter then platinum although the difference is so minimal it could never be detected by eye. It is not as bright-white as silver or rhodium. So a platinum or palladium will look slightly more grayish compared to anything that has been rhodium plated. But don’t let that scare you away, palladium and platinum are beautiful metals in their natural states. When palladium is mined it is typically found with platinum, infact palladium is in the platinum group metals family just like ruthenium, iridium and rhodium. Palladium is not as heavy as platinum, it’s about 40% lighter in weight compared to platinum, and so is roughly the same weight and feel of 14K gold. Currently there are not a lot of jewelers that work with high purity palladium alloys such as 950 blends (95% pure), but it is rapidly gaining in popularity and has so much benefit to the consumer. This is why we strive to offer as many items in palladium as possible. Of course since many of our items are made to order and we work closely with the manufacturers we can bring you most items in palladium. Our lifetime warranty ensures you also never have any problems.
Platinum
Like palladium, this is another natural white metal. Platinum and palladium both will appear slightly darker compared to rhodium plated jewelry but they are still very white and do not need to be rhodium plated like white gold does. Unlike white gold, as it wears the color never yellows or fades and so it requires no maintenance to sustain its natural white color. Both platinum and palladium develop a nice patina over time from all the small scratches and wear it takes on. These are easily removed by getting the jewelry polished. Unlike gold jewelry, polishing platinum and palladium does not result in any loss of metal since polishing it only moves around the metal and does not abrasively remove it. So you can polish it to your heart’s delight and never worry about wearing away your jewelry. 950 blends (95% pure) is most common with platinum.
About 950 PD/PT Blends
Both platinum and palladium in 950 blends (95% pure) are typically alloyed with 5% ruthenium or 5% iridium. Iridium is easier to cast but not as hard. Ruthenium is more difficult to cast for the jeweler but it results in a harder alloy which is more resistant to scratches. For that reason we only sell ruthenium blends even though it does require more labor and expertise on our part.
Just like all our jewelry, we stand behind our products and offer a lifetime warranty, so rest
assured your jewelry will always remain beautiful. We are always available to answer any questions you may have about jewelry alloys.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us toll free at 1-866-659-1666.