The cost will vary due to daily changes in market prices for the precious metals. Contact us directly with questions or for an up-to-date quote.
The Wedding Ring Learning Spot
We offer our Learning Spot as a service to those who may be unfamiliar with the differences in materials used to make bridal jewelry. We hope you find it interesting and that it may prevent you making expensive mistakes. If anything is not clear, please contact us by phone or email and our expert jewelers will be happy to explain.
PRECIOUS METALS
This portion is quite extensive and includes a lot of information about the precious metals used in jewelry manufacturing.
Precious metal jewelry is manufactured from three main families of metals: gold, platinum and silver.
- Gold can be further broken down into 3 favorites:
- Yellow Gold
- White Gold
- Colored gold
- Platinum family includes:
- Palladium
- Rhodium
- Platinum
NOTE: There is a fashion for certain industrial materials, such as tungsten carbide and titanium, which have their own advantages and problems, but cannot be described as precious metals.
GOLD
Pieces of gold jewelry have been discovered that are thousands of years old. Some early unearthed examples of gold jewelry originate from the Middle East and date back as far as 3200 BC. Ever since mankind has been able to work this metal, it has been used for decorative purposes, valuing it for its beauty, reflective color and resistance to corrosion and tarnish. It was – and by some people still is – regarded as the most precious metal. In fact, it was so worshipped that it has been known at times as “The King of Metals“.
Now, as civilizations have advanced and people have become more prosperous than at any previous time in history, more of them are able to afford the jewelry into which this highly-valued metal is made. Gold jewelry is no longer the preserve of the wealthy few, but can be acquired and proudly worn by all.
ALLOYS OF GOLD – WHY NOT PURE GOLD?
Pure gold, known to jewelers as fine gold, is too soft to be worn as everyday jewelry. Its hardness and strength are not much more than lead and - as can easily be imagined - this effectively rules out its use for day-to-day wear. It will bend quite easily and dent, scratch etc. with very little pressure.
Fine gold is still used for ceremonial pieces used in some religions and – in some parts of the world, is worn by a bride for her dowry jewelry. Of course, it is also cast into blocks – called bullion – for investment purposes
To make it suitable for practical use, jewelers blend it with other metals using a technique known as “alloying“. In this process, metals such as silver, copper, nickel and zinc are mixed with the fine gold to make it harder and stronger - giving it durability and wear resistance..
The alloying technique also allows the jeweler to vary the color of the resulting alloy, giving a range of hues for yellow gold alloys and creating families of red, green and white gold alloys. A further added benefit is that as the gold content of the alloy is reduced by alloying, so is the cost, making jewelry more affordable to the buying public - you. But, the jeweler cannot add just any amount of alloying elements to his mix. There are very strict rules governing this.
THE KARATS OF GOLD
The different levels of gold allowed in alloys are measured in “karats“, the origins of the name coming from old history when the weight of the gold was compared to a specific number of carob beans.
Each karat is a weight measure of fine gold present in the alloy equivalent to 1/24th.
- 14K is 14/24ths or 58.3% fine gold by weight
- 18K is 18/24ths or 75%
- 22K is 22/24ths or 91.7% fine gold
There are numerous qualities local to areas such as Europe and the Far East. These include 8K, 9K, 10K, 20K and 21K, but there are only three hallmark qualities recognized internationally: 14K, 18K and 22K.
UNDER KARATING
Under-karating is when an item of jewelry is described as a particular quality, say 18K, but it does not contain the minimum amount of gold required by weight. (In this case, it should be 75% by weight of fine gold).
But the U.S. allows minor variations which are supposed to take note of manufacturing errors on jewelry items. (They are slightly different for un-soldered and soldered jewelry items).
So, for an item to be legally marked as 18K it must:
- Contain a minimum of 74.7% by weight fine gold if it has no solder joints
- 74.3% by weight fine gold if it has a solder joint
The Wedding Ring Workshop Quality Assurance
Rest assured that all Wedding Ring Workshop jewelry meets a minimum of 75% by weight of fine gold if it is marked 18K; we do not take advantage of the negative assay tolerance.
WEIGHT vs ATOMS
When weighing the advantages of one number of karats over another – for instance “is 18K really that much better than 14K?” you cannot only take into account the weight of gold present in the jewelry, you also need to consider its density. While it is certainly true that there is more gold by weight in an 18K wedding ring than the same ring in 14K, there is also another important aspect to take into account. All matter is made up of atoms. For each different element, the atom is a specific size and a specific weight. So if we take the weight of the metal and divide it by the volume it occupies, we obtain a result called the “density“.
Why is This Important?
This is important when we consider gold alloys in jewelry. If you choose a 14K yellow gold ring, 58.3% of the weight of the ring is gold, with 41.7% comprising the other alloying metals, usually silver and the base metals copper and zinc.
This may seem good, since more than half the weight is gold but, because of the high specific gravity (another name for density) of gold compared to these other metals - each different atom being about the same size but gold weighing much more – the actual number of gold atoms is much less – about 30%.
This number increases significantly for 18K yellow gold. We already know that 75% of the weight is gold but, also, at least 50% of the atoms are gold. So 18K gold is a true “gold alloy” with more atoms of gold present than all the alloy metals added together.
YELLOW GOLD
There are in nature only two true colored metals - gold and copper. All other metals are various shades of grey. Not only is gold a precious, inert and highly reflective metal, it also possesses a naturally beautiful yellow color that has captivated man for thousands of years.
Are All Yellow Gold Alloys the Same Color?
The full lustrous deep yellow which is the natural color of gold is unsurpassed by any other. But this natural color is only possible with pure gold; it changes as other metals are mixed with it to lend strength and, sometimes, to change the color, so that it will not only withstand the rigors of everyday use, but also meets the demands of fashion.
If the alloy contains:
· A high percentage of copper, the gold will possess a pink hue
· A high percentage of silver, it will be a greener shade of yellow
· Equal amounts of copper and silver give what is known as a neutral yellow
· A high percentage of nickel or palladium will produce white gold
KARETS AFFECT COLORS
As the karat level of an alloy goes down, the yellow color become less and less than that of pure gold. For 14 karat and below, the final metal may lose its richness altogether. However, when added to lower karat alloys of gold, silver and copper, zinc can help restore the richness, so it is frequently added to the mix.
EXPERT REFINING
Wedding Ring Workshop provides only 18 karat gold for couples to make each other’s yellow gold rings using the best alloy in the business. It exhibits a rich yellow color with a hint of the slightly greener hue favored in Europe. So refiners who supply Wedding Ring Workshops call it “Euro Yellow” or – because this particular product has often been described as “regal”, it is sometimes called “Royal Yellow“. This description is used to confirm its claim to be the basis of the most beautiful 18 karat Yellow Gold rings available.
22 KARAT GOLD
As you now know, this high karat metal, so close to pure gold, will have an extremely desirable color. Unfortunately, it is considered too soft for use in jewelry applications, especially rings, which are susceptible to some pretty hard knocks. Custom jewelers will sometimes use it for specific cases and one-off designs if it is known that the piece - a brooch or pin for example - will be less exposed to wear and tear.
RED, PINK & ROSE GOLD
All 3 of these are high copper/silver/gold alloys and all have similar properties. The addition of more copper to the alloy usually means a reduction in the percentage of silver, giving a warm hue to the metal.
Couples are sometimes disappointed to find that differences in color between the three and yellow gold are usually slight and difficult to distinguish unless they are viewed side by side.
However, these colored gold alloys, which used to be in reasonably high demand, are now enjoying a mild come back; especially when the rings are also designed with colored gemstones, including the newly popular colored diamonds.
WHITE GOLD
Regardless of karat, white gold alloys used in jewelry generally fall into two categories: those that use nickel to bleach the yellow gold, or those that use palladium.
NICKEL ALLOYS
The majority of white gold jewelry in the US is manufactured using alloys containing nickel as the bleaching agent, because nickel has the strongest “bleaching power” in gold alloys – it is also quite inexpensive.
Nickel and gold do not mix together particularly well and, after alloying, tend to separate so that your white gold ring can take on a mottled yellow appearance. This is obviously undesirable, so manufacturers will commonly plate the finished rings with rhodium, which gives them a bright, silvery appearance.
However, because rhodium is expensive, the coating is very thin. Brides will find it necessary to have their rings re-plated from time to time, the frequency depending on activity and wear.
NICKEL ALLERGY
While there are no laws governing the use of nickel in jewelry alloys sold in the United States, there are laws regulating nickel used in jewelry alloys in Europe, where A WEDDING RING EXPERIENCE© first started.
This is because about 10% of the population is allergic to nickel. “The Nickel Directive” states that jewelry containing nickel must release the metal at less than a specified controlled rate onto the skin. It also states that no nickel can be used in an item that sits in an open wound. So, for instance, there should be no nickel present in jewelry designed to be worn in pierced body parts until they are completely healed.
PALLADIUM ALLOYS
Palladium – a member of the platinum family - is also used to make white gold alloys but is more expensive. There is no history of allergic reactions from Palladium alloys. They are also stable and do not change color over time. Plating of jewelry is not needed, either when new, or ever. If you choose 18K White Gold at Wedding Ring Workshop, you will be using palladium alloys obtained from experienced, reputable suppliers that have been successfully refining precious metals for generations instead of nickel, to ensure that both of you get the safest and best possible quality jewelry. |
