In the almost fifty years that my family has been in jewelry manufacturing business I‘ve seen jewelry fashion trends come and go, from the heavy 14kt yellow gold “door knocker’ type earrings of the 1960’s to the current fashion trends of silver, white gold, and platinum. Platinum’s history dates back to the time of the Inca’s in the pre Columbian society of Ecuador, but was not introduced to Europe until the mid 1500’s. While first discovered in South America, today the vast majority of platinum is mined in South Africa, with substantial quantities also coming from Russia and Canada. The are even small amounts of platinum mined in the United States.
Platinum is truly a rare metal with less that 2 ½ tons of the metal being produced worldwide each year, and per onze or unit it has always been the most expensive of the three precious metals. By comparison the United States alone produces more than 1200 tons of silver yearly. Outside of its use in the jewelry industry, platinum has a variety of other uses, not the least of which is in the automobile industry as a catalyst used in the assembly of catalytic converters. Platinum is also used in the manufacture of various electronics, medicines, and auto parts.
While today’s fashion trends favor a white metal over yellow, platinum has many other unique qualities which make it ideal for use in the jewelry industry. Platinum is an extremely dense metal and per unit is twice the weight of gold. This make a platinum piece of jewelry twice as heavy as the same piece in either white or yellow gold. Because of the denseness of the metal it will usually wear better and last longer. It is an extremely strong metal and platinum pieces can be fashioned more delicately and intricately than gold pieces with no fear of compromising the integrity or strength of the jewelry. For example, the screw posts on a pair of platinum earrings will maintain the screw thread longer than those on the same gold posts.
There is also a much greater percentage of platinum in a platinum piece of jewelry that gold in a gold piece of jewelry. Traditionally platinum jewelry is 90 to 95% platinum with 5 to 10% alloy added to the platinum to make it easier to fabricate and work with. Even 18kt gold, on the other hand is only 75% gold, with the remaining 25% a mixture of different alloys which are used for the same purpose in addition to turning yellow gold to white gold. Because Platinum is naturally a silvery white metal and does not oxidize or change color it will retain its luster for a very long time. All white gold on the other hand is plated with a metal called rhodium at the time of its manufacture and will need to be replated from time to time.
Jewelry trends do come and go, but platinum has always been used in the most highly fashioned and expensive pieces of jewelry. Whether from Harry Winston or Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels or Cartier, platinum has always held a special place for designers in their creation of some of the worlds most spectacular pieces of jewelry. Platinum jewelry when combined with either diamonds or colored stones give thoses stones added importance and luster due to the reflective qualities of the metal. Platinum brings out the specialness of each stone by focusing your attention to the sparkle of a white diamond in a perfectly white metal. It enhances the color of any stone, by offering a stark contrast with its own luster of pure platinum. Jewelry made from platinum will offer its owner a lifetime of use and pleasure and provide an heirloom worth passing to the next generation.
Showing posts with label white gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white gold. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Nature of Gold
One of the most interesting things about gold is its number of uses. Certainly, gold has been and is used in jewelry. It has been widely used as actual money in the form of coins or as the standard for which paper money has been valued. It is also used in dentistry and medicine. As an excellent conductor of electricity, it has been used as wire and in the connectors of wires in everything from audio and video cables to the contacts in the production of computers and jet engines. Gold has uses in photography, medicine, ceramics, the production of colored glass as well as being used as a protective coating on satellites and in jet fighter planes.
Naturally the use of gold that we are most familiar with is that of jewelry. In that capacity, gold has been used as an ornament or piece of jewelry as far back as 2600BC. Because it is highly malleable it is relatively easy to work with and can be shaped into an infinite variety of shapes and designs. Pure gold, of course, is called 24karat, kt or fine gold. As fine gold it is generally used in the stamping and production of gold coins, but is too soft to use in the fabrication of jewelry. In this use it is mixed with other metals, called alloys, which change its hardness, give it a variety of colors and by changing its melting point allows it to be mixed with, welded to and altered or worked on in a variety of ways. When mixed with these alloys, the amount of fine gold used in any one piece of jewelry is reduced. This proportion of fine gold to alloy gives the jewelry its designation as either 10,14,18 or 22kt.
The largest consumer of gold in the world, India, produces most of their jewelry in 22kt. Most jewelry in the United States is produced in either 10,14,or 18kt gold. As a percentage of fine gold 22kt is .916%, 18kt .75%, 14kt. .583% and 10kt .416%. Depending on its country of origin a piece of jewelry may be stamped either the number percentage or the Kt. as in .75 or .75kt in instead of 18kt. Today, laws all over the world require that all gold manufactured as jewelry must be stamped to reflect its true karat. Thus all gold used in the manufacture of jewelry must be “plumb gold”, meaning that the gold stamp must reflect the actual gold content in the ring. As an example, all gold stamped 18kt must be at least .75% fine gold or 24kt gold. Gold imported into the United States if tested by US Customs and found not to be “plumb is usually seized and the manufacturer fined and or restricted from importing more jewelry into the United States. A jewelry manufacturer in the United States found to be producing jewelry not within these guidelines is usually fined, as it is a crime.
Among the most common alloys used in the fabrication of gold for jewelry are silver, copper and brass. Nickel was also used for many years especially in the production of white gold, but due to its toxicity it has been mostly replaced with a variety of white metals like antimony, tin and zinc. The percentages of each of these metals used in the alloy when combined with fine gold give the different karat gold’s their distinctive color. They are, for example what makes 18kt gold look different from 14kt gold and what gives the jewelry industry the ability to create a “white” gold from a metal which, in its natural state, is quite yellow.
Since almost the beginning of time, from Egypt to Rome and throughout the rest of the world, gold has been prized and valued for its beauty. While it has many uses in industry, electronics and medicine, it is the feel and look of gold worn or given to someone which has given the world its greatest pleasure.
Naturally the use of gold that we are most familiar with is that of jewelry. In that capacity, gold has been used as an ornament or piece of jewelry as far back as 2600BC. Because it is highly malleable it is relatively easy to work with and can be shaped into an infinite variety of shapes and designs. Pure gold, of course, is called 24karat, kt or fine gold. As fine gold it is generally used in the stamping and production of gold coins, but is too soft to use in the fabrication of jewelry. In this use it is mixed with other metals, called alloys, which change its hardness, give it a variety of colors and by changing its melting point allows it to be mixed with, welded to and altered or worked on in a variety of ways. When mixed with these alloys, the amount of fine gold used in any one piece of jewelry is reduced. This proportion of fine gold to alloy gives the jewelry its designation as either 10,14,18 or 22kt.
The largest consumer of gold in the world, India, produces most of their jewelry in 22kt. Most jewelry in the United States is produced in either 10,14,or 18kt gold. As a percentage of fine gold 22kt is .916%, 18kt .75%, 14kt. .583% and 10kt .416%. Depending on its country of origin a piece of jewelry may be stamped either the number percentage or the Kt. as in .75 or .75kt in instead of 18kt. Today, laws all over the world require that all gold manufactured as jewelry must be stamped to reflect its true karat. Thus all gold used in the manufacture of jewelry must be “plumb gold”, meaning that the gold stamp must reflect the actual gold content in the ring. As an example, all gold stamped 18kt must be at least .75% fine gold or 24kt gold. Gold imported into the United States if tested by US Customs and found not to be “plumb is usually seized and the manufacturer fined and or restricted from importing more jewelry into the United States. A jewelry manufacturer in the United States found to be producing jewelry not within these guidelines is usually fined, as it is a crime.
Among the most common alloys used in the fabrication of gold for jewelry are silver, copper and brass. Nickel was also used for many years especially in the production of white gold, but due to its toxicity it has been mostly replaced with a variety of white metals like antimony, tin and zinc. The percentages of each of these metals used in the alloy when combined with fine gold give the different karat gold’s their distinctive color. They are, for example what makes 18kt gold look different from 14kt gold and what gives the jewelry industry the ability to create a “white” gold from a metal which, in its natural state, is quite yellow.
Since almost the beginning of time, from Egypt to Rome and throughout the rest of the world, gold has been prized and valued for its beauty. While it has many uses in industry, electronics and medicine, it is the feel and look of gold worn or given to someone which has given the world its greatest pleasure.
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